# Set up your URL

GitHub Pages gives you [a few options](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/about-github-pages#types-of-github-pages-sites) for where your live site appears:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Custom Domain (recommended)" %}
Example URL:\
`your-custom-domain.com`

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Purchasing a custom domain is highly recommended. It looks professional, it's easier to remember and type, and it's easy and cheap to set up (`.com`s are usually only about $10 per year).

To set this up, follow the [instructions here](https://docs.github.com/en/github/working-with-github-pages/managing-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site#configuring-an-apex-domain). In summary:

1. Purchase a domain name from a reputable service.
2. Point your domain name provider to GitHub Pages using an `A` record. This is slightly different for each provider; they should have their own instructions on how to do it.
3. Set the `custom domain` field in your repo's "⚙️ Settings".
   {% endtab %}

{% tab title="User/org Site" %}
Example URL:\
`your-lab.github.io`

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...where `your-lab` is your GitHub user/organization name

To set this up, rename your repo to `your-lab.github.io` in your repo "⚙️ Settings", and that's it!
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Project site (default)" %}
Example URL:\
`your-lab.github.io/your-lab-website`

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...where `your-lab` is your GitHub user/organization name, and `your-lab-website` is the repo name you chose.

This is where your live site appears by default when you enable GitHub Pages.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

After making any needed changes above, wait a bit (\~30 seconds to 3 minutes) for your live site to redeploy to its new location. (You can check your repo's "▶️ Actions" for status.)