Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitHub Pages VS RawGit

Compare GitHub Pages VS RawGit and see what are their differences

GitHub Pages logo GitHub Pages

A free, static web host for open-source projects on GitHub

RawGit logo RawGit

RawGit serves raw files directly from GitHub with proper content-type headers.
  • GitHub Pages Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-19
  • RawGit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-23

GitHub Pages features and specs

  • Free Hosting
    GitHub Pages provides free hosting for static websites, making it an economical choice given no cost is involved.
  • Easy Integration with GitHub
    Direct integration with GitHub repositories allows for seamless deployment directly from a repositoryโ€™s branches.
  • Custom Domains
    Users can use their own custom domains, providing greater control over their site's branding and URL structure.
  • Jekyll Integration
    Built-in support for Jekyll, a popular static site generator, allows for easy creation and management of content.
  • Version Control
    Since your website's source code is hosted on GitHub, you can use Git version control to manage changes and collaborate with others.
  • SSL for Custom Domains
    Free SSL certificates provided for custom domains enhance security and improve SEO performance for your website.
  • GitHub Actions
    Integration with GitHub Actions allows for advanced CI/CD workflows, automating the process of testing and deploying updates.
  • Community and Documentation
    Extensive documentation and a large community make it easier to troubleshoot issues and find examples or guides.

Possible disadvantages of GitHub Pages

  • Static Site Limitations
    GitHub Pages only supports the hosting of static content, which means no support for server-side scripting or dynamic content.
  • Resource Limitations
    Imposed restrictions on bandwidth and storage may not be suitable for high-traffic or large-scale websites.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Initial setup and configuration, especially when dealing with custom domains or SSL, can be complex for beginners.
  • Limited Customization Options
    While Jekyll is powerful, there are still limitations in terms of plugins and customization compared to more robust CMS solutions.
  • No Backend Support
    Inability to run backend processes or databases means that dynamic applications requiring real-time data and complex backend logic cannot be hosted.
  • Corporate Restrictions
    Enterprises or organizations with strict security or compliance policies may find GitHub Pages insufficient for their needs.
  • Dependent on GitHub
    Reliance on GitHub's platform means that any downtime or outages on GitHub can directly affect the availability of your website.

RawGit features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    RawGit provides an easy way to serve files directly from a GitHub repository with simple URL access, requiring minimal setup.
  • Convenient for Demos
    It allows developers to quickly demo a webpage or tool hosted in a GitHub repository without deploying it to a dedicated server.
  • CORS Support
    RawGit has Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) headers enabled, which makes it easier to include resources hosted on GitHub into web projects.

Possible disadvantages of RawGit

  • Not Suitable for Production
    RawGit explicitly states that it is not intended for production use due to lack of scalability and potential reliability issues.
  • Limited Bandwidth
    The service is limited by bandwidth and usage restrictions, which may result in files being inaccessible if usage exceeds certain limits.
  • Deprecation Warning
    As of the last updates, RawGit announced it was shutting down and encouraged users to switch to alternative solutions for hosting files.

Analysis of GitHub Pages

Overall verdict

  • Yes, GitHub Pages is a good option for hosting static websites, especially for those who are already familiar with GitHub. It provides a straightforward, reliable, and cost-effective solution for many small to medium-sized projects.

Why this product is good

  • GitHub Pages is a popular choice for hosting static websites because it's directly integrated with GitHub, making deployment seamless and efficient. It supports custom domain configurations, offers free hosting, and automatically integrates with GitHub's version control system. These features make it particularly appealing for developers looking for a simple and effective way to host project sites or personal blogs.

Recommended for

  • Developers and tech-savvy users who are comfortable with Git and GitHub.
  • Individuals or organizations looking to host static sites, such as blogs or project documentation.
  • Users interested in a free hosting solution with easy Version Control System (VCS) integration.
  • Open-source project maintainers who want to provide project documentation or demos.

GitHub Pages videos

Intro to GitHub Pages

More videos:

  • Review - What is GitHub Pages?
  • Tutorial - How to Setup GitHub Pages (2020) | Data Science Portfolio

RawGit videos

Host a CSS or JS file on Gist and redirect through RawGit CDN

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitHub Pages and RawGit)
Static Site Generators
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Computing
92 92%
8% 8
CDN
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
96 96%
4% 4

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GitHub Pages and RawGit

GitHub Pages Reviews

Exploring alternatives to Vercel: A guide for web developers
GitHub Pages is a free hosting service provided by GitHub, primarily intended for hosting static sites directly from a GitHub repository. While it lacks some of the advanced features found in other platforms, its simplicity and integration with GitHub make it an attractive option for certain types of projects.
Source: fleek.xyz
Top 10 Netlify Alternatives
Static Site Generators โ€” It is a good way for developers to build sites on GitHub pages with the help of site generators. Yes, it has the ability to publish and release any static file. But it is recommended to proceed with Jekyll.

RawGit Reviews

We have no reviews of RawGit yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GitHub Pages seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 500 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GitHub Pages mentions (500)

  • How to Build a Python MCP Server to Consult a Knowledge Base
    But that's not the case. The blog is a simple static generated website using Jekyll, it is built and served through GitHub Pages. With that in mind it makes more sense to use tools and leverage tool calling. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Top Free Websites to Deploy Your Web Applications
    GitHub Pages is designed to host your personal, organization, or project pages from a GitHub repository. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • You Might Not Need Next.js
    Do you need a server? If the answer is "Yes" then use Next.js. If the answer is "No", you should use Vite and consider Github Pages or Cloudflare Pages to host your Single Page Application. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Show HN: GitHub as Blogging Engine
    Doesn't GitHub already support blogging/blogs out of the box? It also has a Web Editor / IDE (VSCode) built-in. Hit the `.` on any of your GitHub pages/code/files. https://pages.github.com. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Publishing in Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian?
    Because of the lack of right-to-left (RTL) support I'd probably not use DEV to publish in any of the RTL languages. That is Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian. Instead I'd use one of the Static Site Generators that support RTL and GitHub pages or GitLab pages for free hosting. The only cost is the domain name, if you'd like to have your own. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
View more

RawGit mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of RawGit yet. Tracking of RawGit recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitHub Pages and RawGit, you can also consider the following products

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

jsDelivr - A free, fast, and reliable Open Source CDN for npm and GitHub with the largest network and best performance from all OSS CDNs. Serving 100 billion requests per month.

Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.

raw.githack.com - raw.githack.com serves raw files from github.com with proper Content-Type headers (like rawgit.

Netlify - Build, deploy and host your static site or app with a drag and drop interface and automatic delpoys from GitHub or Bitbucket

Statically - The free optimization & CDN for images, CSS, JavaScript, and open source.