diff --git a/.github/workflows/gh-pages.yml b/.github/workflows/gh-pages.yml
index 47f4de3ef..722381d5e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gh-pages.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gh-pages.yml
@@ -12,11 +12,20 @@ on:
   release:
     types:
       - published
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      ref:
+        description: 'Git ref (refs/heads/<branch>, refs/tags/<tag>, etc.) or SHA'
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
+env:
+  ref: ${{ inputs.ref || github.ref }}
+
 jobs:
   path-filter:
     permissions:
@@ -26,6 +35,8 @@ jobs:
       changes: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.changes }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ env.ref }}
       - id: filter
         uses: dorny/paths-filter@v2
         with:
@@ -42,6 +53,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ env.ref }}
       - run: docker run --rm --volume "${PWD}:/workdir" ghcr.io/igorshubovych/markdownlint-cli:latest --disable MD013 MD033 MD041 MD046 -- "**/*.md"
 
   build:
@@ -52,6 +65,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
+          ref: ${{ env.ref }}
           # the `git-revision-date-localized` plugin needs full history to find page creation date
           fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
@@ -59,7 +73,7 @@ jobs:
           python-version: 3.x
       - uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
-          key: ${{ github.ref }}
+          key: ${{ env.ref }}
           path: .cache
       - run: |
           pip install --requirement docs/requirements.txt
@@ -81,13 +95,14 @@ jobs:
           jobs: ${{ toJSON(needs) }}
 
   deploy:
-    if: github.event_name == 'release'
+    if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
     permissions:
       contents: write
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
+          ref: ${{ env.ref }}
           # the `git-revision-date-localized` plugin needs full history to find page creation date
           fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
@@ -95,7 +110,7 @@ jobs:
           python-version: 3.x
       - uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
-          key: ${{ github.ref }}
+          key: ${{ env.ref }}
           path: .cache
       - run: |
           pip install --requirement docs/requirements.txt
diff --git a/.github/workflows/gh-release-drafter.yml b/.github/workflows/gh-release-drafter.yml
index f677ca48c..61535499d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gh-release-drafter.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gh-release-drafter.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       ref:
-        description: 'Git ref or SHA'
+        description: 'Git ref (refs/heads/<branch>, refs/tags/<tag>, etc.) or SHA'
         required: true
         type: string
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/node-test.yml b/.github/workflows/node-test.yml
index 16573d494..3ab1d6f47 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/node-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/node-test.yml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       ref:
-        description: 'Git ref or SHA'
+        description: 'Git ref (refs/heads/<branch>, refs/tags/<tag>, etc.) or SHA'
         required: true
         type: string