GitHub Pages
Summary
Static sites hosted on GitHub, using the Jekyll open-source software to provide a blogging solution.
Parent organisation: Microsoft
Type of organisation: Publicly-listed company (or group)
Market share: Very niche
Pricing: Free-$9/user/month
Factors driving pricing: Additional features, Ability to whitelabel or customise
Skills needed to set-up: Needs tool/domain expert to configure
Skills needed to use: Needs tool/domain expert to configure
Parent organisation: Microsoft
Type of organisation: Publicly-listed company (or group)
Market share: Very niche
Pricing: Free-$9/user/month
Factors driving pricing: Additional features, Ability to whitelabel or customise
Skills needed to set-up: Needs tool/domain expert to configure
Skills needed to use: Needs tool/domain expert to configure
Pros
Open Source alternatives available
Plain English TOS
Clear data policies
Cons
Monopoly platform - does not aid a diverse media ecosystem
Newsworthy business issues/challenges - GitHub faces more resignations in light of ICE contract, Spain and GitHub Are Blocking an App That Helped Protesters Organize, Microsoft workers pressure company to stand by embattled Chinese GitHub repo
Reliant on 3rd-party data APIs (for blogging feature)
Newsworthy technical issues - GitHub Survived the Biggest DDoS Attack Ever Recorded
Newsworthy security breaches - GitHub Service Abused by Attackers to Host Phishing Kits, GitHub, Bitbucket and GitLab open-source projects hacked and held for ransom, GitHub ‘not safe to use’ says Microsoft, who paid $7.5bn for it
Full Product Data Collection
Data collected January-February 2020
| Product name | GitHub Pages |
| Product URL | https://pages.github.com/ |
| Parent organisation | Microsoft |
| Workflow category | Publishing & distribution |
| Date product founded | 2008 |
| Product description | Static sites hosted on GitHub, using the Jekyll open-source software to provide a blogging solution. |
| What type of company or organisation is the product owned by? | Publicly-listed company (or group) |
| Is the company profit-making? | Yes, profitable |
| How is this product funded? | Subscriptions, Investment by parent company or group |
| What market share does the tool have? | Very niche |
| Is there an Open Source alternative in this product space? | Yes. WordPress, Drupal, GitLab Pages |
| When did the company last release new features? | August 2019. Jekyll 4.0 released with new Markdown engine and faster speed. |
| Have they shared details of the product roadmap? | No |
| Is there talk of the product raising further investment? | No |
| Is there talk of the product being acquired? | No |
| Have there been any newsworthy business issues or challenges in the last 12 months? | Yes. GitHub faces more resignations in light of ICE contract, Microsoft’s GitHub doubled down on its ICE contract as employees protest and even resign in disgust, Spain and GitHub Are Blocking an App That Helped Protesters Organize, Microsoft workers pressure company to stand by embattled Chinese GitHub repo |
| Is there a pricing model listed on the website? | Yes |
| How clear & transparent is this pricing model? | Partly: some pricing listed; must speak to salesperson to confirm |
| What is the range of prices offered? | Individual free tier available for up to 3 collaborators. Team $9 per user per month, and Enterprise tier available with higher pricing, storage and features. |
| What factors drive higher pricing? | Additional features, Ability to whitelabel or customise |
| What skills are needed to get this tool set up & usable? | Needs tool/domain expert to configure |
| What skills are needed to USE this tool day-to-day? | Needs tool/domain expert to configure |
| Does this tool use proprietary file formats for saving documents & outputs? | Defaults to common open standard formats |
| Is the product reliant on 3rd-party APIs or interoperability to function? | Yes. Uses the open-source Jekyll for blogging features. |
| Have there been any newsworthy technical issues in the last 3 years? | Yes. GitHub Survived the Biggest DDoS Attack Ever Recorded |
| How clear is the Terms of Service for users (i.e. publishing customers)? | Simplified, plain English TOS |
| Does the product have a data collection & usage policy on its website? (Can be a GDPR statement)? | Yes, comprehensive. |
| Is their data policy “GDPR everywhere”? | Yes, GDPR compliant globally |
| Does the product require your audience to sign-in to use it? | N/A not an audience-facing tool |
| IF SIGN IN REQUIRED: Does audience sign-in use 3rd party platforms? | N/A not an audience-facing tool |
| Does the public product website mention how to export or transfer your data to another service? | No / cannot tell |
| Does the public product website mention how to delete your data? | Only limited deletion available |
| Have there been any newsworthy security breaches with this product in the last 3 years? | Yes. GitHub Service Abused by Attackers to Host Phishing Kits, GitHub, Bitbucket and GitLab open-source projects hacked and held for ransom, GitHub ‘not safe to use’ says Microsoft, who paid $7.5bn for it |
| Does the company have an accessibility statement on its website? | Yes |
| Does the company release information on the diversity of the workforce? | Yes |