๐ŸŒ Personal Portfolio Website Workshop!

Nov 15, 2024ยท
Manas Vishal
Manas Vishal
ยท 4 min read
Image credit: ChatGPT

Welcome to the Personal Portfolio Website Workshop! ๐Ÿ‘‹

Hello, fellow PhD students! ๐ŸŽ“

This repository is here to help you build your personal academic portfolio website. By the end of this guide, youโ€™ll have a beautiful, professional webpage to showcase your research, publications, and achievements. Weโ€™ll use HTML5 UP templates, Jekyll, or Hugo to create a static website and deploy it to GitHub Pages for free hosting.

๐Ÿ’ก Feel free to choose the tools that best suit your skills and style. Each option has its own setup instructions.


Tip: My webpage uses Hugo Academic CV Template

Table of Contents

  1. Prerequisites
  2. Step 1: Fork and Clone the Repository
  3. Step 2: Choose a Website Template
  4. Step 3: Set Up Your Website with HTML5 UP, Jekyll, or Hugo
  5. Step 4: Customize Your Website
  6. Step 5: Deploy to GitHub Pages
  7. Resources & Tips

Prerequisites

Before we start, here are a few things youโ€™ll need:

  • GitHub Account: Sign up if you havenโ€™t already here.
  • Git: Download Git to version control your website.
  • Code Editor: Use a code editor like VS Code or Atom.

Optional but helpful: Familiarity with basic HTML, Markdown, or command line usage.


Step 1: Fork and Clone the Repository

  1. Fork this repository to create a copy under your GitHub account.

  2. Clone the repository to your local machine. Open a terminal and run:

    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo-name.git
    cd your-repo-name
    

    Now youโ€™ll be able to work on your website locally!


Step 2: Choose a Website Template

You have three main options for building your portfolio. Choose the one that best fits your needs:

  1. HTML5 UP Templates: These are simple, beautiful HTML templates. Good for custom HTML/CSS.
  2. Jekyll: A popular static site generator that works well with Markdown and GitHub Pages.
  3. Hugo: Another static site generator thatโ€™s fast and flexible, especially for complex sites.

Note: HTML5 UP templates provide raw HTML/CSS files, while Jekyll and Hugo generate static pages using Markdown and themes.


Step 3: Set Up Your Website with HTML5 UP, Jekyll, or Hugo

Option A: Wordpress

  1. Go to UMassD’s word press server
  2. Login with your UMassD’s credentials.
  3. Choose a theme, add content and deploy the website.

Option B: HTML5 UP Templates

  1. Go to HTML5 UP and browse the templates. My website uses Editorial theme
  2. Download the template you like, unzip it, and move its contents to your cloned repository.
  3. Customize the HTML and CSS to reflect your personal information.

More resources:

Option C: Jekyll

  1. Install Jekyll by following these instructions.

  2. Create a new Jekyll site:

    jekyll new my-portfolio
    
  3. Move your Jekyll site files into your cloned repository folder.

  4. Start a local server to preview:

    bundle exec jekyll serve
    
  5. Access the site at http://localhost:4000 to see your progress.

More resources:

Option D: Hugo

  1. Install Hugo by following these instructions.

  2. Create a new Hugo site:

    hugo new site my-portfolio
    
  3. Choose a theme from Hugo Themes and install it.

  4. Move your Hugo site files into your cloned repository folder.

  5. Start a local server to preview:

    hugo server -D
    
  6. Visit http://localhost:1313 to view your website locally.


Step 4: Customize Your Website

Now itโ€™s time to make the website yours! Here are a few things youโ€™ll want to update:

  • Personal Information: Update your name, photo, bio, and contact information.
  • Research & Publications: Add sections for your academic work, projects, and publications.
  • Social Media Links: Add links to your LinkedIn, Twitter, or Google Scholar profiles.

If you’re using HTML5 UP, edit the HTML files directly. For Jekyll and Hugo, youโ€™ll generally edit Markdown files in the content or _posts folders.


Step 5: Deploy to GitHub Pages

Once youโ€™re happy with your website, itโ€™s time to deploy!

  1. Commit and push your changes to your GitHub repository:

    git add .
    git commit -m "Initial website setup"
    git push origin main
    
  2. Enable GitHub Pages in your repository settings:

    • Go to your repository on GitHub.
    • Click on Settings > Pages.
    • Under Source, choose the main branch and save.
  3. After a few minutes, your site will be live at https://yourusername.github.io/your-repo-name.

More resources:

Note: If using Jekyll or Hugo, make sure your _config.yml or config.toml file is configured correctly for GitHub Pages.


Resources & Tips

For help, reach out in the Slack channel or DM.


Final Words

Congratulations on setting up your academic portfolio website! ๐ŸŽ‰ This website will help showcase your work to the world, so feel free to iterate and improve it over time.

Happy coding, and best of luck with your research!

Did you find this page helpful? Consider sharing it ๐Ÿ™Œ