Autism Resources

A static website for sharing curated resources (books, videos, tools) for parents of autistic children, with blog posts and a contact form. Content is managed through a web-based admin panel (DecapCMS).

Tech Stack

• Astro (static site generator)
• DecapCMS (content management via /admin)
• Netlify (hosting, forms, identity)
• Plain CSS with custom properties

Local Development

npm install
npm run dev

The site will be available at http://localhost:4321.

Deployment

Push to GitHub and connect to Netlify. The netlify.toml handles build configuration automatically.

Post-Deployment Setup

After connecting your GitHub repo to Netlify, complete these steps in the Netlify dashboard:

1. Enable Identity

   • Go to Site settings > Identity > Enable Identity

2. Set registration to Invite Only

   • Identity > Registration > set to "Invite only"

3. Enable Git Gateway

   • Identity > Services > Enable Git Gateway

4. Invite the site admin

   • Identity > Invite users > enter the admin's email address
   • They'll receive an email to set a password

5. Log in to the CMS

   • Visit yoursite.netlify.app/admin
   • Log in with the credentials from the invite email

6. Set up form notifications (optional but recommended)

   • Forms > contact > Outgoing notifications > add email notification
   • This sends you an email whenever someone submits the contact form

7. Custom domain (optional)

   • Domain settings > Add custom domain
   • Follow Netlify's instructions for DNS configuration

Content Management

All content is managed through the admin panel at /admin. Log in with your Netlify Identity credentials to:

• Create and edit blog posts with a rich text editor
• Add resources with type, topic, age range, and recommendation badges
• Upload images that are stored in the repository

Changes go through Git, so you have full version history of all content.

Project Structure

src/
  content/
    blog/          # Blog post markdown files
    resources/     # Resource markdown files
  content.config.ts  # Collection schemas
  layouts/
    BaseLayout.astro  # Shared layout with nav, footer, CSS
  pages/
    index.astro       # Home page
    about.astro       # About page
    contact.astro     # Contact form (Netlify Forms)
    blog/
      index.astro     # Blog listing
      [id].astro      # Individual blog post
    resources/
      index.astro     # Resource library with filters
      [id].astro      # Individual resource page
public/
  admin/
    index.html        # DecapCMS entry point
    config.yml        # CMS collection configuration
  images/uploads/     # Uploaded media