wiki/decisions/2026-06-30-about-splash-routing.md
ADR: About page is the splash at /; reports list moves to /reports/
Date: 2026-06-30 Status: Accepted
Context
prism.chowmes.com/ previously opened straight into the reports grid (the list of company audits).
There was a separate /about/ explainer page built for the Friday demo. Opening cold on a wall of
audit cards gives a visitor no idea what PRISM is or why it exists.
Decision
Make the About explainer the first page. / now serves the About splash. The reports grid moved to
/reports/. The old /about/ path 302-redirects to / so previously shared links still work.
Rationale
Splash-first is the logical IX: explain what PRISM is, then let the visitor step into the evidence by
choice. The About page already existed and tells the story (what it is, who it is for, how it works,
inside an audit, the skills, the engine), so promoting it to / cost almost nothing.
Alternatives Considered
| Option | Why rejected |
|---|---|
Keep reports at /, About at /about/ |
Cold open on raw audits, no context for a first-time viewer |
/ redirects to /about/ |
The URL would read /about/; the user wanted / to BE the splash |
| One page combining both | The reports grid is long; burying the explainer in it weakens both |
Consequences
- New flow: About (
/) then "Browse the audits" button (or topbar "Reports") then/reports/then/{slug}/. - Reports-grid audit-card links were absolutized (
./slug/index.htmlbecame/slug/) so they work from/reports/. - Individual audit pages (
/{slug}/) are unchanged. Their topbar logo still links to/, which is now the About splash (treated as "home"). Open option: point audit logos to/reports/instead so they return to the list. Left as-is for now. - About page got a full redesign in the same window: premium prism hero, the Inside-the-audit tour, MagicBento deliverables, glowing-edge role cards, a shared animated background, and plain-English copy. See dev-log 2026-06-30.
- Served by the same on-VPS static proxy and auto-deploys via 2026-06-30-github-vps-auto-deploy.