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Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/apursley2012/welcome-mortals/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Getting Welcome, Mortals live on GitHub Pages takes fewer than ten minutes if you have a GitHub account and your content ready. There is no build step, no package manager, and no configuration file to write. You download the files, add your own words and links, push everything to a repository, flip one switch in GitHub Settings, and your haunted portfolio is published at a public URL.
The .nojekyll file must stay at the root of your repository alongside index.html. It tells GitHub Pages to publish the files directly instead of running them through Jekyll. Do not rename it, do not add an extension, and do not delete it. It is supposed to be completely empty — that is intentional.

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Steps

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Get the theme files
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Go to the source repository on GitHub:
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https://github.com/apursley2012/welcome-mortals-github-pages-theme
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You have two options:
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Fork the repository
Click Fork at the top right of the repository page. This creates your own copy of the repository under your GitHub account. You can rename the fork from the repository Settings page after forking.Forking is the fastest path if you want to stay connected to the upstream source for future updates.
Download a ZIP
Click Code → Download ZIP on the repository page. Extract the ZIP file on your computer.You will end up with a folder called welcome-mortals-github-pages-theme (or similar). The files you need to upload are inside that folder — not the folder itself.
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Verify the folder structure before uploading
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Before touching any content, confirm that the theme files are arranged correctly. The key requirement is that index.html sits at the root level — not nested inside a subfolder.
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Correct structure:
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(your repo root)
├── .nojekyll
├── index.html
├── about.html
├── assets/
├── components/
└── images/
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Incorrect structure (do not do this):
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(your repo root)
└── welcome-mortals-github-pages-theme/
    ├── index.html
    ├── assets/
    └── ...
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If you downloaded a ZIP, open the extracted folder and confirm you are looking at index.html directly — not at a folder that contains index.html. When you upload files to GitHub, drag the contents of the folder, not the folder itself.
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Replace the placeholder content
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Open index.html in a text editor and update the portfolio-owner information before publishing. At minimum, replace:
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  • The displayed name
  • The professional headline
  • The homepage introduction text
    • 16
    You do not need to edit every page before your first publish. Start with index.html so the homepage reflects you, then work through the remaining pages at your own pace:
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    FileWhat to updateabout.htmlBiography, background, and personal storyprojects.htmlProject names, descriptions, links, screenshotswork.htmlJob titles, employers, dates, responsibilitiesskills.htmlLanguages, tools, technologies, and capabilitiescontact.htmlEmail address, GitHub link, LinkedIn, résumé linkcasestudies.htmlDetailed write-ups of selected projectsarticles.htmlLinks to published articles or postswriting.htmlWriting samples, essays, or long-form contenttestimonials.htmlQuotes and feedback from collaborators or clients
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    Use placeholders.html to park content you plan to add later. Leave the pages you have not filled in yet linked in the navigation — visitors will see a placeholder rather than a broken link.
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    Create or open your GitHub repository and upload the files
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    If you forked the repository in Step 1, your files are already in GitHub. Skip to Step 5.
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    If you downloaded a ZIP, follow these steps to upload through the GitHub website:
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  • Go to github.com and create a new repository, or open an existing one.
  • Click Add file near the top of the file list.
  • Click Upload files.
  • Drag the extracted theme files and folders into the upload area. Upload the contents of the folder — index.html, about.html, .nojekyll, assets/, components/, images/, and the remaining HTML files.
  • Confirm that index.html appears at the top level of the repository file list after uploading.
  • Confirm that .nojekyll, assets/, components/, and images/ were all included.
  • Add a commit message such as Add Welcome, Mortals theme files.
  • Click Commit changes.
    • 23
    GitHub Pages paths are case-sensitive. If your image is saved as portrait.PNG but your HTML references portrait.png, it will load on your local machine (which may be case-insensitive) but will break on the live site. Match filename capitalization exactly everywhere — this applies to image files, HTML filenames in navigation links, and the .PNG extension used in the screenshots folder.
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    Enable GitHub Pages
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  • Open the repository on GitHub.
  • Click Settings in the top navigation bar.
  • Click Pages in the left sidebar.
  • Under Build and deployment, set the source to Deploy from a branch.
  • Set the branch and folder: 
    Branch: main
Folder: / (root)
  • Click Save.
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    GitHub will begin publishing your site. This usually takes between 30 seconds and a few minutes on the first deploy.
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    Confirm your published URL
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    Your live GitHub Pages URL follows this pattern:
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    https://<your-username>.github.io/<your-repo-name>/
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    For example, if your GitHub username is alexmorgan and your repository is named my-portfolio, your URL is:
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    https://alexmorgan.github.io/my-portfolio/
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    Open the URL in a browser tab. If the page is not yet available, wait one to two minutes and refresh — GitHub Pages can take a moment to finish publishing after the first deployment.
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    Test navigation, the cursor, the spider, and images
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    Once the site loads, run through this checklist to confirm everything is working as expected:
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  • Navigation links — click every page link in the menu and confirm each page loads correctly
  • Custom cursor — move the mouse around the page and confirm the ghost cursor follows; hover over a navigation link and confirm the cursor expression changes
  • Spider scare — click around the page four times and confirm the spider drops from the top of the viewport; it appears at a random horizontal position each time
  • Images — if you have added any images, confirm they load on both desktop and mobile widths
  • Mobile layout — resize the browser window or test on a phone to confirm the layout adapts correctly
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    If the custom cursor or spider do not appear, check that your operating system or browser has not enabled a reduced-motion preference. Both components are suppressed automatically when prefers-reduced-motion: reduce is detected.

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    Updating the Site After Publishing

    Any changes committed to the main branch are republished automatically. You do not need to re-enable Pages or reconfigure anything. To edit a file directly on GitHub:
    1. Open the repository.
    2. Click the file you want to edit.
    3. Click the pencil-shaped Edit this file button.
    4. Make your change.
    5. Click Commit changes.
    6. Wait a moment, then refresh your live URL.

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    Common Problems

    Check that:
    • GitHub Pages is enabled under Settings → Pages
    • The source is set to main and / (root)
    • index.html is at the root of the repository, not inside a subfolder
    • The repository name in the URL matches exactly
    Check that:
    • The assets/ folder was uploaded and contains main.css, main.js, index.js, jsx-runtime.js, and proxy.js
    • The components/ folder was uploaded and contains all four .js files
    • No file paths were changed after uploading
    Check that:
    • The images/ folder was uploaded in full
    • Image filenames and paths in your HTML match exactly, including capitalization
    • The .PNG extension capitalization has not been changed (the screenshots use uppercase .PNG)
    GitHub Pages can take up to a minute or two to republish after a commit. Try:
    • Hard-refreshing the page (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+R on macOS)
    • Confirming the commit was made to the main branch, not a different branch
    • Checking the Actions tab in your repository to see if the Pages build is still in progress

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