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Blueprint: IndieDev

A multi-section site combining blog, snippets, and an apps page – the full indie developer website.

This is a composition guide. Each section is based on a standalone blueprint (Blog, Snippets, Portfolio). Refer to those blueprints for section-specific options like categories, topics, and variations.

Quick Start

swift run sitekit new my-site --blueprint IndieDev
cd my-site
swift run Site serve     # preview at http://localhost:8080

Ships with the teal color scheme and the modern font pairing – change them in Theme/theme.yaml (see references/themes.md).

When to Choose This

Choose IndieDev when you need more than one content type on the same site. Good for:

  • Indie developers who blog, share code, and showcase apps
  • Developer advocates with articles + code examples + project portfolio
  • Anyone whose content doesn't fit a single blog

If you only need one of these, use the standalone blueprint instead.

Questions to Ask

  1. Site name and base URL?
  2. Author name?
  3. Which sections? Pick at least 2:
    • Blog – long-form articles (see Blog blueprint for category options)
    • Snippets – short-form code tips (see Snippets blueprint for topic options)
    • Apps/Portfolio – static showcase pages (see Portfolio blueprint)
  4. Home page headline and subtitle?
  5. Navigation order? Which sections appear first in the nav bar?

How It Differs from Standalone Blueprints

Standalone blueprints (Blog, Snippets, Portfolio) are designed to be the only content on the site, so they use their categories/topics as top-level navigation items. The IndieDev blueprint adds a section-switcher level on top:

Standalone blog nav IndieDev nav
Developer · Personal · About Apps · Blog · Snippets · About

Each section becomes a single nav item. Categories and topics are still accessible within each section, but they're no longer the top-level navigation.

Composition Concerns

Navigation Strategy

All sections appear as top-level nav items. Order them by priority:

navigation:
  items:
    - title: "Apps"
      url: "/apps/"
    - title: "Blog"
      url: "/blog/"
    - title: "Snippets"
      url: "/snippets/"
    - title: "About"
      url: "/about/"

URL Prefix Strategy

Each section gets its own URL prefix to avoid slug collisions:

  • Blog articles: /blog/<slug>/
  • Snippets: /snippets/<slug>/
  • Static pages: /<slug>/ (top-level)

Each section's URL comes from its own urlPrefix: in the sections: list (e.g. urlPrefix: "blog" → /blog/<slug>/, flat, no category in the path). The legacy top-level blogURLPrefix is ignored once you declare sections explicitly – set the prefix on the section instead.

Home Page

The home page typically shows recent posts from the blog section. Configure with:

homePage:
  title: "My Dev Site"
  subtitle: "Apps, articles, and code snippets"
  recentPostsCount: 6

Cross-Section Promotions (Optional)

You can promote apps/packages within blog posts using the promotions: config block. See the promotions: section in the SiteConfig reference for a full example. This is entirely optional.

SiteConfig.yaml Structure

See IndieDev/SiteConfig.yaml for the full template. Key differences from standalone blueprints:

  • Multiple sections: entries (Blog + Snippets)
  • Navigation lists all sections as top-level items
  • homePage: configured for multi-section landing
  • footer: with copyright and social links

For section-specific options:

  • Blog categories: See Blog blueprint
  • Snippet topics: See Snippets blueprint
  • Portfolio pages: See Portfolio blueprint

Entry Point

// Sources/Site/Main.swift
import SiteKit

@main
struct Site {
   static func main() throws {
      try SiteBuilder.blog(configPath: "SiteConfig.yaml").run()
   }
}

Same entry point as the Blog blueprint – SiteBuilder.blog() handles all section types.

Content Structure

Example end state of a grown site – the scaffold ships sample files for Blog/, Snippets/, and Pages/ (Home, Apps, About); Privacy.md and Assets/ are added as the site grows:

Content/
├── Blog/
│   └── 2026-01-15_My-First-Article.md
├── Snippets/
│   └── 2026-01-15_My-Quick-Tip.md
├── Pages/
│   ├── Home.md
│   ├── Apps.md
│   ├── About.md
│   └── Privacy.md
└── Assets/
    └── Images/

Variations

  • Blog + Portfolio (no snippets): Remove the Snippets section from sections: and navigation. Keep Blog + Apps + About.
  • Blog + Snippets (no portfolio): Remove the Apps page and nav item. Keep Blog + Snippets + About.
  • With promotions: Add a promotions: block to cross-promote apps within blog posts. See the SiteConfig reference for the full promotion schema.
  • Multi-language: Add a localization: block with the three required keys defaultLanguage, languages (additional languages, excluding the default), and translationMode. Each locale can override navigation titles and home page text via localeOverrides.