Go-Live Checklist: joshfrye.com

This guide outlines the steps to deploy the Jekyll site to GitHub Pages on the custom apex domain joshfrye.com with SSL enabled.

1. Repository Preparation

Create CNAME File: Ensure a file named CNAME exists at the root of the repository.
- Content must be exactly: joshfrye.com (no www, no https://).

Commit and Push:

git add CNAME
git commit -m "Add CNAME for joshfrye.com"
git push origin main

Log into the GoDaddy Control Panel, navigate to DNS Management for joshfrye.com, and apply the following changes:

Configure Apex Domain (A Records): Remove any existing A records for @ pointing to old hosts, and add the following four A records:

Type	Name	Value	TTL
A	`@`	`185.199.108.153`	1 Hour (or Default)
A	`@`	`185.199.109.153`	1 Hour (or Default)
A	`@`	`185.199.110.153`	1 Hour (or Default)
A	`@`	`185.199.111.153`	1 Hour (or Default)

Configure Subdomain Redirect (CNAME Record): Ensure www traffic is routed to GitHub Pages so GitHub can redirect it to the apex domain:

Type	Name	Value	TTL
CNAME	`www`	`joshfng.github.io.`	1 Hour (or Default)

Once DNS records are updated (propagation can take up to 24 hours, but is usually fast):

Configure Custom Domain:
1. Go to your GitHub repository: joshfng/joshfrye.com (or matching repo name).
2. Navigate to Settings > Pages.
3. Under Build and deployment, select the source branch (e.g., main).
4. Under Custom domain, type joshfrye.com and click Save.
Enforce HTTPS:
1. Wait for the DNS check to pass. GitHub will automatically request an SSL certificate via Let’s Encrypt.
2. Check the Enforce HTTPS checkbox once it becomes available (this can take from a few minutes up to a couple of hours).

Verify DNS Records:

dig joshfrye.com +short
# Should return the four 185.199.x.x IPs

Verify HTTP -> HTTPS Redirect:
- http://joshfrye.com -> https://joshfrye.com
Verify Subdomain Redirect:
- http://www.joshfrye.com -> https://joshfrye.com
- https://www.joshfrye.com -> https://joshfrye.com