GitHub

Git is a version control system - a tool that runs locally and records changes to files. GitHub is an online service built around Git: it hosts the code, shares it with a team, and adds collaboration features like pull requests and issue tracking. In short, Git is the engine; GitHub is the platform built on it.

GitHub has a free plan that includes unlimited public and private repositories, which covers most small and mid-sized projects. Paid plans (Team, Enterprise) add more CI/CD minutes, finer-grained permissions, and enterprise features. For a typical website project, no extra cost is required.

Code in a private repository is visible only to people you explicitly invite - it doesn't appear in search and isn't public. GitHub stores data encrypted and supports two-factor authentication (an extra confirmation code at login). The realistic risks are weak passwords and careless access management, not the platform itself.

CI/CD is automation that kicks in whenever code changes: tests run, the project is built, and if everything passes, it's deployed to the server. On GitHub, this is handled by GitHub Actions. The result is faster releases and far less chance of a human mistake taking the site down.

Both are Git-based platforms with similar core features. GitHub has the larger community and open-source ecosystem, while GitLab is known for its self-hosting option (running it on your own server). For a typical website project, the functional difference is small - it mostly comes down to team preference.

Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018, but the platform runs as an independent product and supports every programming language, including technologies that compete with Microsoft's own. If anything, the free tier improved after the acquisition, gaining unlimited private repositories. In practice, users haven't seen negative changes.

That depends on your contract: the repository can live under the agency's account or your own, and it can be transferred at any time. As a client, it's wise to have repository access or a code handover written explicitly into the agreement. SaytPro, for example, grants clients access and full code ownership as agreed.

GitHub is the main home of open-source software: millions of projects such as React, Next.js, and Django are developed there in public. Any developer can contribute, report bugs, or study the code. For you, it means the technologies powering your website are reviewed by thousands of people worldwide.

For you, GitHub works like insurance: your website's code is stored safely with a documented history, and you're not locked to a single developer. Even if a collaboration ends, the code can be handed to another team without loss. When commissioning a website, it's worth asking whether the code will be kept on a platform like GitHub and whether you'll get access.