How Do You Install the Mediumish Jekyll Theme on GitHub Pages

Why Choose the Mediumish Theme for Jekyll on GitHub Pages

Mediumish is one of the most popular minimalist themes built for Jekyll, inspired by Medium’s aesthetic. It's ideal for bloggers who want a clean, readable layout with integrated social features and SEO optimization. The theme is fully responsive and compatible with GitHub Pages, making it perfect for developers and non-tech users alike.

Main Benefits of Mediumish

• Clean, mobile-friendly layout
• Pre-built structure for blog posts and home page
• Integrated Disqus comments and SEO meta tags
• Simple setup with Jekyll and GitHub Pages

Where Can You Get the Official Mediumish Theme

The Mediumish theme is available on GitHub and supported by multiple forks and versions. The original version is maintained by wowthemesnet.

Steps to Download the Mediumish Jekyll Theme

1. Visit the official repository: Mediumish GitHub Repo
2. Click the green Code button
3. Select Download ZIP or clone using Git

Using Git is recommended if you plan to update the theme in the future.

How to Install the Mediumish Theme in Your GitHub Repository

Once you have the Mediumish theme files, you need to install them into the repository you created earlier. This can be done in three main ways:

Method 1: Upload ZIP Files Manually

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP on your computer
2. Delete the existing .git folder from the extracted files
3. Zip everything again (excluding the .git directory)
4. Go to your GitHub repository
5. Click Upload files and drag the contents
6. Commit the changes

Method 2: Use Git Command Line (Recommended)

git clone https://github.com/wowthemesnet/mediumish-theme-jekyll.git
cd mediumish-theme-jekyll
rm -rf .git
git init
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/yourrepo.git
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit with Mediumish theme"
git push -u origin main

This method gives you full Git control, which is helpful for continuous updates and versioning.

What to Do After Uploading the Theme Files

After the files are in your repository, you must confirm the following before the blog renders properly:

• Ensure _config.yml is present
• Make sure there’s an index.html or home.html in the root
• Remove any redundant files like Gemfile.lock if not using local development

How to Edit Your Configuration File

The _config.yml file controls your blog’s identity and global settings.

title: Your Blog Title
email: [email protected]
description: >-
  A blog powered by Mediumish theme and GitHub Pages.
url: "https://yourusername.github.io"
baseurl: "/yourrepo" # if not deploying to root
author:
  name: Your Name
  bio: Your short bio
  location: Your City
social:
  twitter: yourhandle
  github: yourusername
  linkedin: yourprofile

Don’t forget to match the baseurl to your repo name if it's not your main user site.

How to Customize the Homepage and Navigation

Mediumish uses structured layouts with Liquid tags. You can modify the homepage layout in index.html or the _layouts/home.html file depending on the version.

To Edit Navigation Menus

Modify the navigation in the _data/navigation.yml file. Example:

- text: Home
  url: /
- text: About
  url: /about/
- text: Contact
  url: /contact/

Where Should You Add Your First Blog Posts

Mediumish stores blog posts in the _posts/ directory using a specific naming convention:

_posts/2025-01-01-my-first-post.md

Minimum Front Matter for a Blog Post

---
layout: post
title: "My First Blog Post"
author: yourname
categories: [jekyll, blogging]
description: "This is the first post on my Mediumish-powered blog."
image: /assets/images/yourimage.jpg
---

Don’t forget to write your content in Markdown after the front matter.

How to Check If the Theme Renders Correctly on GitHub Pages

After pushing or uploading the theme, go to your repository’s Settings → Pages and confirm that:

• Source is set to main and root
• Build does not fail (check under Actions)
• The live URL is generated and loads without 404

Troubleshooting Common Errors

• Theme not loading? Check your _config.yml for baseurl issues
• 404 errors? Make sure index.html exists in the root
• CSS broken? Revisit folder structure for assets

Do You Need to Install Ruby or Jekyll Locally

No, not if you're using GitHub Pages. GitHub automatically builds your Jekyll site. But if you want to preview or develop locally, then yes.

Optional: How to Install Locally (Mac/Linux)

gem install bundler jekyll
bundle install
bundle exec jekyll serve

This runs your blog at http://localhost:4000.

Conclusion

Installing the Mediumish Jekyll theme on GitHub Pages is a straightforward process if you follow the correct steps: get the theme files, configure your repository, and ensure your paths and URLs are correctly defined. With a clean install, your blog is immediately production-ready, mobile-optimized, and fully customizable. In the next phase, you can begin tweaking layouts, writing articles, or integrating third-party tools like Disqus and Google Analytics.