Dover Run Club - NH Running Community

Dover Run Club Website Architecture

Dover Run Club Website Architecture

Stack

  • Platform: GitHub Pages (Jekyll build + hosting)
  • Site generator: Jekyll with Liquid templating
  • Content: Markdown pages with YAML front matter
  • Styling: custom CSS in assets/css/main.css
  • Dependency contract: github-pages gem in Gemfile
  • Plugins: jekyll-seo-tag, jekyll-sitemap

Key Files and Responsibilities

  • _config.yml: canonical settings (title/description, URL/baseurl, plugins, excludes)
  • _config_dev.yml: local override for development (baseurl: "")
  • _layouts/default.html: global shell, SEO tag, JSON-LD, includes, and main content slot
  • _layouts/page.html: wrapper for non-home content pages
  • _includes/header.html: main navigation (Home, Routes, Our Story, Gallery, Supporters) with aria-current on the active page
  • _includes/footer.html: footer and social link
  • index.md: newcomer-first homepage and primary user journey
  • routes.md: Routes page, data-driven from _data/routes.yml and _data/member_routes.yml via _includes/route-card.html, linked from nav
  • our-story.md: supporting narrative page, linked from nav and homepage “Our Roots” teaser
  • gallery.md: Photo gallery, data-driven from _data/gallery.yml, linked from nav and homepage preview
  • supporters.md: Supporters page, data-driven from _data/supporters.yml, linked from nav and footer
  • events.md, pub-runs.md, membership.md: placeholder/future pages, intentionally hidden from nav
  • assets/css/main.css: design tokens, layout, and responsive styling
  • design/website-roadmap.md: roadmap and backlog source-of-truth

Build and Runtime Flow

  1. Author content/layout/style changes.
  2. Local build or serve merges _config.yml plus _config_dev.yml for local URL behavior.
  3. Jekyll renders Markdown + Liquid into _site static files.
  4. GitHub Pages builds/deploys static output from repository branch.

Boundaries and Constraints

  • Preserve GitHub Pages compatibility.
  • Keep the main nav focused on Home, Routes, Our Story, Gallery, and Supporters unless explicitly changed.
  • Do not expose placeholder pages (Events, Pub Runs, Membership) in nav without a roadmap decision.
  • Use Liquid URL helpers (relative_url, absolute_url) for path correctness.
  • Prefer site.title/config-backed values over duplicated literals.
  • Use existing CSS variables and avoid ad hoc visual token additions.

Change Impact Checklist

  • Did config changes preserve local and production URL behavior?
  • Did nav/header changes keep intended page visibility?
  • Did homepage still communicate What/When/Where/Vibe clearly?
  • Did style changes reuse existing CSS variables/tokens?
  • Did edited links/assets resolve under configured baseurl?
  • Was design/website-roadmap.md updated for structure/status changes?
  • Did local build/serve checks pass for touched areas?