v1 · $29 one-time
Cornerstone Site Starter
This site started from the Starter.
Cornerstone Site Starter is the Next.js 16 + MDX codebase hackhour.io started from, with our content swapped for two placeholder articles. Articles are MDX files, their metadata and FAQs live in one typed list, and every article page outputs FAQPage JSON-LD. No CMS, no database. It builds to a static folder.
What you see in the guides comes from the starter: the article pages, the typed article list and the FAQ with its JSON-LD at the end of each guide. This site's current design (the light and dark themes, topic pages and these tables) was added in October 2026 and is not in the v1 zip; the list below says exactly what is.
| Part | Cornerstone Site Starter v1 |
|---|---|
| Price | $29, one-time |
| Updates | v1.x included |
| License | Commercial: unlimited own and client sites, no resale |
| Delivery | Zip from Gumroad |
| Requires | Node 20+ and npm |
Features
- Next.js 16.2 with the App Router and output: "export": builds to a static folder
- React 19.2 and TypeScript
- Articles as MDX files through @next/mdx; titles, teasers and FAQs in one typed list (lib/articles.ts)
- FAQPage JSON-LD on every article, generated from that list
- Tailwind CSS 4 with an @theme block: two colour tokens retint the site
- Optional: a Flodesk form ID for the newsletter box and a Gumroad link for the product card
Pinout: what's in the box
This is the file list of the v1 zip, not a mockup:
cornerstone-site-starter-v1/
├── README.md setup + customisation walkthrough
├── QUICKSTART.md
├── LICENSE.md commercial license
└── source/
├── app/
│ ├── layout.tsx fonts, metadata, nav + rail + footer
│ ├── page.tsx homepage: hero, product card, newsletter
│ ├── globals.css Tailwind 4 @theme tokens + article typography
│ ├── vol-01/page.tsx one route per article
│ ├── vol-02/page.tsx
│ ├── privacy/page.tsx
│ └── terms/page.tsx
├── components/
│ ├── ArticleShell.tsx title, byline, newsletter, FAQ + FAQPage JSON-LD
│ ├── LeftRail.tsx sticky series nav with active state
│ ├── Nav.tsx top nav + Guides dropdown
│ ├── FlodeskScript.tsx newsletter form loader
│ ├── Footer.tsx
│ └── Accent.tsx
├── content/
│ ├── vol-01.mdx placeholder article with FAQ
│ └── vol-02.mdx
├── lib/articles.ts typed article list: titles, teasers, FAQs
├── mdx-components.tsx
├── next.config.ts output: "export"
├── package.json next 16.2.6, react 19.2.4, tailwind 4
├── postcss.config.mjs
└── tsconfig.jsonNot included in v1
hackhour.io kept changing after the starter was packaged. So you know exactly what you're buying, these parts of the live site are not in the v1 download:
- sitemap.xml and robots.txt routes
- Per-page Open Graph, canonical and Article/Organization JSON-LD
- The chat widget, the pageview beacon and the Netlify functions behind them
- This design: light and dark themes, topic hubs, selection tables, revision histories
- Our guides and the product cards at the end of each
Who it's not for
- People who want a drag-and-drop builder. This is code; you'll edit TSX and MDX files.
- Sites that need server-side features out of the box. It's set up for static export; turning that off is one config line, but the deploy plumbing is yours.
- Anyone who wants a personal blog with tags, search and RSS. A free starter does that better (see the table).
Compared with the free starters
Free starters are good, and for a lot of people they're enough. Here's an honest side-by-side with two popular ones, based on their own READMEs as of October 2026.
| Feature | Cornerstone | Vercel Portfolio Blog Starter | Nextplate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 one-time | Free | Free (MIT) |
| Next.js / Tailwind | 16 / 4 | Current / 4 | 16 / 4 |
| MDX articles | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FAQ block + FAQPage JSON-LD per article | Yes, from the typed article list | No (has blog-post JSON-LD) | No |
| Series navigation (sticky left rail, Guides dropdown) | Yes | No | No |
| Newsletter + product card wired in | Flodesk + Gumroad | No | No |
| Sitemap, robots, RSS, OG images | Not in v1 (this site added sitemap + robots later) | Yes | "SEO optimized"; details in README |
| Search, tags, dark/light toggle, i18n | No | No | Yes |
| License | Commercial, unlimited own + client sites, no resale | MIT | MIT |
Where the free ones are enough: a personal blog, a portfolio, or a docs-style site. Where this one fits: a numbered series of long-form guides, each with an FAQ that search engines can read, plus a newsletter box and a product card on every page.
Questions
Did hackhour.io really start from this starter?
Yes. The starter is the codebase hackhour.io began as, with our articles and brand swapped for two placeholders. The live site has since grown a few things the v1 zip doesn't include: a sitemap and robots file, per-page Open Graph tags, a chat widget, a pageview beacon, Netlify functions and, in October 2026, a new design. Those are listed on this page so you know what you're getting.
What do I need to run it?
Node 20 or newer and npm. Run npm install, then npm run dev. npm run build writes a static site to out/ that you can deploy to Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages or any static host.
Is there a CMS or database?
No. Articles are MDX files in the repo and their metadata lives in one typed list, lib/articles.ts. You write in your editor and git push.
Can I use it for client sites?
Yes. The license covers unlimited sites you own and unlimited client sites. You can't resell the starter itself, or a close derivative of it, as a template.
Should I just use a free starter instead?
Often, yes. If you want a personal blog, Vercel's Portfolio Blog Starter or Nextplate are free and do more out of the box (RSS, OG images, search, tags). This starter is worth $29 if you want a series of long-form guides with per-article FAQ schema, a sticky series rail and newsletter/product wiring already done.
Can I get a refund?
No. It's a digital download, so sales are final. Setup help is free: if npm install or npm run build fails on a supported OS, message us through the chat on hackhour.io.
Order: Cornerstone Site Starter, $29
Full source, README walkthrough, two placeholder articles and a commercial license. Delivered by Gumroad as a zip.
Get the starter — $29 →