folderweb/docs/02-tutorial/01-adding-content.md
Ruben 76697e4656 Add getting started documentation
Add tutorial on adding content

Add tutorial on styling

Add tutorial on templates

Add configuration reference

Add metadata reference

Add template variables reference

Add internationalization reference

Add plugin system documentation

Add creating templates documentation

Add index page
2025-11-27 23:01:02 +01:00

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Markdown

# Adding Content
FolderWeb turns your folder structure into a website. That's not marketing speak—it's literally how it works. Let's explore what that means in practice.
## The Basic Idea
```
content/
├── about.md → yoursite.com/about/
├── blog/
│ └── index.md → yoursite.com/blog/
└── contact.html → yoursite.com/contact/
```
Every file becomes a page. Every folder becomes a URL path. No configuration required.
## File Types
FolderWeb recognizes three content types:
### Markdown (`.md`)
The bread and butter of content creation. Write in Markdown, get HTML.
```markdown
# My Page Title
This is a paragraph with **bold** and *italic* text.
- Lists work
- And so do [links](https://example.com)
## Subheading
More content here.
```
FolderWeb uses [Parsedown](https://parsedown.org/) to convert Markdown to HTML, with caching for performance.
### HTML (`.html`)
When you need more control or already have HTML:
```html
<h1>My Page</h1>
<p>This is plain HTML.</p>
<div class="custom-widget">
Whatever you want.
</div>
```
### PHP (`.php`)
For dynamic content:
```php
<?php
$currentYear = date('Y');
echo "<p>Copyright {$currentYear}</p>";
?>
<h2>Latest Posts</h2>
<?php
$posts = ['Post 1', 'Post 2', 'Post 3'];
foreach ($posts as $post) {
echo "<li>{$post}</li>";
}
?>
```
**Important:** PHP files are executed, so be careful with user input and security.
## Folder Structure as URL Structure
Your folder hierarchy determines your URLs:
```
content/
├── index.md → /
├── about.md → /about/
├── blog/
│ ├── index.md → /blog/
│ ├── 2024-12-15-first-post/
│ │ └── index.md → /blog/first-post/
│ └── 2024-12-20-second-post/
│ └── index.md → /blog/second-post/
└── projects/
├── index.md → /projects/
└── my-project/
└── index.md → /projects/my-project/
```
**Key points:**
- Folder names become URL slugs
- Date prefixes (`YYYY-MM-DD-`) are stripped from URLs but preserved for sorting
- Trailing slashes are enforced (FolderWeb redirects `/about``/about/`)
## Multiple Files in One Page
You can combine multiple content files in a single directory. They render in **alphabetical order**:
```
content/portfolio/
├── 00-hero.php # Renders first
├── 01-intro.md # Renders second
├── 02-gallery.html # Renders third
└── 03-contact.md # Renders last
```
All four files render as one page at `/portfolio/`.
**Use case:** Build pages from modular components—header, content, footer, etc.
## Dates in Folder Names
FolderWeb automatically extracts dates from folder names:
```
content/blog/
├── 2024-12-15-my-first-post/ # Date: December 15, 2024
├── 2024-12-20-another-post/ # Date: December 20, 2024
└── 2025-01-01-new-year-post/ # Date: January 1, 2025
```
The date format is `YYYY-MM-DD-` and it's **stripped from the URL**:
- Folder: `2024-12-15-my-first-post`
- URL: `/blog/my-first-post/`
- Date: Extracted and available in templates
Dates are automatically formatted based on your language (e.g., "15. desember 2024" in Norwegian).
## Adding Assets (Images, Files)
Drop assets directly in your content folders:
```
content/blog/my-post/
├── index.md
├── cover.jpg # Cover image (automatic)
├── diagram.png # Referenced in content
└── styles.css # Page-specific styles
```
**Reference in Markdown:**
```markdown
![Alt text](diagram.png)
```
**Cover images:** Name your cover image `cover.jpg`, `cover.png`, or `cover.webp`. FolderWeb automatically uses it in list views and social media meta tags.
## Metadata Files
Add a `metadata.ini` file to configure pages:
```
content/blog/my-post/
├── index.md
└── metadata.ini
```
**Basic metadata:**
```ini
title = "My Awesome Post"
summary = "A short description for list views"
date = "2024-12-15"
```
**More options:**
```ini
title = "My Post"
summary = "Short description"
date = "2024-12-15"
search_description = "SEO-friendly description for search engines"
menu = 1 # Show in navigation menu
menu_order = 10 # Menu position (lower = first)
[settings]
show_date = true # Display date on page
hide_list = false # Don't show list view even if subdirectories exist
```
See the [Metadata Reference](#) for all available options.
## List Views vs. Page Views
FolderWeb automatically decides whether to show a **list** or a **page**:
**List view** (directory has subdirectories):
```
content/blog/
├── index.md # Intro content
├── metadata.ini # List configuration
├── 2024-12-15-first-post/
└── 2024-12-20-second-post/
```
Result: `/blog/` shows a list of posts with the intro content at the top.
**Page view** (directory has only files):
```
content/about/
└── index.md
```
Result: `/about/` shows just the page content.
**Override:** Use `hide_list = true` in `metadata.ini` to force page view even with subdirectories.
## Custom URL Slugs
Don't like your folder name as the URL? Override it with metadata:
```ini
slug = "custom-url-path"
```
**Example:**
```
content/blog/2024-12-15-very-long-title-that-i-regret/
└── metadata.ini
```
```ini
slug = "short-title"
```
URL becomes `/blog/short-title/` instead of `/blog/very-long-title-that-i-regret/`.
## Navigation Menus
Add pages to the navigation menu with metadata:
```ini
title = "About Us"
menu = 1 # Show in menu
menu_order = 20 # Position (lower numbers first)
```
Menu items are sorted by `menu_order`, then alphabetically by title.
## Practical Examples
### Simple Blog Post
```
content/blog/2024-12-15-my-first-post/
├── index.md
├── cover.jpg
└── metadata.ini
```
**index.md:**
```markdown
# My First Post
This is my blog post content.
![Photo](cover.jpg)
```
**metadata.ini:**
```ini
title = "My First Post"
summary = "An introduction to my blog"
```
### Multi-Section Page
```
content/services/
├── 00-hero.php
├── 01-intro.md
├── 02-pricing.html
└── metadata.ini
```
All files render together as one page at `/services/`.
### Documentation Site
```
content/docs/
├── index.md
├── getting-started/
│ └── index.md
├── tutorial/
│ ├── index.md
│ ├── basics.md
│ └── advanced.md
└── reference/
└── index.md
```
Creates a hierarchical documentation structure with automatic list views.
## What's Next?
Now that you know how to add content, learn how to:
- **[Customize styling](#)** — Make it look like your own
- **[Create templates](#)** — Control how content is presented
- **[Add multilingual support](#)** — Reach a global audience
Or jump to the [Reference](#) for detailed documentation on metadata, templates, and configuration.