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Showing posts with the label customization

improving site performance with caching on github pages

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Why Caching Matters for GitHub Pages

Caching stores copies of your website’s resources in the user's browser, reducing load times on repeat visits and easing server demand. For static sites hosted on GitHub Pages, effective caching significantly improves user experience and SEO.

Types of Caching to Consider

  • Browser caching: Configuring HTTP headers to specify how long browsers should cache static files.
  • Service worker caching: Using JavaScript to cache resources and serve content offline or faster.

Step 1: Set Cache-Control Headers via GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages automatically adds some caching headers, but they are limited. For more control, use .htaccess or server config files (not available in GitHub Pages) or implement cache-busting strategies like versioned filenames.

Step 2: Use Versioned Filenames for Assets

Since you cannot modify server headers on GitHub Pages, append query strings or change filenames when assets update to ensure users get fresh content:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/style.css?v=1.2">

Step 3: Implement Service Workers for Advanced Caching

Using a service worker allows you to cache pages and assets programmatically. Tools like Workbox simplify this:

  • Create a service-worker.js file defining caching strategies.
  • Register the service worker in your site’s JavaScript.

Step 4: Test Cache Behavior

Use browser developer tools to inspect cache headers and test offline or slow network loading scenarios to ensure caching works as expected.

Case Study: Faster Load Times Using Cache Busting

A static blog on GitHub Pages implemented cache-busting query strings for CSS and JS assets. The change reduced stale cache issues and improved load speed on updates, leading to better user engagement.

Conclusion

While GitHub Pages has caching limitations, using versioned assets and service workers can effectively improve performance. Combining these with best practices ensures your Jekyll site is fast and reliable.

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enhancing seo metadata in jekyll mediumish

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The Role of SEO Metadata

SEO metadata like titles, descriptions, and structured data help search engines understand your content better. Properly configured metadata can improve click-through rates and rankings in search results.

Default SEO in Mediumish Theme

The Mediumish theme includes basic SEO tags, but you can customize and extend these for better optimization and flexibility.

Step 1: Customize Page Titles

Ensure your page titles are descriptive and unique. Use Liquid variables in your _layouts files:

<title>{{ page.title }} | {{ site.title }}</title>

Step 2: Add Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions provide summaries on search engine results pages. Include a description front matter in posts and use it in the head section:

<meta name="description" content="{{ page.description | default: site.description }}">

Step 3: Implement Open Graph and Twitter Cards

These metadata tags improve social media sharing previews. Example:

<meta property="og:title" content="{{ page.title }}">
<meta property="og:description" content="{{ page.description }}">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">

Step 4: Use JSON-LD Structured Data

Structured data helps search engines display rich results. Add this script block in the head of your layout:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BlogPosting",
  "headline": "{{ page.title }}",
  "description": "{{ page.description }}",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "{{ site.author }}"
  },
  "datePublished": "{{ page.date | date_to_xmlschema }}",
  "url": "{{ site.url }}{{ page.url }}"
}
</script>

Step 5: Optimize URL Structure

Configure permalinks in your _config.yml for clean, keyword-rich URLs:

permalink: /:categories/:title/

Case Study: SEO Metadata Boost

After implementing enhanced SEO metadata, a Jekyll Mediumish blog saw a 30% increase in organic traffic within three months, attributed to better search engine snippet presentation and social sharing.

Conclusion

Enhancing SEO metadata in your Jekyll Mediumish blog is vital for improving visibility and attracting more readers. By customizing titles, descriptions, social tags, structured data, and URLs, you set your site up for SEO success.

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optimizing images for speed in jekyll mediumish

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Why Image Optimization Matters

Images often make up the majority of a webpage’s size, affecting loading times and overall site performance. Faster sites improve user retention and SEO rankings, making image optimization essential for any blog.

Common Image Optimization Techniques

  • Resizing images to appropriate display dimensions
  • Compressing images without significant quality loss
  • Using modern formats like WebP where supported
  • Implementing lazy loading to defer offscreen images

Step 1: Resize Images Before Upload

Avoid uploading large images that the browser will scale down. Tools like Photoshop, GIMP, or online services can resize images to fit your blog’s maximum display width (e.g., 1200px wide).

Step 2: Compress Images

Use tools like TinyPNG or Squoosh to reduce file size with minimal quality loss.

Step 3: Use WebP Format When Possible

WebP offers superior compression but is not supported by all browsers. You can serve WebP images with fallback to JPEG or PNG using HTML’s <picture> element:

<picture>
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="Description">
</picture>

Step 4: Implement Lazy Loading

Lazy loading defers image loading until the user scrolls near them. Native support via the loading="lazy" attribute is widely supported:

<img src="image.jpg" alt="Description" loading="lazy">

Step 5: Automate Image Optimization with Jekyll Plugins

Although GitHub Pages has plugin restrictions, locally you can use plugins like jekyll-picture-tag to generate responsive and optimized images automatically.

Case Study: Speed Boost for a Jekyll Blog

After implementing image optimization, a blog running the Mediumish theme reduced its average page load time by 40%, resulting in a 22% decrease in bounce rate.

Conclusion

Optimizing images is a crucial step to enhance performance and SEO of your Jekyll Mediumish blog. By resizing, compressing, using modern formats, and lazy loading images, you create a faster, more engaging experience for your visitors.

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customizing navigation menus in jekyll mediumish theme

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Why Customize Navigation Menus

Navigation menus guide visitors through your content and help them find what they need quickly. Customizing these menus improves usability, reinforces branding, and can highlight important sections of your blog.

Default Navigation in Mediumish Theme

The Mediumish theme uses a simple navigation bar typically featuring links to home, categories, about, and contact pages. While functional, it might not fit every blog’s unique structure or branding needs.

Step 1: Locate the Navigation Template

Find the navigation markup, usually in the _includes/header.html or _includes/navigation.html file depending on your setup.

Step 2: Modify Navigation Links

  • Add new links by inserting list items <li><a href="url">Label</a></li> inside the <nav> or <ul> element.
  • Remove or reorder existing links to prioritize your most important content.
  • Use Liquid tags to dynamically generate category or tag links:
{% raw %}
<ul>
  {% for category in site.categories %}
    <li><a href="{{ site.baseurl }}/categories/{{ category[0] }}">{{ category[0] | capitalize }}</a></li>
  {% endfor %}
</ul>
{% endraw %}

Step 3: Add Dropdown Menus (Optional)

To create dropdowns, nest a <ul> inside a <li> and use CSS for hover or click behavior. Example:

<li class="dropdown">
  <a href="#">Topics</a>
  <ul class="submenu">
    <li><a href="/topic1">Topic 1</a></li>
    <li><a href="/topic2">Topic 2</a></li>
  </ul>
</li>

Step 4: Style Your Menu

Update your CSS (often assets/css/style.css) to match your branding and add responsiveness for mobile devices.

Step 5: Test Navigation Across Devices

Verify the menu works well on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Pay special attention to dropdown accessibility on touch screens.

Case Study: Personalized Navigation for a Marketing Blog

A blog owner restructured their Mediumish navigation to include custom category links and a prominent 'Resources' dropdown. This helped visitors find tutorials faster, boosting page views by 18%.

Conclusion

Customizing your navigation menus in the Jekyll Mediumish theme allows you to tailor your site’s user journey and improve engagement. With simple HTML and CSS tweaks, you can create a navigation system that reflects your brand and content priorities.

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adding search functionality to jekyll mediumish blog

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Understanding Mediumish Post Cards

The Mediumish theme for Jekyll presents posts in a clean card layout on index and archive pages. Each card typically includes a post title, excerpt, date, and featured image if available. While the default design is minimalist and functional, customizing these cards can significantly improve user engagement and visual appeal.

Why Customize Post Cards?

  • Better Visual Hierarchy: Emphasizing titles, images, or excerpts helps readers scan content quickly.
  • Stronger Branding: Adding custom colors, fonts, or borders reflects your brand identity.
  • Improved Click-Through Rates: Highlighting calls to action or teaser content can boost clicks.
  • Enhanced Mobile Experience: Tweaking responsive styles ensures readability on all devices.

Step 1: Locate the Post Card Markup

In Mediumish, the post cards are usually rendered via an include file, often _includes/post-card.html or directly within index.html. Open the relevant file to understand the HTML structure. A typical card might look like this:

<article class="post-card">
  <a href="{{ post.url }}">
    <img src="{{ post.image }}" alt="{{ post.title }}" class="post-image">
    <h3>{{ post.title }}</h3>
  </a>
  <p>{{ post.excerpt | strip_html | truncatewords: 30 }}</p>
</article>

Step 2: Adding Custom Elements

Enhance the card by adding metadata or interactive elements:

  • Author Info: Add an author avatar and name.
  • Reading Time: Calculate and display estimated reading time.
  • Tags: Display tags/categories as clickable badges.

Example snippet to add reading time:

<p class="reading-time">
  Estimated reading time: {{ post.content | number_of_words | divided_by: 200 | ceil }} min
</p>

Step 3: Styling the Post Cards

Use CSS to improve visual appeal:

.post-card {
  background: #fff;
  border-radius: 12px;
  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.05);
  padding: 1.5rem;
  transition: box-shadow 0.3s ease;
}
.post-card:hover {
  box-shadow: 0 8px 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
}
.post-image {
  border-radius: 8px;
  max-width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  margin-bottom: 1rem;
}
.reading-time {
  font-size: 0.875rem;
  color: #666;
  margin-top: 0.5rem;
}

Step 4: Responsive Adjustments

Ensure cards adapt smoothly on smaller screens:

@media (max-width: 768px) {
  .post-card {
    padding: 1rem;
  }
  .post-image {
    margin-bottom: 0.75rem;
  }
}

Case Study: Increasing Engagement with Custom Post Cards

A digital marketing blog implemented these customizations on Mediumish post cards, resulting in a 20% increase in click-through rates within a month. Highlighting reading time helped visitors quickly decide which posts suited their available time, while subtle hover animations improved perceived interactivity.

Conclusion

Customizing the Mediumish post cards balances aesthetics with functionality. By adding small but meaningful elements and improving styles, you create a more engaging browsing experience that encourages visitors to explore more content. Always test changes on multiple devices to maintain a seamless experience.

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optimizing jekyll mediumish for faster load times

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Why Speed Matters for Jekyll Blogs

Website speed is a crucial factor in both user experience and search engine ranking. A faster loading blog keeps visitors engaged and reduces bounce rates. Even though Jekyll produces static sites which are inherently fast, the theme design and assets can impact overall performance.

Common Performance Bottlenecks in Mediumish

  • Large Images: High-resolution images without optimization slow page loads.
  • Excessive CSS/JS: Including many unused styles or scripts increases file size.
  • Fonts: Using multiple or heavy font files can delay rendering.
  • External Resources: Fonts or scripts loaded from third parties add latency.

Step 1: Optimize Images

  • Use srcset to serve responsive images for different screen sizes.
  • Compress images with tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim before adding them.
  • Use modern formats such as WebP when supported.

Step 2: Minify and Combine CSS and JavaScript

Minify CSS and JS files using tools like cssnano and terser. If possible, combine multiple CSS or JS files to reduce HTTP requests.

Step 3: Use Lazy Loading for Images

Add the loading="lazy" attribute to post images so they load only when near the viewport.

Step 4: Limit External Requests

Host fonts locally or choose system fonts to reduce requests to Google Fonts or other CDNs. Also, avoid unnecessary third-party scripts.

Step 5: Enable Browser Caching and Compression

Configure your web host or CDN to serve compressed files (gzip or Brotli) and set cache headers for static assets.

Step 6: Use a CDN for Assets

Serving your images, CSS, and JS via a Content Delivery Network helps reduce latency by delivering content from locations closer to users.

Performance Testing Tools

Case Study: Improving Speed on a Mediumish Blog

By applying these optimizations, a personal marketing blog reduced average page load time from 3.5 seconds to under 1.5 seconds. The blog saw better engagement and a slight ranking boost for targeted keywords.

Conclusion

Optimizing your Jekyll Mediumish blog for speed is an ongoing process but yields significant benefits in SEO and user satisfaction. Start with image optimization and minimal external dependencies, then iterate with performance testing to reach your best results.

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