Leveraging GitHub Pages for a Minimalist E-commerce Store

Why Use GitHub Pages for a Simple E-commerce Store?

Free Hosting: GitHub Pages provides free, reliable hosting for small, static websites.
Fast Setup: Ideal for small projects or MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) that need to get up and running quickly.
Customizable with Jekyll: GitHub Pages integrates with Jekyll, a static site generator that lets you easily design and customize your store.
No Server Management: You don’t need to worry about server setups, making it easy for non-developers.

Step 1: Set Up a GitHub Repository

GitHub repository settings showing the setup for GitHub Pages.

Create a New Repository
- Sign in to GitHub, click on New to create a new repository.
- Name the repository (e.g., “minimalist-ecommerce-store”).
- Set it to Public and check Add a README file.
- Click Create repository.
Enable GitHub Pages
- Go to Settings in your repository.
- Scroll to Pages under the Code and Automation section.
- Under Source, select the main branch and click Save.
- Your site will be live at https://yourusername.github.io/minimalist-ecommerce-store/.

Step 2: Install Jekyll Locally

Jekyll allows you to create a customizable website structure. GitHub Pages supports Jekyll, which makes it easy to set up your e-commerce store.

Install Jekyll:
- Follow the instructions on Jekyll’s website to install it locally.
Create a New Jekyll Site:
- Open your terminal and run:
```
jekyll new minimalist-ecommerce-store
```
- This will generate all necessary Jekyll files and folders, like _posts, _layouts, and _config.yml.
Push Jekyll Files to GitHub:
- In your Jekyll site folder, initialize a git repository:
```
git init
```
- Add, commit, and push your files to GitHub:
```
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit with Jekyll files"
git push -u origin main
```

Step 3: Customize Your E-commerce Store Layout

Product page layout example in Jekyll for a minimalist e-commerce store.

Edit Layout and Design
- Open the _layouts folder in your Jekyll site directory and customize default.html.
- Add sections for product listings, contact information, and any details specific to your store.
Add a Products Collection Create a _products folder in your site directory. For each product, create a Markdown file (e.g., product1.md) with details like:
```
---
layout: product
title: "Product Name"
price: $20
description: "Product description here"
image: "/images/product1.jpg"
---
```
- These Markdown files will generate individual product pages for your site.
Update Configurations
- Open _config.yml and set the site title, author, and any other details you want to display on every page.

Step 4: Add E-commerce Functionalities

A minimalist GitHub Pages store won’t have complex e-commerce functionalities (like checkout or inventory management) by default. However, you can integrate third-party tools to handle payments and orders.

Embed a Payment Button
- Use third-party payment buttons, such as PayPal Buy Now or Stripe.
- For PayPal, go to PayPal Button Generator and create a “Buy Now” button.
- Copy the HTML code provided by PayPal and paste it into each product page.
Link to an External Cart Service (Optional)
- Services like Snipcart or Shopify Lite allow you to add a shopping cart to a static site.
- Sign up for the service, generate the cart code, and embed it on your GitHub Pages site.
Display Products with Jekyll Loops
- In your main layout, add a loop to display products dynamically:

  {% for product in site.products %}
    <div class="product">
      <h2>{{ product.title }}</h2>
      <p>{{ product.price }}</p>
      <p>{{ product.description }}</p>
      <img src="{{ product.image }}" data-echo="{{ product.image }}" alt="{{ product.title }}">
    </div>
  {% endfor %}

Step 5: Test and Deploy

Run the Site Locally
- In your terminal, go to the site folder and run:
```
bundle exec jekyll serve
```
- Open a browser and go to http://localhost:4000 to preview your store.
Check for Issues
- Make sure all pages load correctly, images display, and payment buttons work.
Deploy to GitHub Pages
- When ready, push all changes to GitHub:
```
git add .
git commit -m "Finalize store setup"
git push origin main
```
- Your GitHub Pages site will automatically update with your changes.

Share Your Store Link
- Your store is now live at https://yourusername.github.io/minimalist-ecommerce-store/.
- Share this link with potential customers on social media or through other marketing channels.
Update Product Listings
- To add or change products, simply edit the Markdown files in the _products folder and push the changes to GitHub.
- GitHub Pages will automatically rebuild the site with your latest updates.
Expand Features Over Time
- If your store grows, consider moving to a more robust e-commerce platform or adding more functionality with a headless CMS.