v7.5.0 — Interactive Table of Contents, Comment System, and Blog Enhancements – Astro Portfolio Update (PR #103)
3 min read
Version 7.5.0 of the Astro Portfolio Blog is here! This release focuses on making the blog experience smoother, more interactive, and easier to navigate. We’ve brought in several new features that aim to enhance both the reading and writing experience while also tightening up performance behind the scenes.
🧱 A More Reader-Friendly Blog Layout
Blog posts now feature a clean, modern layout that includes a sticky sidebar. This sidebar houses a Table of Contents, a block for ads or promotions, and a helpful scroll progress indicator — all aimed at giving readers better control and a more engaging experience.
💬 Comments Are Now Live
At the end of each blog post, visitors will now find a “Join the Discussion” section. It’s a space for your readers to respond, share thoughts, and engage directly. And don’t worry — to keep things fast, the comment system only loads when it’s needed.
📚 Smarter Navigation with an Interactive TOC
The new Table of Contents isn’t just static — it highlights your position as you scroll and features smooth animations and styling that adapt well across devices. Whether you’re reading on a desktop or phone, it feels snappy and intuitive.
🎨 Subtle UI Polish
We’ve made a bunch of small, thoughtful design improvements, including:
- Cleaner spacing around the homepage’s contact map
- Better typography and layout for long blog posts
- Custom scrollbar styling to match the site’s aesthetic
⚙️ Under-the-Hood Improvements
While most of the visual changes are upfront, some solid under-the-hood work went into this version too:
- Updated the app version to
7.5.0 - Extended Tailwind’s config to support a new max-width utility
- Added Partytown to move third-party scripts off the main thread (a big win for performance)
- Cleaned up the sitemap config
- Added optional dependency support and npm configuration for Linux x64 systems
🎯 Wrapping Up
This release makes the blog not just look better, but feel better to use — both for readers and for those building on top of it. We’ve got more updates in the pipeline, but this version is a solid step forward in terms of usability and performance.
Thanks for following along — and as always, feedback is welcome!