GitHub Pages & Working Demos: A Job Seeker’s Secret Weapon 
Tags: tutorial, career, github, webdev
Published: 2019-08-20 05:19:19

---
title: GitHub Pages & Working Demos: A Job Seeker’s Secret Weapon 
published: true
description: One major GitHub feature that often goes unnoticed is GitHub Pages. And if you're a web developer looking for a job, this can be a *killer* addition to your application materials.
tags: tutorial, career, github, webdev
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/rjbeojz838di3bktrn6k.png
---

####The following is an excerpt from my book _How to Get a Job in Web Development_ available on [Amazon](https://amzn.to/2Z6Os5q) on paperback and Kindle. Also a [Udemy course!](https://www.udemy.com/course/how-to-get-a-job-in-web-development/?couponCode=YOUTUBER)

##One major GitHub feature that often goes unnoticed is GitHub Pages. 

And if you're a web developer looking for a job, this can be a _killer_ addition to your application materials. This feature lets you turn your code into a working demo directly on GitHub free of charge. What better way to prove to employers that you're capable than to show them a demonstration on GitHub? 

###The additional benefit of GitHub pages is that setup and deployment is very fast. 

While you won’t be able to demonstrate any full-stack or backend projects (unless you use something like Firebase), your frontend projects can take the spotlight.

For example, let’s say you developed a word-count visualizer app. This is a good candidate for GitHub Pages since it doesn’t require access to a database. 

####Here’s how you set it up.

![GitHub pages step 1](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/lvfh8dak1olti04yq6jr.png)


![GitHub pages step 2](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/cnetrwakbjpqdcjj6bcz.png)

Scroll down to the GitHub Pages block.

![GitHub pages step 3](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/3es1xato2v32yvehwo62.png)

Under _Source_, the default will be _None_ so you will select the branch you want to feature (_master_ in this case). Click save.

You’ll now see the newly-created URL for your project:

![GitHub pages step 4](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/vzsp0gnhbyjyjc31gi9k.png)

After a few minutes (sometimes longer), the page will be live. Almost done: we still need employers and other important people to see that there’s actually a working demo of this project.

![GitHub pages step 5](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/hnhyfc3kedn7t02iuwcs.png)

Copy the URL of your project’s GitHub page. Navigate to the Code tab. On the right you will see the Edit button. Paste it into the Website tab.

![GitHub pages step 6](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/aib4o9tm95c1xinay61p.png)

Visitors are now able to click on your demo within the repo.

##Taadaaaaaaa:

![Word Count Visualizer project](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/rjbeojz838di3bktrn6k.png)

As a job-seeker, if you have full-stack or back-end projects, you’ll still want to have a working demo. Wherever you decide to host it, follow the steps above to paste in the demo’s URL.

###Remember: this is your showcase! 

Dazzle these employers with your functional, fast, creative and aesthetically-pleasing projects with GitHub pages. 

P.S. Follow me on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/realtoughcandy) where I talk a lot about cool web dev stuff:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AezH5ef1_3U
" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/AezH5ef1_3U/0.jpg" 
</a>