6  Publishing Your Website

6.1 Overview

Once your website is built, the final step is publishing it so others can access it online.

There are two common options:

  1. GitHub Pages → best for most users (free, simple, widely used)
  2. Posit Connect → best for organizations, labs, or internal deployments

7 Option 1: GitHub Pages

This is the most common and recommended option.

It is: - Free
- Easy to set up
- Designed for static websites like Quarto

7.1 Step 1: Prepare Your Project

Make sure your _quarto.yml includes:

project:
  type: website
  output-dir: docs
Important

GitHub Pages requires your site to be rendered into a folder named docs.

7.2 Step 2: Render Your Website

In the Terminal, run:

quarto render

This creates a docs/ folder containing your website.

7.3 Step 3: Push to GitHub

  1. Create a new repository on GitHub
  2. Upload your project files
  3. Make sure the docs/ folder is included

7.4 Step 4: Enable GitHub Pages

Go to your repository:

Settings → Pages

Then set:

  • Branch: main
  • Folder: /docs

Click Save

7.5 Step 5: Access Your Site

Your website will be available at:

https://yourusername.github.io/repository-name/
Tip

It may take 1–2 minutes for your site to go live the first time.

7.6 Updating Your Site

Whenever you make changes:

  1. Save your files
  2. Run:
quarto render
  1. Push changes to GitHub

Your site will automatically update.

7.7 Common Issues

7.7.1 Site not showing

  • Check that GitHub Pages is enabled
  • Make sure docs/ exists

7.7.2 Changes not appearing

  • Wait a minute and refresh
  • Confirm you pushed updates

8 Option 2: Posit Connect

Posit Connect is used by:

  • Universities
  • Government agencies
  • Research labs

It allows you to host:

  • Quarto websites
  • Shiny apps
  • Dashboards

8.1 When to Use Posit Connect

Use this option if:

  • Your organization provides access
  • You are deploying internal tools
  • You need authentication or restricted access

8.2 Step 1: Connect Your Account

Your organization will provide:

  • A Posit Connect URL
  • Login credentials

8.3 Step 2: Publish from RStudio

In RStudio:

  1. Open your Quarto project
  2. Click Publish
  3. Choose Posit Connect
  4. Select your project

8.4 Step 3: Deploy

RStudio will:

  • Render your site
  • Upload it to the server
  • Provide a live URL

8.5 Step 4: Share Your Site

Your site will be available at a URL like:

https://your-org.connect.server/content/your-site/
Note

Unlike GitHub Pages, Posit Connect can host dynamic content and restrict access to specific users.

8.6 Key Differences

Feature GitHub Pages Posit Connect
Cost Free Organization-provided
Access Public Public or private
Setup Simple Requires server access
Best for Personal websites Research tools and apps

8.7 Summary

  • GitHub Pages is the best starting point for most users
  • Posit Connect is ideal for professional or institutional workflows
  • Both allow you to share your work beyond your local machine
Important

Publishing is what turns your website from a project into a tool others can actually use.