Step 1 of 7 , Unit 11
Before you create an account, it helps to understand what GitHub actually is and why developers use it. This step is all reading and thinking, no clicking required yet. Take five minutes here and everything that follows will make a lot more sense.
Right now, every website you have built in this curriculum lives only on your computer. If your computer crashes, breaks, or gets lost, your work is gone. If you want to show your site to someone, you have to send them the files and they have to open them themselves. That is not how the web is supposed to work.
GitHub solves the first problem. GitHub Pages solves the second.
GitHub is a platform where developers store their code in the cloud. Think of it like Google Drive, but designed specifically for code and the files that go with it. Your code lives on GitHub's servers, which means it is backed up, accessible from any computer, and shareable with anyone you choose.
GitHub also tracks every change you make over time, a feature called version control. Every time you save a new version of your code to GitHub, it remembers the previous version too. That means you can always go back. It also means you can see the full history of your project: every change, when it was made, and what changed.
You will see GitHub's homepage with a sign-up form. The tagline is "Build and ship software on a single, collaborative platform." Behind that tagline are over 100 million developers who use GitHub to store and share their code.
The site has a clean, dark design with a green "Sign up for GitHub" button. That button is where your next step begins.
GitHub Pages is a feature built directly into GitHub. It turns any GitHub repository into a live website, for free, with no server to set up, no monthly bill, and no technical configuration beyond flipping one switch in your settings.
When you enable GitHub Pages on a repository, GitHub takes your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files and serves them as a real website at a permanent URL. Anyone in the world can open that URL and see your site, just like any other website on the internet.
Your GitHub Pages URL is based on your GitHub username. When you create your account in Step 2, the username you choose becomes part of your permanent address on the web.
If your username is mia-thunderbird, your site will live at:
That is a real web address you own as long as you have a GitHub account. It is the link you will put in internship applications, on a resume, and anywhere you want people to see your work.
Your username becomes your URL. Pick something professional that you are comfortable sharing with a potential employer. Many developers use their name or a clean variation of it: firstlast, first-last, or a professional handle. You can change your username later, but your URL will change with it, so better to get it right the first time.
That is it for the background. Here is what you need to have ready before you move to Step 2:
An email address you have access to. GitHub will send a verification link to confirm your account. Use one you check regularly.
Your project files. If you completed Units 11 through 19, gather those files, your Federal Indian Policy Series. If you have a different project ready, that works too. Any HTML files will do.
About 30 minutes. The whole process from account creation to live site takes about half an hour the first time. After that, updates take about two minutes.
That is everything you need to know before creating your account. In Step 2 you will go to github.com and sign up. The process takes about five minutes.