How I Published and Host JessicaLavrov.com for Free

(secure, fast, and zero hosting bills)

There’s something special about having your own personal website. Social media comes and goes, but a domain with your name on it feels timeless — like your own address on the internet.

That’s why I set up JessicaLavrov.com. The best part? I published it and I host it completely free using GitHub, GitHub Desktop, and Cloudflare jessPages. No complicated servers, no monthly invoices, and no coding required if you don’t want to. Just a clean little HTML file that loads quickly anywhere in the world.

If you’d like to follow along, I’ve shared my starter template here:

👉 index.html on GitHub

And yes, you can also peek at my GitHub profile here:

👉 github.com/jessica-lavrov

I even run a second site here:

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👉 jessica-lavrov.github.io — where I’ve connected a playful little AI assistant. I’ll write a step-by-step guide on how to build one like that soon.

Why GitHub + Cloudflare Pages?

• Free hosting: Cloudflare Pages gives you global speed and SSL on the free plan.
• Simple updates: Any change you push to GitHub is instantly deployed.
• No stress: GitHub Desktop keeps everything click-only, no terminal required.

Together, these tools make it easy for anyone to publish a professional-looking website in an afternoon.

Step 1: Move your domain to Cloudflare

This step makes everything else seamless. Cloudflare handles your SSL certificates, your DNS, and connects your domain directly to Pages.

1. Sign up at Cloudflare.
2. Click Add a site, type your domain (mine is jessicalavrov.com).
3. Choose the Free plan.
4. Copy the two nameservers Cloudflare shows you.
5. Log into your domain registrar and replace the old nameservers with Cloudflare’s.
6. Wait a little while. Once Cloudflare shows your site as Active, you’re done.

Now your domain is ready to serve your new site with free HTTPS.

Step 2: Put your code on GitHub

Even if your site is just one file, GitHub is the perfect place to keep it.

1. Create a new repository on GitHub. Call it something like yourname-dot-com.
2. Open GitHub Desktop, sign in, and Clone the repo to your computer.
3. Download my starter index.html and drop it into your repo folder.
4. Back in GitHub Desktop, add a summary like “First commit” and click Commit to main.
5. Click Push origin.

Your site files now live on GitHub at github.com/jessica-lavrov.

Step 3: Connect GitHub to Cloudflare Pages

1. In Cloudflare, go to Workers & Pages → Pages → Create a project.
2. Choose Connect to Git, authorize GitHub, and pick your repo.
3. Framework: None. Build command: leave blank. Output directory: leave blank.
4. Deploy.

You instantly get a free something.pages.dev link. Your site is live!

Step 4: Point your domain to your Pages site

Since we already moved the nameservers to Cloudflare, connecting your real domain is one click.

1. Open your Pages project in Cloudflare.
2. Go to Custom domains → Set up a custom domain.
3. Enter your domain (jessicalavrov.com).
4. Cloudflare adds the DNS record automatically.

Within a few minutes, your site will be up on your own domain with HTTPS.

Step 5: Customize your site

Open index.html in any text editor and make it yours.

• Update the <title> and description so search engines show your words.
• Swap the Gravatar link for your own avatar.
• Replace my social links with yours.
• Edit the text in the language sections.

Save, go back to GitHub Desktop, Commit, then Push origin. Cloudflare redeploys automatically.

Step 6: Flip the performance switches

• Always use HTTPS under SSL/TLS.
• Auto Minify for HTML, CSS, and JS.
• Brotli compression for faster loading.

And you’re published ✨

From now on, your workflow is simple:

• Edit your file.
• Commit in GitHub Desktop.
• Push.
• Cloudflare redeploys instantly.

Your personal site will always be live, always secure, and always free.

What’s next

Besides JessicaLavrov.com, I also run Jessica-Lavrov.github.io, which has a friendly little AI assistant you can chat with. I’ll share a guide soon on how I built it.

Because building your own site isn’t just about code. It’s about owning your digital space, having something beautiful and personal under your name, and giving people a simple place to find you.

If you build yours, send me the link. I’d love to see it.