Maintaining Your Platform

A straightforward guide to updating your website

You Already Know How to Do This

If you can write an email, you can update this website.

This site was built to be maintained by the team, not by developers. The hardest part is deciding what you want to say—the site handles the formatting and styling automatically.

Here’s how it works.

The Simple Truth

What You Write

Plain text. That’s it. You write like you’re taking notes or drafting an email. Add some simple symbols for formatting, and you’re done.

What You Get

Professional, polished pages that match the rest of the site. Automatic styling. Automatic navigation. Automatic everything.

Real Example: Side by Side

This is what you type on the left. This is what people see on the right. Notice anything? It’s just… writing.

What You Type

## Our New Program

We're launching something powerful.
A space for young artists to **own**
their craft and their future.

![Artist in the studio](/images/content_v1_5865cbf9893fc0fe846ed2c9_1548453064476-1BF6PJNSF1LB6B940L5S_FullSizeRender-1.jpeg.webp)

### What We Offer

- Weekly workshops
- Studio access
- Mentorship from working artists
- Real opportunities

<Highlight>Applications open March 2026</Highlight>

[Learn More](/programs)

What People See

Our New Program

We’re launching something powerful. A space for young artists to own their craft and their future.

Artist in the studio

What We Offer

  • Weekly workshops
  • Studio access
  • Mentorship from working artists
  • Real opportunities

Applications open March 2026

Learn More

See that? You typed plain text with a few symbols. The site handled everything else.

Adding a New Page: Three Steps

Step 1: Copy the Template

Go to src/pages/_template.mdx. Copy it. Rename it to your new page name (like new-initiative.mdx).

Step 2: Fill in the Basics

At the top of the file, update the info between the --- lines:

  • title: What shows up in the browser tab
  • description: For search engines
  • heroImage: Path to your hero image (if you want one)

Step 3: Write Your Content

Delete the template instructions and start writing. Use the simple formatting below, and you’re done.

The Formatting You Need to Know

Headings

## Big Heading
### Medium Heading
#### Small Heading

Use ## for main sections, ### for subsections.

Emphasis

**bold text**
*italic text*
<Highlight>gold highlighted text</Highlight>

Bold for emphasis. Highlight for that 1Hood gold glow.

Lists

- First item
- Second item
- Third item

Simple bullet points. Just start with a dash.

[Click Here](/donate)
[External Link](https://example.com)

Text in brackets, link in parentheses.

You Can Do This All From Your Browser

Here’s how the workflow works:

  1. Go to GitHub: Open the repository in your web browser
  2. Find your page: Navigate to the file you want to edit
  3. Click Edit: GitHub has a built-in editor
  4. Make your changes: Type directly in the browser
  5. Preview: GitHub lets you see what it will look like
  6. Save (Commit): Write a quick note about what you changed
  7. Your changes go live: Automatically deployed

No special software or downloads needed. Just a web browser.

Testing Before Going Live

The Demo Site Workflow

You can test changes on a demo version of the site before they go live.

  1. Make changes in a separate branch (like draft-updates)
  2. See those changes on a demo URL
  3. When everything looks right, merge to main
  4. Changes go live on 1hood.org

This lets you experiment and refine without affecting the live site.

When Something Breaks: How to Undo

Don’t Worry—You Can Always Go Back

Made a mistake? Broke something? It happens. The good news: GitHub saves every version of every file, so you can always go back to what worked.

How to Undo a Change

Let’s say you edited a file and now something looks wrong. Here’s how to fix it:

Step 1: Go to your repository on GitHub.com

Step 2: Click on the file that’s broken

Step 3: Click the “History” button (it’s near the top right)

Step 4: You’ll see a list of every time that file was changed, with dates and descriptions. Find the version from before you made your change.

Step 5: Click on that old version. You’ll see what the file looked like back then.

Step 6: Click the ”…” menu and select “View file”, then copy all the text.

Step 7: Go back to the current version and click “Edit” (the pencil icon)

Step 8: Delete everything and paste in the old version

Step 9: Save it (click “Commit changes”)

Done. Your file is back to how it was before.

That’s It

No special tools. No commands to memorize. Just click through GitHub’s website to see old versions and copy them back if you need to.

You literally can’t permanently break anything. Every version is saved forever.

Common Scenarios

Adding an Event

Copy an existing event page or use the template. Fill in the date, location, description. Add an image if you have one. Save. Done.

Updating Squad Info

Open src/pages/squad.mdx. Find the section you need to update. Change the text. Save. The site updates.

Posting News

Create a new .mdx file in src/pages/. Write your update. Save. Add a link to it from the home page or events section.

Changing Images

Upload the new image to public/images/. Update the image path in your page. Save. The new image shows up.

Managing Job Postings: Even Simpler

Here’s something we built specifically for you: a single file that controls all job postings. No templates to copy. No pages to create. Just one simple list.

The jobs.yaml File

At the root of the project, there’s a file called jobs.yaml. That’s it. That’s the whole system.

What You Edit

jobs:
  - title: Community Organizer
    type: Full-Time
    location: Pittsburgh
    salary: $55,000 - $70,000
    description: Work directly with community members to organize events and build relationships.
    active: true

  - title: Social Media Manager
    type: Part-Time (20 hrs/week)
    location: Remote
    salary: $25/hour
    description: Manage our digital presence and storytelling across platforms.
    active: true

What People See

Community Organizer

Full-Time • Pittsburgh • $55,000 - $70,000

Work directly with community members to organize events and build relationships.

Social Media Manager

Part-Time (20 hrs/week) • Remote • $25/hour

Manage our digital presence and storytelling across platforms.

How to Update Job Postings

Add a New Job

Copy an existing job block in jobs.yaml. Change the title, type, location, salary, and description. Set active: true. Save. The job appears on the site.

Remove a Job

Change active: true to active: false. The job disappears from the site but stays in your file in case you need it later.

Edit a Job

Open jobs.yaml, find the job, change whatever needs updating (salary, description, etc.), save. Done.

Do It on GitHub

Click the jobs.yaml file, click the pencil icon (✏️), make your edits, save. No special software needed.

Note: Job postings are one of the most frequently updated parts of the site, so we made it simple. One file, plain text, no coding required.

See /JOBS_README.md for complete instructions with examples.

You Got This

Website maintenance usually sounds technical—like something you need to hire someone for. But this site is different.

The design is straightforward: figure out what you want to say, write it down, and the site handles the rest. You write normally, and it looks professional automatically.

You don’t need to be a web developer. You’re already doing the important work—storytelling, organizing, creating. This is just a tool that makes sharing that work easier.

Need Help?

If you get stuck, here’s where to look:

  • Check the src/pages/_template.mdx file for examples
  • Look at existing pages to see how they’re built
  • Ask the team—someone has probably done what you’re trying to do
  • Experiment on a demo branch where you can test safely
  • Contact information is in src/config.ts - update once, changes everywhere

The system is forgiving. If something doesn’t work, you can undo it and try again.

Welcome to Your Platform

This Site Belongs to You

Update it when you need to. Tell the stories that matter. Share your work with the community.

The tools are straightforward, and they’re yours to use.

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