Branding and site setup

This project uses a whole-site configuration data file, stored in _data/content.yml. This file contains instructions for branding and for metadata defaults.

Note: If you know Jekyll, you know that normally these site-wide configurations are stored in _config.yml. I have decided to keep _config.yml only for developers who know what their doing. Whereas content.yml can be changed relatively safely by non-developers.

What does the file control?

• Home page text snippets (for example home_text)
• Branding:
  • site name
  • tag line
  • primary/secondary/accent colors
  • link colors (link_color, link_hover_color, link_visited_color)
  • font family
• Organization details:
  • name
  • URL
  • logo path
• SEO defaults:
  • default description
  • default image
  • twitter card type

Why it matters

Values from _data/content.yml are used by templates and metadata includes, including:

• _includes/head.html
• _includes/navigation.html
• _includes/footer.html

Keeping this file accurate ensures consistent branding and high-quality metadata across the entire site.

Branding colors must also remain accessible: configured text/link colors are validated against a white background using WCAG 2.2 AA contrast thresholds.

Recommended update process

1. Edit _data/content.yml.
2. Build locally:

bundle exec jekyll build

1. Run metadata validation:

./scripts/validate_metadata.sh

1. If you changed colors, ensure the script passes color contrast checks for:

• branding.primary_color
• branding.accent_color
• branding.link_color
• branding.link_hover_color
• branding.link_visited_color
• branding.secondary_color