Learning Jekyll - Setting up a jekyll project

This post summarizes important points to consider when learning Jekyll and shows the typical syntax for creating a post with Markdown.

Why Jekyll?

• Simple static site generator that converts Markdown + templates into a static website.
• Integrates well with GitHub Pages for easy deployment.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of Markdown for writing content.
• Basic understanding of HTML/CSS (helpful for customizing themes).
• Command-line familiarity for running Jekyll locally (bundle exec jekyll serve).

Project structure highlights

• _config.yml — site configuration and plugin settings.
• _posts/ — where blog posts go; filenames must be date-prefixed: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md.
• _layouts/, _includes/, _sass/ — theme and layout files.
• assets/ or images/ — static assets like images, CSS, JS.

Front matter

• Every post or page that Jekyll should process needs YAML front matter between --- lines.
• Front matter typically contains layout, title, date, categories, and tags.

Markdown + Liquid

• Write content in Markdown. Use Liquid tags to insert site data or control logic: Morris Kyalo, {% if page.author %}.
• Example uses: include dynamic site metadata, loop through collections, or include partials.

Creating a new post (example) Below is a minimal example of a post file you can place in _posts/ as 2025-08-29-my-first-jekyll-post.md:

---
layout: post
title: "My First Jekyll Post"
date: 2025-08-06 09:00:00 +0300
categories: jekyll
tags: [tutorial, markdown]
---

## Introduction

This is a sample Jekyll post written in Markdown. Jekyll will process the YAML front matter and render this content into your site layout.

- Use headings, lists, images, and links as usual in Markdown.
- Insert Liquid variables: Site title: `Morris Kyalo`.


{% include my-snippet.html %}


End of example.

Tips and best practices

• Keep consistent front matter fields (title, date, categories) for easier indexing and templates.
• Use categories and tags for organization — keep them predictable.
• Test locally with bundle exec jekyll serve to preview changes.
• When customizing themes, create a child theme or override specific layout files rather than copying the entire theme.

Further learning

• Read the official Jekyll docs: https://jekyllrb.com
• Explore Liquid templates and how to use includes and filters.

Happy building — start by creating a dated Markdown file in _posts/ and preview locally.