Markdown is much simpler than HTML. It is a lightweight and easy-to-use syntax for styling your writing. Markdown files has a file extension of .md
.
To learn more about Markdown, check this cheat sheet.
Static sites are generally faster than dynamic sites, hence the popularity of static site generators. GitHub pages make use of the Jekyll static site generator. Visit Jamstock to check the list of popular static site generators.
I have another site that was created using DropPages, a static site generator for Dropbox.
In order to add additional pages that matches your theme you need to do some tinkering. Check out this page to learn how to create multiple pages in GitHub. Alternatively, you can create additional repositories with individual pages and link all of them.
A theme is a predefined design for use in your webpage. Jekyll has the following available themes to choose from:
architect
cayman
dinky
hacker
leap-day
merlot
midnight
minimal
modernist
primer
slate
tactile
time-machine
To change the theme to modernist, edit the _config.yml file and modify the theme to:
theme: jekyll-theme-modernist
You can create your own custom theme but they involve some work of course. Check out whoisjuan.github.io for an example. Check this blog to learn more about using other themes in GitHub pages.