Academic Personal Website

Static simple academic website built with org-mode. No build system. No complexity.

Structure

/
├── index.org          # Your content (edit this)
├── index.html         # Generated (don't edit directly)
├── style.css          # Styling
├── cv.pdf             # Your CV (add this)
└── README.org         # This file

Workflow

1. Edit Your Content

Open index.org in Emacs and fill in your information:

• Replace [Your Name], [Your Position], etc. with your actual details
• Add your publications, teaching, projects
• Update contact information

2. Export to HTML

In Emacs, with index.org open:

Method 1: Keyboard shortcut

C-c C-e h h

Method 2: Full command

M-x org-html-export-to-html

This creates/updates index.html in the same directory.

3. Preview Locally

Open index.html in your browser to see how it looks.

4. Commit and Push

git add index.org index.html style.css
git commit -m "Update personal site"
git push

GitHub Pages Setup

First Time Setup

1. Go to your repository on GitHub: https://github.com/yourusername/yourusername.github.io
2. Click Settings → Pages
3. Under “Source”, select:
   • Source: Deploy from a branch
   • Branch: main (or master)
   • Folder: / (root)
4. Click Save
5. Wait 1-2 minutes, then visit: https://yourusername.github.io

For This Repo (nicehiro.github.io)

If this is already set up as a GitHub Pages repo, just push and it will auto-deploy.

Adding Your CV

1. Export your CV as cv.pdf
2. Place it in this directory
3. The link in the Contact section will work automatically

Org-Mode Tips

Basic Formatting

*bold*
/italic/
_underlined_
=code=
~verbatim~

Links

[[https://example.com][Link Text]]
[[file:cv.pdf][CV (PDF)]]
[[mailto:email@example.com][email@example.com]]

Sections

* Top Level Heading
** Second Level
*** Third Level

Customization

Styling

Edit style.css to change fonts, colors, spacing, etc.

Org Export Options

Add these to the top of index.org:

#+OPTIONS: toc:t          # Enable table of contents
#+OPTIONS: num:t          # Enable section numbering
#+OPTIONS: author:nil     # Hide author name

See Org Export Options for more.

Troubleshooting

“Command not found: C-c C-e”

You’re not in Emacs. Open index.org in Emacs first.

HTML export not working

1. Check you have org-mode installed: M-x org-version
2. If needed, update org-mode: M-x package-refresh-contents then M-x package-install RET org

Changes not showing on GitHub Pages

1. Check GitHub Actions tab for deployment status
2. Hard refresh your browser: Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) or Ctrl+F5 (Windows)
3. Wait 1-2 minutes for GitHub’s CDN to update

Philosophy

This setup is intentionally simple:

• One source file: index.org
• One build step: Export to HTML
• Zero dependencies: Just org-mode (comes with Emacs)
• No build pipeline: No webpack, npm, Jekyll, Hugo, etc.

Edit. Export. Push. Done.