Chingadero.Com

Build a free, serverless blog with Cloudflare Pages, Jekyll, and R2

You can host a fast, secure blog for free using:

  • Cloudflare Pages for static hosting and Functions
  • Jekyll for static site generation
  • Optional: Cloudflare R2 for object storage (images, downloads, or future API-backed content)
  • Wrangler for local testing

You’ll pay only for your domain. The process below is exactly what I use to deploy the site you’re reading.

Why this stack

  • Jekyll turns Markdown into static pages that are simple to build and version in Git.
  • Cloudflare Pages serves those files at the edge and can run Functions for dynamic features—no servers to patch or scale.
  • R2 stores static assets or data you want to fetch at runtime (e.g., via a Worker or Pages Function) without egress fees to Cloudflare services.

What you’ll build

  • A Jekyll site
  • Local preview with Wrangler
  • A Pages project you can deploy by uploading a ZIP of your built site
  • Optional: R2 ready for future dynamic content or asset storage

Prerequisites

Build locally

I’ll show you how to create and preview a Jekyll site locally.

# Install Jekyll & Bundler
gem install jekyll bundler

# Create a new site
jekyll new myblog

# Move into the project
cd myblog

# Serve locally
bundle exec jekyll serve
# Visit http://127.0.0.1:4000/

# To serve on all sddresses so its viewable on the network; add --host
bundle exec jekyll serve --host 0.0.0.0

Build vs serve

Jekyll outputs the production-ready site to the _site directory. Use serve for local preview.
Use build when you’re ready to deploy.

# Build for production (outputs to _site)
bundle exec jekyll build
# Then deploy whatever’s inside _site

Test with Cloudflare Wrangler (Pages emulation)

Preview your Pages deployment locally with Wrangler.
Wrangler simulates Cloudflare Pages so you can test the exact build output.

Install Wrangler:

Build your site with Jekyll (don’t run the Jekyll server for this step).
Run the Pages emulator against the _site folder.

# From your project root
bundle exec jekyll build

# Emulate Cloudflare Pages locally on port 8788, serving from the _site directory
wrangler pages dev _site

# Output will include a local URL like:
# Ready on http://localhost:8788

Create a Cloudflare Pages project

  • Sign in: Cloudflare Pages
  • Go to Workers & Pages.
  • Create a new application and choose Upload Static Files.
  • You’ll later connect your domain to the Pages project (custom domain).
    R2 is optional and useful when you want object storage (e.g., images or data) that you read via a Function or Worker.
    Prepare a ZIP for upload Zip everything inside _site and upload it as a deployment.
cd _site
zip -r ../myblog-site.zip *

Deploy from the Pages dashboard

  • Open your Pages app in the Cloudflare dashboard
  • Click Create deployment.
  • Upload the ZIP you created from _site.
  • Finish the deployment flow, then attach your custom domain to the Pages project.

Add posts and republish

Jekyll looks for posts in _posts with a specific naming format and front matter.
Add a Markdown file, rebuild, and upload a fresh ZIP.

.
├── _config.yml
├── _includes
├── _layouts
├── _posts           # Your Markdown posts go here
├── _site            # Build output (don’t edit directly)
├── 404.html
├── about.markdown
├── assets
├── functions        # Optional: add Pages Functions here
├── Gemfile
├── Gemfile.lock
├── index.markdown
└── vendor

Post filenames must follow: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

_posts/2026-01-02-serverless-blog.md

Each post needs front matter with layout, title, and date; categories are optional.
The front matter looks like:

---
layout: post
title:  A Serverless Blog For Free
date:   2025-12-27 14:49:48 -0600
categories: Programming
---
Your post content starts here as markdpwn content

Where R2 fits in

For a basic blog, you can deploy entirely with Pages and never touch R2.
Add R2 if you want:

  • Large media or download storage
  • A data bucket fetched at runtime by a Worker or Pages Function
  • A place to push content from CI without egress charges to Cloudflare services

You can bind an R2 bucket to a Pages Function or Worker and fetch objects as needed.
Keep static pages in Pages; put dynamic or large assets in R2.

Wrap-up

That’s it: a cost-free, secure, and fast blog at the edge.
You write Markdown, Jekyll builds static pages, and Cloudflare Pages serves them globally.
If you later need dynamic features or storage, add a Pages Function and R2 without changing your basic deployment flow.

Enjoy!