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Essentials of automated application deployment with GitHub Actions and GitHub Pages

Bekah Whittle
Bekah Whittle // Director, Field Services // GitHub

Understanding what it takes to deploy web applications both securely and efficiently is vital for any organization. In this educational module, TELUS and Amplifon will provide expert insight as we move through the steps for automating application deployment using GitHub Actions and GitHub Pages. All you need to do is follow along with a copy of our demo repository.

By the end of this pathway, you'll have learned the basics of Actions and understand how to use workflows to build, test, and deploy an application.

We'll be working with a sample Next.js application for this module, which serves as a practical example for understanding the deployment process end-to-end.

Prerequisites:

  • A GitHub account

  • A basic understanding of how to navigate GitHub (e.g., how to find the Actions tab, how to open and edit files)

  • Some experience with YAML files, or willingness to learn (as GitHub Actions configurations are written in YAML)

Essentials module overview

Guide 1: Building a workflow with GitHub Actions

Kickstart your automation journey by copying a demo repository and building your first GitHub Actions "Hello world!" workflow. Dive into the step-by-step process to get you started with GitHub Actions.

Guide 2: Building an application with GitHub Actions

Learn the basics of using GitHub Actions to build an application - a common step in any CI/CD pipeline - and reusing prebuilt actions from GitHub Marketplace to save time and effort.

Guide 3: Testing applications with GitHub Actions

Automate testing with GitHub Actions and use prebuilt actions from GitHub Marketplace to run a variety of third-party testing tools. Understand the difference between GitHub-hosted runners and self-hosted runners, and when each makes sense.

Guide 4: Configure your deployment environments in GitHub

Use deployment environments to create deployment targets for different purposes, such as staging or production. Enable GitHub Pages before deployment.

Guide 5: Automating and deploying workflows with GitHub Actions

Deploy a Next.js static site to GitHub Pages with GitHub Actions after building and testing it first.

Industry expert insights from:

Amplifon: Amplifon is a global leader in hearing healthcare solutions, serving over 10 million customers through its extensive workforce of 18,600 employees. The acquisition of Otohub marked a significant shift in Amplifon's strategy towards in-house application development via their dedicated engineering team, AmplifonX. Mastering GitHub Actions and CI/CD automation was crucial for Amplifon to centralize their expansive codebase, streamline development across globally dispersed teams, and ensure robust security measures in handling sensitive health data. By adopting GitHub's suite of tools, including Actions, Amplifon not only optimized their software development lifecycle but also significantly cut costs, improved security, and increased overall developer productivity and happiness.

TELUS: TELUS is a leading communications and information technology provider in Canada, responsible for powering essential services for over 35 million people across the country. With a diverse team of 78,000, including nearly 5,000 developers, analysts, and technicians, TELUS faces the monumental task of unifying various tools and technologies. By adopting GitHub, they centralized their software development, streamlined testing through GitHub Actions, and enhanced security protocols. This has resulted in significant time savings and elevated code quality across their workforce.

Get started building a workflow with GitHub Actions!