🗒️ Pages Mini Check-in - August

[mecodeatlas]

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🌌 Pages and the mystery of flagged websites – [Pages Mini Check-in – August]

Between websites mysteriously flagged as “unsafe,” DNS puzzles, and TLS certificates stuck in limbo, August has been anything but boring for Pages explorers. 🕵️‍♂️✨

Think of this check-in as your Marauder’s Map through the twists and turns of Pages discussions - a guide to the latest highlights, tricky bugs, and community solutions. Grab your wand (or terminal), and let’s dive in!

👉 Missed last month’s check-in? Catch up here!

🛠️ Pros in Pages: Highlights from the community

This month brought some stellar solutions to classic and tricky issues alike - with shout-outs to our community heroes who stepped in to help:

• 404 errors for requested js script and css stylesheet- @ignat-ignatov struggled with file paths that worked locally but broke on Pages. @Anubhavick came through with a crystal-clear explanation and multiple working solutions (relative paths, base tags, and GitHub-aware paths! ).
  If you’re hitting a similar wall - check out their exchange for a fix that might work for you too.

• Unable to verify my domain - @ZhaoTonggang hit a unicorn error while trying to verify a domain. While the issue was resolved, @PraveenMudalgeri dropped a masterclass-level guide to debugging DNS setup, record validation, and more. 👏

• TLS certificate is being provisioned… forever - @Bloho wasn’t sure what to do when the TLS provisioning message lingered. @softjapan responded with a checklist worthy of a GitHub detective. If you’ve ever doubted your DNS configs, bookmark this one.

• [No PROGRESS >24h] TLS certificate stuck- @realmtai shared their frustration - and eventually the solution: remove everything and start fresh. The best kind of resolution? One that helps others understand what might go wrong even when everything seems right.

✨ Huge thanks to everyone sharing your questions and resolutions. Pages would be a maze without you.

🆘 Discussions that could use a helping hand

Here are some open threads still waiting for insights - if you’ve seen these issues before or have a useful pointer, your reply could make all the difference:

• GitHub Pages 404 Error on Internal Pages, but Homepage Works - @Huzoma’s homepage loads perfectly, but navigating to any other page triggers a 404. They’ve checked paths, case sensitivity, and repo structure - but the issue persists. Any ideas?

• GitHub Pages site always shows browser phishing warning, even with clean HTML/CSS - @saniyamujawar04 is facing repeated phishing warnings from browsers, even when serving a simple “Hello World” site. The same files work fine on a different account. Could use advice on why this happens.

• Can't verify domain with txt dns record - @princevermapmd added DNS TXT records over 20 hours ago, but verification still hasn’t gone through. Records appear correct in third-party checkers - so why the delay?

• GitHub Pages Domain Verification Failing After Moving to New Repo - @glenniii-dev moved their domain to a new repo, but verification keeps failing despite updating DNS and switching registrars. They’re looking for help untangling the setup.

• My custom domain has been hacked using GitHub Pages and now I can no longer deploy anything to it - @anna-chappelle believes their domain was hijacked by a gambling site. Even after clearing custom DNS records, they can’t redeploy. Looking for guidance on recovery options.

Even a small clarification could save someone hours of trial and error. If you’re browsing today, consider hopping in!

🧪 Sites showing up as unsafe in Google?

We’ve seen a rise in questions from users whose GitHub Pages sites are being flagged as insecure or potentially dangerous by browsers or Google.

These three discussions need extra eyes - especially if you’ve successfully resolved similar warnings in the past:

• GitHub Pages site falsely flagged as Dangerous site
• GitHub Pages site always shows browser phishing warning
• All My GitHub Pages Websites Marked as Dangerous

Have you navigated browser security flags, Google Safe Browsing, or certificate hiccups before? Drop in and help others understand how to protect their site’s reputation.

📘 New resource: The GitHub Discussions Master Guide

This month we’ve launched something big: the GitHub Discussions Master Guide - a complete, living reference to help you get the most out of Discussions.

It brings together everything published so far - from managing notifications to moderation best practices - in one central hub. Whether you’re a Pages builder, project maintainer, or just curious about collaboration on GitHub, this guide is for you.

New sections are being released weekly, so subscribe to the thread and stay up to date as fresh best practices drop.

🎯 Pages Pop Quiz: What would you try first?

If you had to pick just one, what would your next Pages experiment be?

• Launching a brand-new site
• Trying out a new static site generator or Jekyll theme
• Automating deploys with GitHub Actions
• Testing accessibility and performance tools

Not sure where to start? Tools like Lighthouse Accessibility Audit and Pa11y (for accessibility), or Lighthouse and Sitespeed.io (for performance) are great open source options you can try out. Feel free to share if you’ve used others too!

Cast your “vote” in the comments - and tell us how you imagine doing it! ✨

Even if it’s just a plan (or a dream), sharing your thought process might inspire someone else to give it a try.