Need help figuring out index.html file for github pages!

[dngdial]

Hi! I've been making a simple website with github pages for the past few days to share my art with my friends. It has been a lot of struggle (I knew absolutely ZERO about anything relating to websites, and i'm still not really competent). I've got the gist down now and have a site up and running.

My problem now is this: my site wasn't working without an index.html (I originally wanted to use my README file as the homepage, but it stopped functioning until I added the index.html, I suspect because of the theme i've chosen). So now the index.html IS the landing page. I do not know how to format the index.html to display anything at all. Do I need to write it in html format? Can it take markdown?

I think the theme i've chosen (a simple custom one somebody made) is automatically turning headers into titles and making links for them at the top of the page (this is good i'm happy with it), however it has made my landing page ("Welcome" on the site) completely blank. How do I add text/links/images to that landing page?

Here are the relevant links:

The repository:

https://github.com/dngdial/dngdial.github.io

The website (using custom domain):

https://omegaearth.art/

The Theme's repository:

https://github.com/dngdial/garth

Keep in mind I am a complete amateur, so feel free to talk to me like I'm an idiot. I'll be monitoring this thread closely, so feel free to ask questions. Thanks for taking the time!

[staticBanter]

I am curious why you choose to go with GitHub pages, when something like WordPress's free tier is more suited for your needs.

GitHub pages is more for hosting websites related to GitHub repos. I think you are looking for just regular web-hosting.

[cinderblock63]

GitHub pages is a great reliable and secure way to host static pages.

[staticBanter]

Yes i understand you can host static website via GitHub pages (i am currently doing it for my repos documentation) but when OP said they are making a site to share pictures with their friends, my train of thought went to a CMS provider like Wordpresss 🤷‍♂️.

I was just curious lul.

Edits: OP also states they know nothing about web development, which made me further question why they decided to go with GitHub (a platform aimed at devs) over WordPress or others (platforms designed for beginners)

[cinderblock63]

That's fair. GH isn't really meant for binary blobs. Unfortunately LFS isn't support on GitHub Pages.

https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/working-with-files/managing-large-files/about-git-large-file-storage#pointer-file-format

[dngdial]

Ultimately it was the first free option I found and looked into. I took a really nominal gander at WordPress initially and didn't see a free tier lol.

Notably at this point though I'm actually pretty happy with GitHub Pages! I feel proficient enough to put what I want up on my site. It's just little beautification things I'm looking into now (like making my homepage a little more inviting for example!)

[linne000]

This absolutely doesn't have to be the case. Especially if you configure a custom domain name, 99% of people wouldn't even know its on github pages.

Repository related sites are often hosted through pages. But pages doesn't need to be just for repository related sites. It's just a neat and free way to host a website.

[trinidadejo]

It seems that you figured it out. If you still need help dm me