Updated the README file.

Author: mrbiggred

README.md

@@ -1,44 +1,176 @@
-# weeklydevchat.github.io
-A static website hosted by GitHub Pages.  
+# Weekly Dev Chat Website
 
-We're using GitHub's Actions, so any push to the **_main_** branch triggers a build of the HTML.  Those are put into the _**gh_pages**_ branch
+A static website for the Weekly Dev Chat community - a weekly virtual developer chat that meets every Tuesday at 12pm Mountain Time.
 
-Results are published to [weeklydevchat.github.io](https://weeklydevchat.github.io/)
+**Live Site**: [weeklydevchat.com](https://weeklydevchat.com)
 
 ![GitHub Pages](https://github.com/weeklydevchat/weeklydevchat.github.io/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)
 [![Built with Material for MkDocs](https://img.shields.io/badge/Material_for_MkDocs-526CFE?style=for-the-badge&logo=MaterialForMkDocs&logoColor=white)](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
 
+## About
 
-# Authors Guide
+This is a static site built with [MkDocs Material](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/) and hosted on GitHub Pages. The site features:
+- Weekly blog posts for Tuesday chat topics
+- Host information and community guidelines
+- Sponsor information
+- Automatic deployment via GitHub Actions
 
-Requirements:
- - **Python**  (any recent should be fine.  Recommended to use a virtual environment.)
-    - **Material for MkDocs**
+## Technology Stack
 
-      `pip install mkdocs-material`
+- **Static Site Generator**: [MkDocs](https://www.mkdocs.org)
+- **Theme**: [Material for MkDocs](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
+- **Language**: Python 3.x
+- **Hosting**: GitHub Pages
+- **CI/CD**: GitHub Actions
+- **Container Support**: Docker Compose
 
-[Material for MKDocs](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/) is a theme and plugin package for [MkDocs](https://www.mkdocs.org). Visit both sites for complete information.
+## Quick Start
 
+### Prerequisites
 
-## Commands
+- Python 3.x (recommended: use a virtual environment)
+- OR Docker and Docker Compose
 
-* `mkdocs serve` - Start the live-reloading docs server. Use this to test changes locally before pushing.
-* `mkdocs -h` - Print help message and exit.
+### Local Development (Native)
 
-## Project layout
+1. Install dependencies:
+   ```bash
+   pip install mkdocs-material
+   ```
 
-    mkdocs.yml    # The configuration file.
-    docs/
-        index.md  # The documentation homepage.
-        posts/    # blog posts, organised anyway you like
-        ...       # Other markdown pages, images and other files.
+2. Start the development server:
+   ```bash
+   mkdocs serve
+   ```
 
-## Docker Guide
+3. Open your browser to [http://127.0.0.1:8000](http://127.0.0.1:8000)
 
-If you want to develop using Docker run the following command:
+### Local Development (Docker)
 
-```sh
-docker compose up app
+1. Start the development server:
+   ```bash
+   docker compose up app
+   ```
+
+2. Open your browser to [http://localhost:8000](http://localhost:8000)
+
+The site will automatically reload when you make changes to the content.
+
+## Creating Blog Posts
+
+### Using Helper Scripts
+
+We provide scripts to automatically create properly formatted blog posts for the next Tuesday:
+
+**Bash (Linux/macOS)**:
+```bash
+./create_post.sh
+```
+
+**PowerShell (Windows)**:
+```powershell
+.\create_post.ps1
+```
+
+These scripts will:
+- Calculate the date of the next Tuesday (or use today if it's Tuesday)
+- Create the directory structure: `docs/posts/YYYY/MM/DD/`
+- Generate an `index.md` file with proper frontmatter
+
+### Manual Blog Post Creation
+
+1. Create a directory following the date pattern: `docs/posts/YYYY/MM/DD/`
+
+2. Create an `index.md` file with the following frontmatter:
+   ```yaml
+   ---
+   title: "Your Blog Post Title"
+   date: YYYY-MM-DD
+   authors:
+    - chris
+   ---
+   ```
+
+3. Add your content following this template:
+   ```markdown
+   TOPIC_INTRODUCTION_HERE
+
+   Everyone and anyone are welcome to [join](https://weeklydevchat.com/join/) as long as you are kind, supportive, and respectful of others. Zoom link will be posted at 12pm MDT.
+
+   ![alt text](YYYY-MM-DD_image_filename.webp)
+   ```
+
+4. Add any images to the same directory as the post
+
+## Project Structure
+
+```
+.
+├── mkdocs.yml                 # Main configuration file
+├── requirements.txt           # Python dependencies
+├── docker-compose.yml         # Docker development environment
+├── create_post.sh             # Bash script to create blog posts
+├── create_post.ps1            # PowerShell script to create blog posts
+├── .github/
+│   └── workflows/
+│       └── ci.yml             # GitHub Actions deployment
+└── docs/                      # All site content
+    ├── .authors.yml           # Author metadata
+    ├── index.md               # Homepage
+    ├── join.md                # How to join
+    ├── hosts/                 # Current hosts
+    ├── past-hosts/            # Past hosts
+    ├── sponsors/              # Sponsors
+    ├── posts/                 # Blog posts (YYYY/MM/DD/)
+    ├── assets/                # Images, logos
+    └── stylesheets/
+        └── extra.css          # Custom CSS
+```
+
+## Common Commands
+
+```bash
+# Development
+mkdocs serve                    # Start development server
+mkdocs serve -a 0.0.0.0:8000   # Start server accessible on network
+
+# Build
+mkdocs build                    # Build static site to site/ directory
+mkdocs build --clean            # Clean build
+
+# Help
+mkdocs -h                       # Show help
+
+# Docker
+docker compose up app           # Start development server
+docker compose down             # Stop containers
+```
+
+## Deployment
+
+### Automatic Deployment
+
+Pushes to the `main` branch automatically trigger deployment via GitHub Actions:
+
+1. The workflow builds the site using `mkdocs gh-deploy`
+2. The static HTML is pushed to the `gh-pages` branch
+3. GitHub Pages serves the site from `gh-pages`
+
+See [.github/workflows/ci.yml](.github/workflows/ci.yml) for details.
+
+### Manual Deployment
+
+While not typically needed, you can manually deploy:
+```bash
+mkdocs gh-deploy --force
 ```
+## Resources
+
+- [MkDocs Documentation](https://www.mkdocs.org)
+- [Material for MkDocs](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/)
+- [Material Blog Plugin](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/plugins/blog/)
+- [GitHub Pages Documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/pages)
+
+## Community
 
-This will bring the application up on port 8000 (e.g. http://localhost:8000).  It should hot-reload any changes you make during development.
+Join our virtual chat every Tuesday at 12pm Mountain Time! Visit [weeklydevchat.com/join](https://weeklydevchat.com/join) for details.  We also occasionally do in real-life events.