How I Built My Technical Writing Portfolio Website Using GitHub Pages
As a technical writer and software engineer, I wanted a portfolio site that showcased my skills, articles, and publications in a way that felt modern and personal. I built it with HTML + CSS, hosted it on GitHub Pages, and added extra features like animations, Google Search Console, Analytics, and a sitemap.
Here’s exactly how I built it, step-by-step — no frameworks, no CMS, just code and care.
🛠️ Tools I Used
- HTML + CSS — fully custom, no frameworks
- GitHub Pages — free, fast hosting
- Google Search Console — to help get discovered on Google
- Google Analytics (GA4) — to track visitors
- VS Code — for writing code
- A simple animated avatar PNG — for personality ✨
🧱 Step 1: Create a GitHub Pages Repo
- Go to https://github.com
Create a new repo named:yourusername.github.io
Make sure it’s public.You can either:
Clone it locally (
git clone)Or drag-and-drop files directly into GitHub’s interface
💻 Step 2: Create index.html
This is the homepage. Here's the full code I used (copy it to a file called index.html):
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/>
<title>Your Name | Technical Writer</title>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;600&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
<!-- Google Analytics (replace with your ID) -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX');
</script>
<!-- Google Search Console verification -->
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="your-verification-code" />
<!-- Smooth scroll, link animation, fade effect -->
<style>
html {
scroll-behavior: smooth;
}
@keyframes fadeSlideUp {
from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(20px); }
to { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
}
#work-section {
animation: fadeSlideUp 1.5s ease-in-out both;
}
h2 {
position: relative;
animation: slideIn 0.9s ease forwards;
opacity: 0;
}
@keyframes slideIn {
from { opacity: 0; transform: translateX(-20px); }
to { opacity: 1; transform: translateX(0); }
}
a {
color: #4dd0e1;
text-decoration: none;
position: relative;
transition: color 0.3s ease;
}
a:hover {
color: #ffffff;
}
a::after {
content: "";
position: absolute;
width: 0%;
height: 2px;
left: 0;
bottom: -4px;
background: linear-gradient(to right, #4dd0e1, #f97316);
transition: width 0.4s ease;
}
a:hover::after {
width: 100%;
}
.emoji-bg {
position: absolute;
top: 120px;
right: 30px;
font-size: 3rem;
opacity: 0.05;
z-index: 0;
pointer-events: none;
animation: float 6s ease-in-out infinite;
}
@keyframes float {
0% { transform: translateY(0px); }
50% { transform: translateY(-15px); }
100% { transform: translateY(0px); }
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="emoji-bg">🧠</div>
<nav>
<div class="logo-container">
<img src="avatar.png" alt="Logo" style="width: 60px; height: 60px; border-radius: 50%;">
<strong>Your Name</strong>
</div>
<div>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="contact.html">Contact</a>
<a href="https://github.com/yourusername" target="_blank">GitHub</a>
</div>
</nav>
<main>
<h1>Hello, I'm [Your Name]</h1>
<p>
I’m a software engineer and technical writer with a focus on backend architecture and developer experience.
I build scalable systems and write structured documentation to make complex tools easier to use.
</p>
<h2>What I Do</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Technical Writing:</strong> API docs, onboarding guides, tutorials</li>
<li><strong>Software Engineering:</strong> Python, JavaScript, and backend systems</li>
<li><strong>Dev Tools:</strong> Markdown, LaTeX, Confluence, GitHub Actions</li>
</ul>
<h2>Featured Articles</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://dev.to/yourusername/article-title">How I Built This Portfolio</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dev.to/yourusername/api-doc-template">API Documentation Template</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Publication</h2>
<p>
<a href="https://example.com/publication-link">The Influence of Micro-expressions on Deception Detection</a>
</p>
<h2>Why I Do This</h2>
<p>
I’m driven by a passion for making technology accessible. My goal is to bridge the gap between complex systems and the people who use them — whether they're developers or stakeholders.
</p>
<section id="work-section">
<h2>Let's Work Together</h2>
<p>
I’m available for freelance and contract-based technical writing. Email me at
<a href="mailto:youremail@example.com">youremail@example.com</a> or check out
<a href="https://github.com/yourusername" target="_blank">my GitHub</a>.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<footer>© 2025 Your Name</footer>
</body>
</html>
🎨 Step 3: Add Styling in style.css
copy this to a file called style.css
body {
background-color: #121212;
color: #f5f5f5;
font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}
nav {
background: linear-gradient(to right, #6a11cb, #2575fc);
padding: 1rem 2rem;
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
align-items: center;
}
📬 Step 4: Add a Contact Page
Create a contact.html file and mirror the design — just include your email address and links.
🌍 Step 5: Add Your Sitemap
Create a file called sitemap.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://yourusername.github.io/</loc>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://yourusername.github.io/contact.html</loc>
</url>
</urlset>
Upload it to your GitHub repo root.
📈 Step 6: Submit to Google
Go to Google Search Console
Add your site as a URL prefix
Choose HTML tag → Paste into
Go to “Sitemaps” → Add sitemap.xml
Done!!!.
Let me know if you want to build something similar! I’d love to help others make docs look as great as the code they explain.
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