Blog Content Directory

This directory contains all blog posts in Markdown format. Each blog post is a .md file with frontmatter metadata.

File Structure

Each blog post file should follow this naming convention:

• Use lowercase letters and hyphens
• Example: how-to-merge-pdf-files.md

Frontmatter Format

Each markdown file must start with YAML frontmatter containing the following required fields:

---
title: Your Blog Post Title
description: A brief description of the blog post (used for SEO and previews)
publishedDate: YYYY-MM-DD
author: Author Name
category: Category Name
readTime: 5
tags:
  - tag1
  - tag2
  - tag3
featuredImage: https://example.com/image.jpg (optional)
authorAvatar: https://example.com/avatar.jpg (optional)
---

Required Fields

• title: The blog post title
• description: SEO description and preview text
• publishedDate: Publication date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• author: Author name
• category: One of: Education, Tutorials, Productivity, Security, Business, Tips & Tricks, News, General
• readTime: Estimated reading time in minutes
• tags: Array of relevant tags

Optional Fields

• featuredImage: URL to the featured image (if not provided, a default category image will be used)
• authorAvatar: URL to the author's avatar image

Content Format

After the frontmatter, write your blog post content using standard Markdown syntax:

• Use # for main headings (H1)
• Use ## for section headings (H2)
• Use ### for subsection headings (H3)
• Use **bold** for bold text
• Use *italic* for italic text
• Use - or * for unordered lists
• Use 1. for ordered lists
• Use [link text](url) for links
• Use ![alt text](image-url) for images

Example

---
title: How to Merge PDF Files
description: Learn how to merge multiple PDF files into one document
publishedDate: 2024-02-20
author: ConvertedPDF Team
category: Tutorials
readTime: 5
tags:
  - pdf
  - merge
  - tutorial
featuredImage: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1234567890
---

# Introduction

This is the introduction paragraph.

## Section Title

Content goes here...

### Subsection

More content...

Categories

Available categories:

• Education: Educational content and resources
• Tutorials: Step-by-step guides and how-tos
• Productivity: Tips for improving productivity
• Security: Security-related content
• Business: Business-focused articles
• Tips & Tricks: Quick tips and tricks
• News: News and updates
• General: General interest articles

Best Practices

1. Write clear, descriptive titles that accurately represent the content
2. Keep descriptions concise (150-160 characters for optimal SEO)
3. Use relevant tags to help with search and categorization
4. Include images where appropriate to enhance readability
5. Structure content with clear headings and sections
6. Proofread before publishing
7. Use consistent formatting throughout the post

Image Guidelines

• Use high-quality images (1200x600px recommended for featured images)
• Optimize images before uploading
• Use descriptive alt text for accessibility
• Consider using Unsplash or similar services for stock images

Migration from Old System

If migrating from the old blog-posts.ts system:

1. Extract the content from the HTML string
2. Convert HTML to Markdown
3. Create a new .md file with the slug as the filename
4. Add frontmatter with all metadata
5. Save in this directory