Quick Setup Guide for Breiss Lab Website

Welcome! 🎉

Your lab website is ready to go! Follow these simple steps to get it live on the internet.

Step 1: Enable GitHub Pages (Required - One Time Only)

Quick Steps:

  1. Go to your repository: https://github.com/cbreiss/breisslab
  2. Click on “Settings” tab (in the top horizontal menu, last item on the right)
  3. In the left sidebar, scroll down and click “Pages” (under “Code and automation” section)
  4. Under “Source”, click the dropdown and select “GitHub Actions”
  5. Done! Your site will be available at: https://cbreiss.github.io/breisslab/

Note: It takes 2-3 minutes after the first commit for your site to go live.

📘 Need More Detailed Instructions?

If you can’t find the Settings or Pages option, see the GITHUB_PAGES_SETUP.md file for:

Step 2: Customize Your Site Content

Now let’s personalize your website with your lab’s information.

Update Site Title and Contact Info

  1. Go to your repository: https://github.com/cbreiss/breisslab
  2. Click on _config.yml
  3. Click the pencil icon (✏️) to edit
  4. Update these fields: 
    title: "Your Lab Name"
email: youremail@university.edu
description: >-
  Your lab's description goes here
  5. Update the author information: 
    author:
  name: "Your Name"
  bio: "Your title"
  location: "Your University"
  email: "your@email.edu"
  6. Scroll down and click “Commit changes”
  7. Wait 2-3 minutes and refresh your website!

Update Your Pages

Edit these files to add your content:

Page File to Edit What to Add
Home index.md Welcome message, research highlights
Research _pages/research.md Your research areas and projects
People _pages/people.md Team member bios and photos
Publications _pages/publications.md Your papers and citations
Contact _pages/contact.md Contact information and address

How to edit:

  1. Click on the file name
  2. Click the pencil icon (✏️)
  3. Make your changes
  4. Click “Commit changes”

Step 3: Add Your First News Post

  1. Go to the _posts folder
  2. Click “Add file” → “Create new file”
  3. Name it: 2024-02-15-my-first-post.md (use today’s date)
  4. Copy and paste this template:
---
title: "Welcome to Our Lab Website!"
date: 2024-02-15
categories:
  - News
---

We're excited to announce the launch of our new lab website!

Visit us regularly for updates on our research, publications, and team news.
  1. Click “Commit new file”

Step 4: Upload Photos

Add Team Photos

  1. Go to assets/images/ folder
  2. Click “Add file” → “Upload files”
  3. Drag and drop your photos
  4. Click “Commit changes”
  5. Note the exact file name (e.g., john-doe.jpg)
  6. Update _pages/people.md to reference the photo path: 
    ![Photo](/breisslab/assets/images/john-doe.jpg)

Tip: For profile photos, use square images (400x400 pixels works well)

Need More Help?

📚 For detailed instructions, see:

🆘 Common Issues:

Checklist for Launch

Use this to prepare your site for public launch:

What’s Next?

After your site is live, you can:

✅ Regular Updates:

✅ Advanced Customization:

✅ Maintenance:

Your Website URL

Once GitHub Pages is enabled, your site will be at:

🌐 https://cbreiss.github.io/breisslab/

Share this URL with:

Congratulations on your new lab website! 🚀

If you have questions, refer to the detailed guides in README.md and CONTENT_GUIDE.md, or open an issue on GitHub for help.