1. Enabling Google Search

1.1 Activate sitemap

Modify your _config.yml:

plugins: ['jekyll-paginate', 'jekyll-sitemap', 'jekyll-include-cache', 'jekyll-gist']

1.2 Add robots.txt

Create a robots.txt file in your root directory:

User-agent: *
Allow:/

Sitemap: https://jayleekr.github.io/sitemap.xml

1.3 Register sitemap to Google Search Console

1. Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters
2. Click SEARCH CONSOLE
3. Add your site and verify ownership
4. Submit your sitemap URL

2. Jekyll Related Issues

2.1 Installing dependencies for local blog testing

If you want to test your Jekyll blog locally, you’ll need these dependencies:

$ sudo apt-get install -y gem 
$ sudo gem install jekyll bundler tzinfo tzinfo-data minima 

2.2 Installing a Theme

Let’s install the minimal-mistakes theme as an example:

1. First, add the minimal-mistakes theme to your Gemfile:

gem "minimal-mistakes-jekyll"

2. Install the bundle:

$ bundle install 

3. Add the theme to your _config.yml file:

theme: minimal-mistakes-jekyll

2.3 Running Jekyll

$ jekyll serve
Configuration file: /home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog/_config.yml
            Source: /home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog
       Destination: /home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog/_site
 Incremental build: disabled. Enable with --incremental
      Generating... 
       Jekyll Feed: Generating feed for posts
                    done in 0.823 seconds.
 Auto-regeneration: enabled for '/home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog'
    Server address: http://127.0.0.1:4000
  Server running... press ctrl-c to stop.

Your blog should now be accessible at http://127.0.0.1:4000!

2.4 Jekyll Version Compatibility Issues

This happens when your project version doesn’t match your installed Jekyll version.

You can resolve this by managing gem dependencies properly:

$ sudo gem install bundler
$ bundle install
$ bundle exec jekyll serve
Configuration file: /home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog/_config.yml
            Source: /home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog
       Destination: /home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog/_site
 Incremental build: disabled. Enable with --incremental
      Generating... 
       Jekyll Feed: Generating feed for posts
                    done in 0.823 seconds.
 Auto-regeneration: enabled for '/home/jayleekr/workspace/00_codes/07_blog'
    Server address: http://127.0.0.1:4000
  Server running... press ctrl-c to stop.

Using bundle exec ensures you’re running Jekyll with the exact gem versions specified in your Gemfile.lock, avoiding compatibility issues.

Pro Tips

• Always use bundle exec jekyll serve instead of just jekyll serve to avoid version conflicts
• Keep your gems updated with bundle update
• Test your blog locally before pushing to GitHub Pages
• Use GitHub Pages supported plugins to avoid build failures

Hope this helps with your GitHub blog setup! 🚀