diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-1/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-1/cover.png
new file mode 100644
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diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-1/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-1/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f89c5fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-1/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 1'
+description: 'An example project demonstrating the frontmatter shape for a showcase entry.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 1'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-1'
+  - name: 'Example Student 3'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-3'
+  - name: 'Example Student 4'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-4'
+tech: ['TypeScript', 'pnpm']
+year: 2021
+domains: ['web', 'cybersecurity']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-1'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-2/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-2/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d71edce
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-2/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-2/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-2/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e4c085
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-2/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 2'
+description: 'A sample entry illustrating how a single-author project is structured.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 2'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-2'
+tech: ['TypeScript', 'Astro', 'pnpm']
+year: 2022
+domains: ['mobile']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-2'
+deploy: 'https://example-project-2.pages.dev'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-3/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-3/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c60d610
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-3/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-3/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-3/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3bfccbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-3/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 3'
+description: 'A placeholder project showing multiple authors across mixed domains.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 3'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-3'
+  - name: 'Example Student 4'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-4'
+  - name: 'Example Student 6'
+tech: ['TypeScript', 'Python', 'pnpm']
+year: 2025
+domains: ['ai-ml', 'web']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-3'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-4/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-4/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94ad7c7
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-4/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-4/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-4/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65de38b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-4/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 4'
+description: 'An example entry with a live deployment link and a minimal tech stack.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 4'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-4'
+  - name: 'Example Student 6'
+tech: ['TypeScript']
+year: 2022
+domains: ['web']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-4'
+deploy: 'https://example-project-4.pages.dev'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-5/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-5/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd0d2c9
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-5/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-5/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-5/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ebb50f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-5/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 5'
+description: 'A sample game-dev project used to demonstrate the gallery layout.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 5'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-5'
+  - name: 'Example Student 8'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-8'
+tech: ['Astro', 'pnpm']
+year: 2024
+domains: ['game-dev']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-5'
+deploy: 'https://example-project-5.pages.dev'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-6/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-6/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d022b6
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-6/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-6/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-6/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..108173a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-6/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 6'
+description: 'A placeholder full-stack example spanning web and AI/ML domains.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 6'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-6'
+  - name: 'Example Student 8'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-8'
+tech: ['TypeScript', 'C#', 'Python']
+year: 2025
+domains: ['web', 'ai-ml']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-6'
+deploy: 'https://example-project-6.pages.dev'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-7/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-7/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5fbc72f
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-7/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-7/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-7/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36f0bdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-7/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 7'
+description: 'An example project covering the infrastructure and hardware categories.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 7'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-7'
+tech: ['TypeScript', 'Java', 'Rust']
+year: 2024
+domains: ['infrastructure', 'hardware']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-7'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-8/cover.png b/src/content/projects/example-project-8/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a535ce
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/content/projects/example-project-8/cover.png differ
diff --git a/src/content/projects/example-project-8/index.md b/src/content/projects/example-project-8/index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3ee606
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/projects/example-project-8/index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: 'Example Project 8'
+description: 'A sample web project used to exercise gallery filtering and search.'
+builtBy:
+  - name: 'Example Student 8'
+    url: 'https://example.com/student-8'
+  - name: 'Example Student 6'
+tech: ['TypeScript', 'Astro', 'pnpm']
+year: 2021
+domains: ['web', 'systems']
+github: 'https://github.com/example/example-project-8'
+deploy: 'https://example-project-8.pages.dev'
+cover: './cover.png'
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+This is an example project entry that demonstrates the expected frontmatter shape for all projects in this showcase. Every field above is required (except `deploy`, which is optional), and the `cover` image co-located here will be optimized at build time via `astro:assets`.
+
+## What it does
+
+The project serves as a structural template. When a contributor adds their own project, they create a new folder under `src/content/projects/`, drop in their `index.md` and a cover image, and open a pull request. Using one folder per project means multiple contributors can add entries simultaneously without touching the same file, eliminating most merge conflicts.
+
+## Technical notes
+
+- The `domains` field drives filtering on the gallery page. It's an array of one or more categories from a fixed set: `web`, `mobile`, `ai-ml`, `cybersecurity`, `game-dev`, `hardware`, `systems`, `infrastructure` (e.g. a cybersecurity-focused web app could be `['web', 'cybersecurity']`). An unrecognized value fails the build.
+- The `tech` array accepts any freeform strings — the gallery page aggregates them into a filter list at build time.
+- `deploy` is omitted when a project has no public deployment (library, CLI tool, etc.).
diff --git a/src/content/webring/example-1-member.json b/src/content/webring/example-1-member.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2548914
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/webring/example-1-member.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Example Student 1",
+  "url": "https://example.com/student-1",
+  "year": 2022,
+  "inRing": true
+}
diff --git a/src/content/webring/example-2-member.json b/src/content/webring/example-2-member.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..440987e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/webring/example-2-member.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Example Student 2",
+  "url": "https://example.com/student-2",
+  "year": 2022,
+  "inRing": false
+}
diff --git a/src/content/webring/example-3-member.json b/src/content/webring/example-3-member.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d6aac5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/webring/example-3-member.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Example Student 3",
+  "url": "https://example.com/student-3",
+  "year": 2025,
+  "inRing": true
+}
diff --git a/src/content/webring/example-4-member.json b/src/content/webring/example-4-member.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2acdba0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/webring/example-4-member.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Example Student 4",
+  "url": "https://example.com/student-4",
+  "year": 2022,
+  "inRing": false
+}
diff --git a/src/content/webring/example-5-member.json b/src/content/webring/example-5-member.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d72f07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/webring/example-5-member.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Example Student 5",
+  "url": "https://example.com/student-5",
+  "year": 2024,
+  "inRing": true
+}
diff --git a/src/content/webring/example-6-member.json b/src/content/webring/example-6-member.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..193c44c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/content/webring/example-6-member.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Example Student 6",
+  "url": "https://example.com/student-6",
+  "year": 2022,
+  "inRing": false
+}