---
layout: docs
title: GitHub Pages
prev_section: extras
next_section: deployment-methods
---

[GitHub Pages](https://pages.github.com) are public web pages for users, organizations, and repositories, that are freely hosted on [GitHub](https://github.com/). GitHub Pages are powered by Jekyll behind the scenes, so in addition to supporting regular HTML content, they’re also a great way to host your Jekyll-powered website for free.

## Deploying Jekyll to GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages work by looking at certain branches of repositories on GitHub. There are two basic types of Pages available, user/organization Pages and project Pages. The way to deploy these two types of pages are nearly identical, except for a few minor details.

### User and Organization Pages

User and organization Pages live in a special GitHub repository dedicated to only the Pages files. This repository must be named after the account name. For example, [@mojombo’s user page repository](https://github.com/mojombo/mojombo.github.com) has the name `mojombo.github.com`.

Content from the `master` branch of your repository will be used to build and publish the GitHub Pages site, so make sure your Jekyll site is stored there.

<div class="note info">
  <h5>Custom domains do not affect repository names</h5>
  <p>GitHub Pages are initially configured to live under the `username.github.com` subdomain, which is why repositories must be named this way <strong>even if a custom domain is being used</strong>.</p>
</div>

### Project Pages

Unlike user and organization Pages, Project Pages are kept in the same repository as the project they are for, except that the website content is stored in a specially named `gh-pages` branch. The content of this branch will be used to rendered using Jekyll, and the output will become available under a subpath of your user pages subdomain, such as `username.github.com/project` (unless a custom domain is specified—see below).

The Jekyll project repository itself is a perfect example of this branch structure—the [master branch](https://github.com/mojombo/jekyll) contains the actual software project for Jekyll, however the Jekyll website (that you’re looking at right now) is contained in the [gh-pages branch](https://github.com/mojombo/jekyll/tree/gh-pages) of the same repository.

<div class="note">
  <h5>GitHub Pages Documentation, Help, and Support</h5>
  <p>For more information about what you can do with GitHub Pages, as well as for troubleshooting guides, you should check out <a href="https://help.github.com/categories/20/articles">GitHub’s Pages Help section</a>. If all else fails, you should contact <a href="https://github.com/contact">GitHub Support</a>.</p>
</div>