The Pentester Guide — project overview

Live: guide.zishanhack.com · Source: github.com/ZishanAdThandar/pentest

What it is

A static, fast, fully indexable penetration-testing reference site: 7 deep-dive modules (Active Directory, pentesting methodology, bug bounty, CTF, security roadmap, tooling), 7 cheatsheet suites, and 10+ curated resource directories — written as plain Markdown and compiled to HTML.

Goals

• One self-contained reference for both newcomers and working pentesters.
• Zero-cost infrastructure: static output on GitHub Pages, no servers, no databases, no JS framework.
• Discoverability from day one: every page readable, meta-tagged, and in the sitemap.

Build & architecture

• Generator: Jekyll (Liquid) on GitHub Pages; content authored in Markdown, rendered via a hand-rolled layout/theme (no off-the-shelf Jekyll theme picks for the reader).
• Design system: the dark-indigo UI is the same design language as the main ZishanHack product site — shared header, nav, cards, and footer semantics, then restyled locally.
• SEO pipeline: per-page title/description, canonical URLs, robots.txt, and a jekyll-sitemap feed pruned to real content pages only (directory-index junk removed via front matter).
• Errors as process: the build was iterated until sitemap, robots, and all 200 replies were verified over HTTP end-to-end.

Iterations that count

• Consolidated the theme so the guide visually matches the product site (header, footer, cards).
• Cleaned the sitemap: excluded non-content directories so 17 real pages are indexed, none of the noise.
• Fixed page metadata so search results show deliberate titles, not file names.
• SEO fixes shipped while the site was live — each change pushed and verified without breaking pages.

Skills this demonstrates

• Engineering: static-site architecture, Jekyll/Liquid templating, HTML/CSS, responsive + accessible markup, git workflow.
• Technical writing: structuring 20+ shipped, indexed pages of security content that stay scannable and copy-able.
• SEO/product thinking: meta strategy, sitemap hygiene, canonical/robots, measurable via Google Search Console.
• Ownership: planned → built → published → monitored, end to end, solo.

How to run locally

git clone https://github.com/ZishanAdThandar/pentest
cd pentest
gem install jekyll bundler
bundler install
bundle exec jekyll serve
# open http://127.0.0.1:4000