TrendLensX

Content Author Guide

Welcome! This guide will help you publish new posts to TrendLensX without writing any code.

Where Do Posts Live?

All posts are stored in the /content/posts/ folder, named as .mdx files.

Example file path:

/content/posts/my-awesome-post.mdx

What is MDX?

MDX is Markdown with extra power. It looks and feels like regular Markdown, but lets you add enhanced formatting when needed.

Simple rule: If you know Markdown, you already know MDX!

Creating a New Post

Step 1: Copy the Template

Create a new file in /content/posts/ with your post title in the filename. Use lowercase with hyphens between words.

Good filenames:

blockchain-revolution-2024.mdx
remote-work-trends.mdx
climate-action-guide.mdx

Avoid:

Spaces in filenames
Special characters (!, @, #, etc.)
UPPERCASE letters

Step 2: Add Required Information

Every post needs a header section with metadata. This goes at the very top of the file between three dashes:

---
slug: blockchain-revolution-2024
title: The Blockchain Revolution in 2024
author: Jane Smith
date: 2024-02-15
category: Technology
excerpt: Discover how blockchain is transforming industries and what it means for the future.
featured: false
tags:
  - blockchain
  - technology
  - innovation
---

Your post content starts here after the dashes...

Required Fields (Must Include)

Field	What It Is	Example
`slug`	Unique URL identifier (lowercase, hyphens only)	`blockchain-revolution-2024`
`title`	Post headline	`The Blockchain Revolution in 2024`
`author`	Your name	`Jane Smith`
`date`	Publication date (YYYY-MM-DD)	`2024-02-15`
`category`	Main topic category	`Technology`, `Business`, `Health`
`excerpt`	Short summary (1-2 sentences)	`Discover how blockchain is transforming industries...`

Optional Fields (Nice to Have)

Field	What It Is	Example
`featured`	Highlight post on homepage (true/false)	`true`
`tags`	Related keywords (list format)	`- blockchain` `- technology`

Writing Your Post Content

After the closing ---, write your post using normal Markdown:

---
slug: my-first-post
title: My First Post
author: You
date: 2024-02-15
category: Technology
excerpt: A short description.
---

## Main Heading

This is a paragraph. You can write as much as you want here.

### Subheading

- Bullet points work
- Like this
- And this

1. Numbered lists too
2. Very easy
3. Just use numbers

**Bold text** and *italic text* work as expected.

[Links look like this](https://example.com)

Complete Example

Here’s a real example post:

---
slug: future-of-ai-2024
title: The Future of AI in 2024
author: Alex Johnson
date: 2024-02-10
category: Technology
excerpt: AI is reshaping how we work. Here's what to expect this year and beyond.
featured: true
tags:
  - artificial-intelligence
  - technology
  - future-trends
---

## AI is Everywhere Now

Artificial intelligence has moved from science fiction to daily reality. From chatbots to image generators, AI tools are becoming essential in workplaces worldwide.

### What Changed in 2024?

This year marked a turning point. Three major trends emerged:

1. **Accessibility** - AI tools became easier for non-technical users
2. **Affordability** - Costs dropped significantly
3. **Integration** - AI started working with existing tools seamlessly

### What Should You Do?

- Learn basic AI tools
- Stay curious and experiment
- Don't fear the technology
- Share knowledge with your team

The future is here. Are you ready?

Publishing Your Post

Step 1: Save Your File

Create or edit your .mdx file in /content/posts/
Make sure the filename matches the slug (with .mdx extension)
- Slug: future-of-ai-2024
- Filename: future-of-ai-2024.mdx

Step 2: Commit to Git

git add content/posts/your-post-name.mdx
git commit -m "Add new post: Your Post Title"

Step 3: Push to GitHub

git push origin main

Step 4: Automatic Deployment

That’s it! Vercel automatically deploys changes to the live site within 1-2 minutes.

Your post is now live and visible on TrendLensX!

Featured Posts

Posts marked as featured: true appear prominently on the homepage.

featured: true  # Shows on homepage

Only the most recent featured posts appear (typically 3-4). Use this for:

Major announcements
High-priority content
Time-sensitive articles

Make a Post Featured

Simply change this line:

featured: false  # Not featured

To this:

featured: true  # Featured!

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Wrong: Extra spaces in slug

slug: my awesome post  # NO - spaces not allowed

✅ Right: Lowercase with hyphens

slug: my-awesome-post  # YES - this is correct

❌ Wrong: Filename doesn’t match slug

slug: my-post
Filename: MyPost.mdx  # NO - doesn't match

✅ Right: Filename matches slug

slug: my-post
Filename: my-post.mdx  # YES - matches exactly

❌ Wrong: Missing required fields

---
slug: my-post
title: My Post
---

✅ Right: All required fields included

---
slug: my-post
title: My Post
author: You
date: 2024-02-15
category: Technology
excerpt: Short summary here.
---

❌ Wrong: Broken date format

date: Feb 15, 2024  # NO - wrong format
date: 15/02/2024    # NO - wrong format

✅ Right: ISO date format

date: 2024-02-15  # YES - YYYY-MM-DD

❌ Wrong: Tags as plain text

tags: blockchain, technology, crypto  # NO - not a list

✅ Right: Tags as a list

tags:
  - blockchain
  - technology
  - crypto

Got Questions?

Post not showing? Check the slug matches the filename exactly
Date in wrong order? Use YYYY-MM-DD format (2024-02-15)
Missing something? Make sure all required fields are included
Want to feature it? Set featured: true in the header

Quick Reference Checklist

Before publishing, verify:

File is in /content/posts/ folder
Filename is lowercase with hyphens (e.g., my-post.mdx)
All required fields are filled in (slug, title, author, date, category, excerpt)
Date is in YYYY-MM-DD format (2024-02-15)
Slug matches the filename without .mdx
If using tags, they’re formatted as a list (with hyphens)
Content is written below the closing ---

Ready to publish? Follow the GitHub workflow above and your post goes live in minutes!

Happy writing! 🚀