---
layout: step
title: Deployment
position: 10
---
In this final step we'll get the site ready for production.
## Gemfile
It's good practice to have a [Gemfile](/docs/ruby-101/#gemfile) for your site.
This ensures the version of Jekyll and other gems remains consistent across
different environments.
Create a `Gemfile` in the root.
The file should be called 'Gemfile' and should *not* have any extension.
You can create a Gemfile with Bundler and then add the `jekyll` gem:
```sh
bundle init
bundle add jekyll
```
Your file should look something like:
```ruby
# frozen_string_literal: true
source "https://rubygems.org"
gem "jekyll"
```
Bundler installs the gems and creates a `Gemfile.lock` which locks the current
gem versions for a future `bundle install`. If you ever want to update your gem
versions you can run `bundle update`.
When using a `Gemfile`, you'll run commands like `jekyll serve` with
`bundle exec` prefixed. So the full command is:
```sh
bundle exec jekyll serve
```
This restricts your Ruby environment to only use gems set in your `Gemfile`.
## Plugins
Jekyll plugins allow you to create custom generated content specific to your
site. There's many [plugins](/docs/plugins/) available or you can even
write your own.
There are three official plugins which are useful on almost any Jekyll site:
* [jekyll-sitemap](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-sitemap) - Creates a sitemap
file to help search engines index content
* [jekyll-feed](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-feed) - Creates an RSS feed for
your posts
* [jekyll-seo-tag](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-seo-tag) - Adds meta tags to help
with SEO
To use these first you need to add them to your `Gemfile`. If you put them
in a `jekyll_plugins` group they'll automatically be required into Jekyll:
```ruby
source 'https://rubygems.org'
gem 'jekyll'
group :jekyll_plugins do
gem 'jekyll-sitemap'
gem 'jekyll-feed'
gem 'jekyll-seo-tag'
end
```
Then add these lines to your `_config.yml`:
```yaml
plugins:
- jekyll-feed
- jekyll-sitemap
- jekyll-seo-tag
```
Now install them by running a `bundle update`.
`jekyll-sitemap` doesn't need any setup, it will create your sitemap on build.
For `jekyll-feed` and `jekyll-seo-tag` you need to add tags to
`_layouts/default.html`:
{% raw %}
```liquid
{{ page.title }}
{% feed_meta %}
{% seo %}
{% include navigation.html %}
{{ content }}
```
{% endraw %}
Restart your Jekyll server and check these tags are added to the ``.
## Environments
Sometimes you might want to output something in production but not
in development. Analytics scripts are the most common example of this.
To do this you can use [environments](/docs/configuration/environments/). You
can set the environment by using the `JEKYLL_ENV` environment variable when
running a command. For example:
```sh
JEKYLL_ENV=production bundle exec jekyll build
```
By default `JEKYLL_ENV` is development. The `JEKYLL_ENV` is available to you
in liquid using `jekyll.environment`. So to only output the analytics script
on production you would do the following:
{% raw %}
```liquid
{% if jekyll.environment == "production" %}
{% endif %}
```
{% endraw %}
## Deployment
The final step is to get the site onto a production server. The most basic way
to do this is to run a production build:
```sh
JEKYLL_ENV=production bundle exec jekyll build
```
And copy the contents of `_site` to your server.
A better way is to automate this process using a [CI](/docs/deployment/automated/)
or [3rd party](/docs/deployment/third-party/).
## Wrap up
That brings us to the end of this step-by-step tutorial and the beginning of
your Jekyll journey!
* Come say hi to the [community forums](https://talk.jekyllrb.com)
* Help us make Jekyll better by [contributing](/docs/contributing/)
* Keep building Jekyll sites!