Setup custom Cloudflare domain for your Jekyll Github page

I setup a custom domain registered with Cloudflare for my Github page. So now my website domain is williamthyer.com instead of williamthyer.github.io. Here’s a brief tutorial on how to do it. This tutorial assumes you already have a Jekyll-based Github page (I forked mine from AcademicPages).

Step 1. Register a domain with Cloudflare

I registered a domain with Cloudflare Registrar. I opted for 3 years all at once for just $31.

Step 2. Update the DNS configuration in Cloudflare dashboard

Go to your Cloudflare dashboard. Under DNS > Records, go to DNS Management for your custom domain.

For the apex domain (your_custom_domain.com):

Type: CNAME  
Name: @   
Target: your_current_github_page.github.io  
Proxy status: Proxied (orange cloud)  

For the www subdomain (optional, but recommended):

Type: CNAME  
Name: www  
Target: your_current_github_page.github.io  
Proxy status: Proxied (orange cloud)  

Step 3. Create CNAME file in repo

Create a file called CNAME. All it contains is the name of your domain. In my case, it was “williamthyer.com”.

Step 4. Add the custom domain to your Github repo

Go to your website repo > Settings. Under Code and automation go to Pages. Under Custom domain, add your domain. Wait for the green checkmark that says “DNS check successful”

That’s it!

Make sure your changes are pushed and once your website builds, using the old github.io domain should automattically redirect to your custom domain! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was. And to be honest, it’s really cool to have a “real” domain now.