From ad0ec6549ef57a5a71a20ed6858eea17380ec070 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: lynxx-st <shrijalp2016@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:42:31 +0545
Subject: [PATCH 1/4] Improve FlagForge SEO strategy

---
 app/(footer)/about/page.tsx            | 137 +++++++---------
 app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx          |  49 +++---
 app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx   |   2 +-
 app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx        |   2 +-
 app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx   |   2 +-
 app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx |   2 +-
 app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx         |  20 +--
 app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx            |  21 ++-
 app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx              |   8 +-
 app/(main)/profile/page.tsx            |   2 +-
 app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx        |  19 ++-
 app/api/forgeacademy/route.ts          |   2 +-
 app/api/problems/route.ts              |   2 +-
 app/globals.css                        |   1 +
 app/layout.tsx                         | 102 +++---------
 app/page.tsx                           | 192 +++++++++++++++-------
 app/robots.ts                          |  26 +++
 app/sitemap.ts                         |  77 +++++++++
 app/user/[username]/layout.tsx         |  22 ++-
 app/user/[username]/page.tsx           |   2 +-
 components/Footer.tsx                  |  35 ++--
 components/HomepageRedirect.tsx        |  18 ++
 components/Navbar.tsx                  |  12 +-
 lib/seo.ts                             |  24 +++
 middleware.ts                          |  30 ----
 next-sitemap.config.js                 | 218 -------------------------
 next.config.mjs                        |  36 +++-
 package.json                           |   5 +-
 proxy.ts                               |  29 ++++
 public/llms.txt                        |  20 +--
 scripts/copy-sitemap.js                |  27 ---
 tsconfig.json                          |   2 +-
 utils/data.ts                          |   7 +-
 33 files changed, 533 insertions(+), 620 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 app/robots.ts
 create mode 100644 app/sitemap.ts
 create mode 100644 components/HomepageRedirect.tsx
 create mode 100644 lib/seo.ts
 delete mode 100644 middleware.ts
 delete mode 100644 next-sitemap.config.js
 create mode 100644 proxy.ts
 delete mode 100644 scripts/copy-sitemap.js

diff --git a/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx
index e1e708d..cd2f8b5 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ import {
   Zap,
   Scale,
   CheckCircle2,
-  BookOpen,
-  Cpu,
   Network,
   Binary,
   Search,
@@ -22,35 +20,42 @@ import {
   TrendingUp,
   Heart
 } from "lucide-react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
   title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform for Cybersecurity Learning",
-  description: "FlagForge is a dynamic CTF platform promoting cybersecurity awareness and hands-on coding challenges. Join our global community of learners.",
+  description:
+    "Learn what FlagForge is, how the platform teaches capture the flag skills, and why the community focuses on practical cybersecurity learning.",
   keywords: [
-    "CTF",
-    "cybersecurity",
-    "capture the flag",
-    "coding challenges",
-    "hacking",
-    "security learning",
-    "FlagForge",
+    "About FlagForge",
+    "FlagForge CTF platform",
+    "cybersecurity learning",
+    "capture the flag training",
     "Nepal cybersecurity community",
   ],
   authors: [{ name: "FlagForge Team" }],
+  alternates: {
+    canonical: "/about",
+  },
+  robots: {
+    index: true,
+    follow: true,
+  },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform",
-    description: "Where curiosity meets cybersecurity. Learn, compete, and grow with our global community.",
+    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform for Cybersecurity Learning",
+    description:
+      "See how FlagForge helps learners practice cybersecurity skills through hands-on capture the flag challenges.",
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/about",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}/about`,
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "About FlagForge" }],
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform",
-    description: "Where curiosity meets cybersecurity. Learn, compete, and grow with our global community.",
-  },
-  alternates: {
-    canonical: "/about",
+    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform for Cybersecurity Learning",
+    description:
+      "See how FlagForge helps learners practice cybersecurity skills through hands-on capture the flag challenges.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
 };
 
@@ -58,27 +63,26 @@ export default function About() {
   const breadcrumbData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
-    "itemListElement": [
+    itemListElement: [
       {
         "@type": "ListItem",
-        "position": 1,
-        "name": "Home",
-        "item": "https://flagforge.xyz/"
+        position: 1,
+        name: "Home",
+        item: `${siteConfig.url}/`,
       },
       {
         "@type": "ListItem",
-        "position": 2,
-        "name": "About",
-        "item": "https://flagforge.xyz/about"
-      }
-    ]
+        position: 2,
+        name: "About",
+        item: `${siteConfig.url}/about`,
+      },
+    ],
   };
 
   return (
     <div className="min-h-screen bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] text-gray-950 dark:text-white pb-20 relative overflow-hidden transition-colors duration-500">
       <JsonLd data={breadcrumbData} />
 
-      {/* Background Effects */}
       <div className="fixed inset-0 pointer-events-none z-0">
         <div className="absolute top-[-10%] left-[-5%] w-[40%] h-[40%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[120px] animate-pulse" />
         <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />
@@ -86,8 +90,6 @@ export default function About() {
       </div>
 
       <div className="relative z-10 w-[92%] lg:w-[75%] max-w-5xl mx-auto pt-28 lg:pt-36">
-
-        {/* Header Section */}
         <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-6 mb-16 lg:mb-24">
           <div className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-1.5 rounded-full bg-red-50 dark:bg-red-950/30 border border-red-100 dark:border-red-900/40 text-red-600 dark:text-red-400 text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em]">
             <Info className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
@@ -98,22 +100,17 @@ export default function About() {
               About <span className="text-red-400 dark:text-red-500">FlagForge</span>
             </h1>
             <h2 className="text-md text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 italic font-medium tracking-wide uppercase">
-              "Where curiosity meets cybersecurity."
+              Capture the flag training built for real cybersecurity growth.
             </h2>
             <p className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-medium text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 max-w-3xl mx-auto leading-relaxed">
               FlagForge is a dynamic and engaging CTF platform dedicated to promoting{" "}
-              <span className="text-red-500 dark:text-red-500 font-black">
-                Cybersecurity
-              </span>{" "}
-              awareness and fostering a passion for coding among participants.
+              <span className="text-red-500 dark:text-red-500 font-black">Cybersecurity</span>{" "}
+              awareness and helping learners build practical security skills through hands-on challenge solving.
             </p>
           </div>
         </div>
 
-        {/* Main Content Dashboard */}
         <div className="space-y-10 lg:space-y-16">
-
-          {/* Platform & Features Card */}
           <div className="relative group">
             <div className="absolute -inset-4 bg-gradient-to-br from-red-600/5 to-orange-500/5 blur-3xl opacity-50 pointer-events-none" />
             <div className="relative bg-white/60 dark:bg-white/[0.02] backdrop-blur-3xl border border-white dark:border-white/10 rounded-[2.5rem] lg:rounded-[3.5rem] p-8 lg:p-14 shadow-2xl">
@@ -125,12 +122,10 @@ export default function About() {
                       <h2 className="text-2xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white">Our Platform</h2>
                     </div>
                     <p className="text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 leading-relaxed font-medium">
-                      Our platform features a clean, responsive interface and an easy-to-use
-                      experience. Flags are securely submitted and efficiently validated for
-                      fair play. Participants can track scores on a real-time leaderboard.
-                      With Google Authentication, users can sign in instantly and start
-                      solving. Challenges can be filtered by category and difficulty,
-                      helping participants find content that fits their skills and interests.
+                      FlagForge combines guided learning resources, practical CTF challenges, and a community-focused
+                      interface so learners can study cybersecurity by doing. Participants can sign in quickly, filter
+                      challenges by category, track progress, and move from beginner-friendly puzzles into deeper
+                      problem-solving across web, crypto, forensics, and binary analysis.
                     </p>
                   </div>
 
@@ -141,9 +136,8 @@ export default function About() {
                         <h4 className="text-lg font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white text-sm">Our Mission</h4>
                       </div>
                       <p className="text-sm text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                        To make cybersecurity learning accessible and engaging through practical
-                        challenges, collaboration, and gamified experiences that empower learners
-                        worldwide.
+                        To make cybersecurity learning accessible and engaging through practical challenges,
+                        collaboration, and gamified experiences that empower learners worldwide.
                       </p>
                     </div>
                     <div className="space-y-4">
@@ -152,8 +146,8 @@ export default function About() {
                         <h4 className="text-lg font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white text-sm">Our Vision</h4>
                       </div>
                       <p className="text-sm text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                        To build a global community where future cybersecurity experts and developers
-                        learn, compete, and grow together.
+                        To build a trusted capture the flag community where future security engineers learn, compete,
+                        and grow together.
                       </p>
                     </div>
                   </div>
@@ -161,10 +155,10 @@ export default function About() {
 
                 <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4">
                   {[
-                    { icon: Lock, title: "Secure", desc: "End-to-end encrypted communication" },
-                    { icon: Users, title: "Collaborative", desc: "Direct participant-organizer communication" },
-                    { icon: Globe, title: "Global", desc: "Worldwide network of participants" },
-                    { icon: ShieldAlert, title: "Private", desc: "Responsible disclosure practices" },
+                    { icon: Lock, title: "Secure", desc: "Practice in a controlled learning environment" },
+                    { icon: Users, title: "Collaborative", desc: "Built for students, teams, and communities" },
+                    { icon: Globe, title: "Open", desc: "Rooted in Nepal and accessible to global learners" },
+                    { icon: ShieldAlert, title: "Responsible", desc: "Focused on ethical hacking and safe skill-building" },
                   ].map((feature, i) => (
                     <div
                       key={i}
@@ -185,7 +179,6 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Ethical Hacking Disclosure Card */}
           <div className="relative">
             <div className="absolute -inset-1 bg-gradient-to-r from-amber-500 to-orange-600 rounded-[2rem] blur opacity-25" />
             <div className="relative bg-amber-50/80 dark:bg-amber-950/20 backdrop-blur-3xl border border-amber-200/50 dark:border-amber-900/40 rounded-[2rem] p-8 lg:p-12 overflow-hidden">
@@ -196,7 +189,7 @@ export default function About() {
                 </div>
                 <div className="space-y-6">
                   <h3 className="text-2xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-amber-900 dark:text-amber-400">
-                    Educational Purpose & Ethical Hacking
+                    Educational Purpose and Ethical Hacking
                   </h3>
                   <div className="space-y-4 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 font-medium leading-relaxed">
                     <p>
@@ -205,9 +198,7 @@ export default function About() {
                     <p>
                       All challenges and activities on FlagForge are intended to teach responsible security practices. We strictly prohibit the use of knowledge gained on our platform for any illegal activities, unauthorized access to systems, or malicious purposes.
                     </p>
-                    <p>
-                      By participating in FlagForge challenges, users agree to:
-                    </p>
+                    <p>By participating in FlagForge challenges, users agree to:</p>
                     <ul className="grid sm:grid-cols-2 gap-4 pt-2">
                       {[
                         "Use their skills only for legal and ethical purposes",
@@ -231,45 +222,44 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Learning Categories Grid */}
           <div className="space-y-10">
             <div className="text-center space-y-4">
               <h3 className="text-3xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white">
-                What You'll <span className="text-red-500">Learn</span>
+                What You&apos;ll <span className="text-red-500">Learn</span>
               </h3>
-              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium">Comprehensive cybersecurity skills development</p>
+              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium">Core challenge areas available across the FlagForge learning experience</p>
             </div>
             <div className="grid md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
               {[
                 {
                   title: "Web Security",
                   icon: Globe,
-                  skills: ["XSS Prevention", "SQL Injection Defense", "CSRF Protection", "Secure Authentication"]
+                  skills: ["XSS prevention", "SQL injection defense", "CSRF protection", "Secure authentication"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Cryptography",
                   icon: Lock,
-                  skills: ["Encryption Basics", "Hash Functions", "Digital Signatures", "Secure Communication"]
+                  skills: ["Encryption basics", "Hash functions", "Digital signatures", "Secure communication"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Network Security",
                   icon: Network,
-                  skills: ["Protocol Analysis", "Packet Inspection", "Firewall Configuration", "Intrusion Detection"]
+                  skills: ["Protocol analysis", "Packet inspection", "Firewall concepts", "Intrusion detection"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Reverse Engineering",
                   icon: Binary,
-                  skills: ["Binary Analysis", "Debugging Techniques", "Code Decompilation", "Malware Analysis"]
+                  skills: ["Binary analysis", "Debugging techniques", "Code decompilation", "Malware analysis"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Forensics",
                   icon: Search,
-                  skills: ["Data Recovery", "Log Analysis", "Memory Forensics", "Evidence Collection"]
+                  skills: ["Data recovery", "Log analysis", "Memory forensics", "Evidence collection"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Problem Solving",
                   icon: Puzzle,
-                  skills: ["Critical Thinking", "Pattern Recognition", "Logical Reasoning", "Creative Solutions"]
+                  skills: ["Critical thinking", "Pattern recognition", "Logical reasoning", "Creative solutions"]
                 }
               ].map((category, i) => (
                 <div
@@ -294,7 +284,6 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Stats & Community Card */}
           <div className="relative group overflow-hidden">
             <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-r from-red-600 to-rose-700 opacity-90 transition-opacity" />
             <div className="absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.1]" />
@@ -302,15 +291,15 @@ export default function About() {
               <div className="space-y-4">
                 <h3 className="text-4xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase leading-[0.9]">Join Our Growing Community</h3>
                 <p className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-medium opacity-90 max-w-3xl leading-relaxed">
-                  Built by passionate developers and cybersecurity enthusiasts, FlagForge is more than just a platform—it's a community dedicated to helping others learn, grow, and forge their own path in technology and cybersecurity.
+                  Built by passionate developers and cybersecurity enthusiasts, FlagForge is more than just a platform. It is a community dedicated to helping others learn, grow, and build practical security confidence.
                 </p>
               </div>
 
               <div className="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-3 gap-12 w-full pt-4">
                 {[
-                  { label: "Active Users", value: "1000+", icon: Users },
-                  { label: "Challenges Solved", value: "500+", icon: TrendingUp },
-                  { label: "Learning Support", value: "24/7", icon: Heart }
+                  { label: "Active users", value: "1000+", icon: Users },
+                  { label: "Challenges solved", value: "500+", icon: TrendingUp },
+                  { label: "Learning support", value: "24/7", icon: Heart }
                 ].map((stat, i) => (
                   <div key={i} className="space-y-4 group/stat">
                     <div className="w-14 h-14 rounded-full bg-white/10 flex items-center justify-center mx-auto border border-white/20 group-hover/stat:rotate-[12deg] transition-transform">
@@ -326,7 +315,6 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Call to Action */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-6 py-10 lg:py-14 animate-in fade-in slide-in-from-bottom-5 duration-1000">
             <Link
               href="/problems"
@@ -348,7 +336,6 @@ export default function About() {
               </p>
             </div>
           </div>
-
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx
index 6ad7a8d..17952bb 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx
@@ -7,33 +7,35 @@ import {
   Send,
   Home
 } from "lucide-react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: "Contact Us - FlagForge CTF Platform",
+  title: "Contact FlagForge | CTF Support and Cybersecurity Collaboration",
   description:
-    "Contact FlagForge for CTF support and cybersecurity inquiries via email, phone, or our Lalitpur office.",
+    "Contact FlagForge for platform support, partnerships, CTF collaboration, or general cybersecurity learning inquiries.",
   keywords: [
     "contact FlagForge",
-    "CTF support",
-    "cybersecurity help",
-    "FlagForge team",
-    "Nepal cybersecurity support",
-    "Nepal CTF community",
+    "FlagForge support",
+    "CTF platform contact",
+    "cybersecurity collaboration",
+    "Nepal cybersecurity community",
   ],
   authors: [{ name: "FlagForge Team" }],
   openGraph: {
-    title: "Contact FlagForge - Get in Touch",
+    title: "Contact FlagForge | CTF Support and Cybersecurity Collaboration",
     description:
-      "Contact the FlagForge team for inquiries, support, or collaboration opportunities.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/contact",
+      "Contact the FlagForge team for platform support, partnerships, or cybersecurity collaboration.",
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}/contact`,
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
     locale: "en_US",
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "Contact FlagForge" }],
   },
   twitter: {
-    card: "summary",
-    title: "Contact FlagForge - Get in Touch",
+    card: "summary_large_image",
+    title: "Contact FlagForge | CTF Support and Cybersecurity Collaboration",
     description: "Reach out to the FlagForge team for support, inquiries, or collaboration.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
   alternates: {
     canonical: "/contact",
@@ -47,31 +49,24 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
 export default function Contact() {
   return (
     <div className="min-h-screen bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] text-gray-950 dark:text-white pb-16 relative overflow-hidden flex items-center justify-center p-4 lg:p-8">
-
-      {/* Background Effects */}
       <div className="absolute inset-0 pointer-events-none z-0">
         <div className="absolute top-[-10%] left-[-5%] w-[40%] h-[40%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[120px] animate-pulse" />
-        <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />        <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.02] dark:opacity-[0.04]" />
+        <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />
+        <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.02] dark:opacity-[0.04]" />
       </div>
 
       <div className="relative z-10 w-[80%] animate-in fade-in zoom-in-95 duration-700">
-
-        {/* Compact Glass Dashboard */}
         <div className="relative bg-white/70 dark:bg-white/[0.02] backdrop-blur-3xl border border-white dark:border-white/10 rounded-[2.5rem] lg:rounded-[3.5rem] shadow-2xl shadow-black/5 overflow-hidden">
-
           <div className="grid lg:grid-cols-[0.9fr_1.1fr]">
-
-            {/* Left Column: Header & Info */}
             <div className="p-8 lg:p-16 bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/[0.01] border-b lg:border-b-0 lg:border-r border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 space-y-12">
-
               <div className="space-y-6">
                 <h1 className="text-5xl lg:text-7xl font-black tracking-tighter leading-none text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
-                  Contact <span className="text-red-500">Us</span>
+                  Contact <span className="text-red-500">FlagForge</span>
                 </h1>
                 <p className="text-base font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 max-w-sm">
-                  Get in touch with us. We'd love to hear from you!
+                  Reach the team for platform support, partnership conversations, and CTF or cybersecurity learning inquiries.
                 </p>
-                <h3 className="sr-only">FlagForge Contact Details</h3>
+                <h3 className="sr-only">FlagForge contact details</h3>
                 <h4 className="sr-only">Email, phone, and office location</h4>
               </div>
 
@@ -108,10 +103,9 @@ export default function Contact() {
               </div>
             </div>
 
-            {/* Right Column: Contact Form */}
             <div className="p-8 lg:p-16 space-y-10">
               <h2 className="text-3xl font-black tracking-tighter text-gray-900 dark:text-white uppercase">
-                Send us a Message
+                Send Us a Message
               </h2>
 
               <form className="space-y-8">
@@ -155,7 +149,6 @@ export default function Contact() {
                 </button>
               </form>
             </div>
-
           </div>
         </div>
       </div>
diff --git a/app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx
index 3c7fe16..f9f0a68 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     title: "FlagForge Cookie Policy",
     description:
       "Understand how FlagForge uses cookies to improve your experience and protect your privacy.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/cookie-consent",
+    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/cookie-consent",
     type: "website",
     siteName: "FlagForge",
     locale: "en_US",
diff --git a/app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx
index d333d0f..535a760 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     title: "FlagForge Licensing - GPL-3.0 Open Source",
     description:
       "FlagForge is open source under GPL-3.0. Free to use, modify, and distribute with full source code access on GitHub.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/licensing",
+    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/licensing",
     type: "website",
     siteName: "FlagForge",
     locale: "en_US",
diff --git a/app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx
index 07322d7..f78f656 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     title: "FlagForge Privacy Policy",
     description:
       "Understand how FlagForge handles your data with transparency and security. Your privacy is our priority.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/privacy-policy",
+    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/privacy-policy",
     type: "website",
     siteName: "FlagForge",
     locale: "en_US",
diff --git a/app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx
index f0225c5..9324243 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     title: "FlagForge Terms of Service",
     description:
       "Review the terms and conditions for using FlagForge CTF platform. Clear guidelines for fair and secure participation.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/terms-of-service",
+    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/terms-of-service",
     type: "website",
     siteName: "FlagForge",
     locale: "en_US",
diff --git a/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx b/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx
index 2ea50b6..a85c03f 100644
--- a/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type {
   PartialBlockObjectResponse,
 } from "@notionhq/client/build/src/api-endpoints";
 import JsonLd from "@/components/JsonLd";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 import BlogPostClient from "./BlogPostClient";
 
 export const revalidate = 300;
@@ -228,13 +229,13 @@ export async function generateMetadata({
     description,
     keywords,
     alternates: {
-      canonical: `/blogs/${canonicalSlug}`,
+      canonical: `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${canonicalSlug}`,
     },
     openGraph: {
       title: post.title,
       description,
       type: "article",
-      url: `/blogs/${canonicalSlug}`,
+      url: `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${canonicalSlug}`,
       images: imageUrl ? [{ url: imageUrl, alt: post.title }] : [],
     },
     twitter: {
@@ -254,8 +255,7 @@ export default async function BlogPostPage({
   const { id } = await params;
   const post = await fetchBlogPost(id);
   const postSlug = post?.slug || id;
-  const seoImage =
-    post?.cover || post?.thumbnail || post?.image || "https://flagforge.xyz/flagforge-logo.png";
+  const seoImage = post?.cover || post?.thumbnail || post?.image || siteConfig.ogImage;
   const wordCount = post?.content
     ? post.content.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length
     : undefined;
@@ -286,18 +286,18 @@ export default async function BlogPostPage({
                 name: "FlagForge",
                 logo: {
                   "@type": "ImageObject",
-                  url: "https://flagforge.xyz/flagforge-logo.png",
+                  url: siteConfig.ogImage,
                 },
               },
               mainEntityOfPage: {
                 "@type": "WebPage",
-                "@id": `https://flagforge.xyz/blogs/${postSlug}`,
+                "@id": `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${postSlug}`,
               },
               keywords: post.tags?.join(", ") || "",
               isPartOf: {
                 "@type": "Blog",
                 name: "FlagForge Blog",
-                url: "https://flagforge.xyz/blogs",
+                url: siteConfig.blogUrl,
               },
             }}
           />
@@ -310,19 +310,19 @@ export default async function BlogPostPage({
                   "@type": "ListItem",
                   position: 1,
                   name: "Home",
-                  item: "https://flagforge.xyz/",
+                  item: `${siteConfig.url}/`,
                 },
                 {
                   "@type": "ListItem",
                   position: 2,
                   name: "Blogs",
-                  item: "https://flagforge.xyz/blogs",
+                  item: siteConfig.blogUrl,
                 },
                 {
                   "@type": "ListItem",
                   position: 3,
                   name: post.title,
-                  item: `https://flagforge.xyz/blogs/${postSlug}`,
+                  item: `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${postSlug}`,
                 },
               ],
             }}
diff --git a/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx b/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx
index 5ff9b44..0a33b42 100644
--- a/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx
@@ -1,26 +1,29 @@
 import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: "FlagForge Blog",
+  title: "FlagForge Blog | CTF Guides and Cybersecurity Tutorials",
   description:
-    "Read FlagForge blog posts on CTF challenges, cybersecurity tutorials, and competition guides.",
+    "Read FlagForge blog posts covering capture the flag walkthroughs, cybersecurity tutorials, learning paths, and community updates.",
   alternates: {
-    canonical: "/blogs",
+    canonical: siteConfig.blogUrl,
   },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "FlagForge Blog",
+    title: "FlagForge Blog | CTF Guides and Cybersecurity Tutorials",
     description:
-      "Read FlagForge blog posts on CTF challenges, cybersecurity tutorials, and competition guides.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/blogs",
+      "Read FlagForge blog posts covering capture the flag walkthroughs, cybersecurity tutorials, learning paths, and community updates.",
+    url: siteConfig.blogUrl,
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "FlagForge Blog" }],
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    title: "FlagForge Blog",
+    title: "FlagForge Blog | CTF Guides and Cybersecurity Tutorials",
     description:
-      "Read FlagForge blog posts on CTF challenges, cybersecurity tutorials, and competition guides.",
+      "Read FlagForge blog posts covering capture the flag walkthroughs, cybersecurity tutorials, learning paths, and community updates.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
 };
 
diff --git a/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx b/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx
index 44074b1..8110dcd 100644
--- a/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx
@@ -32,13 +32,13 @@ export default function BlogsPage() {
         "@type": "ListItem",
         "position": 1,
         "name": "Home",
-        "item": "https://flagforge.xyz/"
+        "item": "https://flagforgectf.com/"
       },
       {
         "@type": "ListItem",
         "position": 2,
         "name": "Blogs",
-        "item": "https://flagforge.xyz/blogs"
+        "item": "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com"
       }
     ]
   };
@@ -135,11 +135,11 @@ export default function BlogsPage() {
           "@type": "Blog",
           name: "FlagForge Blog",
           description: "Discover insights, tutorials, and stories from our team at FlagForge.",
-          url: "https://flagforge.xyz/blogs",
+          url: "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com",
           blogPost: posts.map((post) => ({
             "@type": "BlogPosting",
             headline: post.title,
-            url: `https://flagforge.xyz/blogs/${post.slug || post.id}`,
+            url: `https://blogs.flagforgectf.com/${post.slug || post.id}`,
             datePublished: post.created,
             description: post.excerpt,
           })),
diff --git a/app/(main)/profile/page.tsx b/app/(main)/profile/page.tsx
index 6f55e5e..54e6551 100644
--- a/app/(main)/profile/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/profile/page.tsx
@@ -1187,7 +1187,7 @@ const ProfilePage = () => {
 
               <div className="space-y-4">
                 {(() => {
-                  const currentDomain = typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.origin : 'https://flagforge.xyz';
+                  const currentDomain = typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.origin : 'https://flagforgectf.com';
                   const slug = (profileData?.name || "").replace(/\s+/g, "-");
                   const profileUrl = `${currentDomain}/user/${encodeURIComponent(slug)}`;
                   const badgeSvgUrl = `${currentDomain}/api/badge/${encodeURIComponent(slug)}/svg`;
diff --git a/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx b/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx
index 2d24c54..e5b8f04 100644
--- a/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx
@@ -1,26 +1,29 @@
 import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: "Learning Resources",
+  title: "FlagForge Resources | CTF Learning Materials and Security Study Guides",
   description:
-    "Explore FlagForge learning resources and CTF training materials organized by category to build cybersecurity skills.",
+    "Explore FlagForge resources for capture the flag preparation, cybersecurity study paths, curated tools, and practical learning materials.",
   alternates: {
     canonical: "/resources",
   },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "Learning Resources - FlagForge",
+    title: "FlagForge Resources | CTF Learning Materials and Security Study Guides",
     description:
-      "Explore FlagForge learning resources and CTF training materials organized by category to build cybersecurity skills.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz/resources",
+      "Explore FlagForge resources for capture the flag preparation, cybersecurity study paths, curated tools, and practical learning materials.",
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}/resources`,
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "FlagForge Resources" }],
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    title: "Learning Resources - FlagForge",
+    title: "FlagForge Resources | CTF Learning Materials and Security Study Guides",
     description:
-      "Explore FlagForge learning resources and CTF training materials organized by category to build cybersecurity skills.",
+      "Explore FlagForge resources for capture the flag preparation, cybersecurity study paths, curated tools, and practical learning materials.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
 };
 
diff --git a/app/api/forgeacademy/route.ts b/app/api/forgeacademy/route.ts
index 8056d2c..b9d5cba 100644
--- a/app/api/forgeacademy/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/forgeacademy/route.ts
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ Return only JSON.
     if (bestChallenge) {
       const challengeId = bestChallenge.id || bestChallenge._id?.toString();
       const challengeTitle = bestChallenge.title || "Untitled Challenge";
-      const challengeLink = `https://flagforge.xyz/challenges/${challengeId}`;
+      const challengeLink = `https://flagforgectf.com/challenges/${challengeId}`;
 
       // Inject challenge link into lesson
       lesson.challenge_meta = {
diff --git a/app/api/problems/route.ts b/app/api/problems/route.ts
index 95db099..34f79db 100644
--- a/app/api/problems/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/problems/route.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
     ) {
       const product = await QuestionModel.create(body);
       await product.save();
-      const challengeLink = `https://flagforge.xyz/problems/${product._id}`;
+      const challengeLink = `https://flagforgectf.com/problems/${product._id}`;
 
       // Send Discord notification
       await sendDiscordNotification(
diff --git a/app/globals.css b/app/globals.css
index f9010ef..ddad2f5 100644
--- a/app/globals.css
+++ b/app/globals.css
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@
 
   body {
     @apply bg-background text-foreground;
+    font-family: "Segoe UI", "Aptos", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;
   }
 
   /* Custom dark mode styles */
diff --git a/app/layout.tsx b/app/layout.tsx
index 4a89b2f..8ae81d0 100644
--- a/app/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/layout.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import type { Metadata, Viewport } from "next";
-import { DM_Sans } from "next/font/google";
 import Script from "next/script";
 import "./globals.css";
 import Navbar from "@/components/Navbar";
@@ -8,40 +7,20 @@ import CookieConsent from "@/components/CookieConsent";
 import Authprovider from "@/providers/auth-provider";
 import { ThemeProvider } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
 import { Analytics } from "@vercel/analytics/react";
-
-const dmSans = DM_Sans({
-  subsets: ["latin"],
-  display: "swap",
-  preload: true,
-});
+import { defaultKeywords, siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
+  metadataBase: new URL(siteConfig.url),
   title: {
-    default: "FlagForge - The Ultimate CTF Platform",
+    default: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
     template: "%s | FlagForge",
   },
-  description:
-    "Join FlagForge, the premier CTF platform to hone your cybersecurity skills with engaging challenges. Compete, learn, and grow your hacking expertise.",
-  metadataBase: new URL("https://flagforge.xyz"),
-  applicationName: "FlagForge CTF",
+  description: siteConfig.description,
+  applicationName: siteConfig.name,
   referrer: "origin-when-cross-origin",
-  keywords: [
-    "CTF",
-    "Capture The Flag",
-    "Cybersecurity",
-    "Ethical Hacking",
-    "FlagForge",
-    "CTF Challenges",
-    "Cybersecurity Platform",
-    "Online CTF Competitions",
-    "Nepal cybersecurity",
-    "Nepal CTF platform",
-  ],
-  authors: [{ name: "@Aryanstha", url: "https://github.com/aryan4859" }],
-  publisher: "FlagForge",
-  alternates: {
-    canonical: "/",
-  },
+  keywords: defaultKeywords,
+  authors: [{ name: "FlagForge Team", url: "https://github.com/FlagForgeCTF/" }],
+  publisher: siteConfig.name,
   robots: {
     index: true,
     follow: true,
@@ -57,17 +36,16 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     "google-adsense-account": "ca-pub-2506540900080142",
   },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "FlagForge - The Ultimate CTF Platform",
-    description:
-      "FlagForge is the go-to platform for Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions. Test your hacking skills with thrilling challenges in cybersecurity.",
-    url: "https://flagforge.xyz",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description: siteConfig.description,
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
     images: [
       {
-        url: "/flagforge.gif",
+        url: siteConfig.ogImage,
         width: 1200,
         height: 630,
-        alt: "FlagForge - Capture The Flag Platform",
+        alt: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
       },
     ],
     locale: "en_US",
@@ -75,11 +53,9 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    site: "@Aryanstha",
-    title: "FlagForge - The Ultimate CTF Platform",
-    description:
-      "Join FlagForge, the leading Capture The Flag platform to enhance your cybersecurity skills. Compete and learn with exciting CTF challenges.",
-    images: ["/flagforge.gif"],
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description: siteConfig.description,
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
   icons: {
     icon: "/favicon.ico",
@@ -95,37 +71,6 @@ export const viewport: Viewport = {
   userScalable: true,
 };
 
-const structuredData = {
-  "@context": "https://schema.org",
-  "@graph": [
-    {
-      "@type": "WebSite",
-      "@id": "https://flagforge.xyz/#website",
-      url: "https://flagforge.xyz",
-      name: "FlagForge",
-      alternateName: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
-      potentialAction: {
-        "@type": "SearchAction",
-        target: "https://flagforge.xyz/search?q={search_term_string}",
-        "query-input": "required name=search_term_string",
-      },
-      publisher: {
-        "@id": "https://flagforge.xyz/#organization",
-      },
-    },
-    {
-      "@type": "Organization",
-      "@id": "https://flagforge.xyz/#organization",
-      name: "FlagForge",
-      url: "https://flagforge.xyz",
-      logo: {
-        "@type": "ImageObject",
-        url: "https://flagforge.xyz/flagforge-logo.png",
-      },
-    },
-  ],
-};
-
 export default function RootLayout({
   children,
 }: {
@@ -133,22 +78,13 @@ export default function RootLayout({
 }) {
   return (
     <html lang="en">
-      <head>
-        <script
-          id="structured-data"
-          type="application/ld+json"
-          dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: JSON.stringify(structuredData) }}
-        />
-      </head>
-      <body
-        className={`${dmSans.className} antialiased transition-colors duration-300 bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 overflow-x-hidden sm:overflow-x-visible`}
-      >
+      <body className="font-sans antialiased transition-colors duration-300 bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 overflow-x-hidden sm:overflow-x-visible">
         <ThemeProvider>
           <Authprovider>
             <div className="mx-auto grid min-h-[100dvh] grid-rows-[auto_1fr_auto]">
               <Navbar />
               <main className="flex-1">{children}</main>
-              {typeof window !== "undefined" && <Analytics />}
+              <Analytics />
               <CookieConsent />
               <Footer />
             </div>
diff --git a/app/page.tsx b/app/page.tsx
index bfb6ea8..932641f 100644
--- a/app/page.tsx
+++ b/app/page.tsx
@@ -1,83 +1,155 @@
-"use client";
-
-import { useSession } from "next-auth/react";
-import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
-import { useEffect } from "react";
+import type { Metadata } from "next";
+import Link from "next/link";
 import Hero from "@/components/Hero";
 import JsonLd from "@/components/JsonLd";
+import HomepageRedirect from "@/components/HomepageRedirect";
 import { landingFaqItems } from "@/lib/faq";
+import { defaultKeywords, siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
-export default function Home() {
-  const { status } = useSession();
-  const router = useRouter();
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (status === "authenticated") {
-      router.replace("/home");
-    }
-  }, [status, router]);
+export const metadata: Metadata = {
+  title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+  description:
+    "FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted capture the flag platform where learners practice cybersecurity challenges, study writeups, and build hands-on offensive and defensive security skills.",
+  keywords: defaultKeywords,
+  alternates: {
+    canonical: "/",
+  },
+  robots: {
+    index: true,
+    follow: true,
+    googleBot: {
+      index: true,
+      follow: true,
+      "max-image-preview": "large",
+      "max-snippet": -1,
+      "max-video-preview": -1,
+    },
+  },
+  openGraph: {
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description:
+      "Practice web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and other CTF categories on FlagForge.",
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    images: [
+      {
+        url: siteConfig.ogImage,
+        width: 1200,
+        height: 630,
+        alt: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
+      },
+    ],
+    locale: "en_US",
+    type: "website",
+  },
+  twitter: {
+    card: "summary_large_image",
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description:
+      "Train with practical CTF challenges, security writeups, and community-driven cybersecurity learning on FlagForge.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
+  },
+};
 
+export default function Home() {
   const organizationData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "Organization",
-    "name": "FlagForge",
-    "url": "https://flagforge.xyz",
-    "logo": "https://flagforge.xyz/flagforge.gif",
-    "sameAs": [
-      "https://github.com/aryan4859"
-    ]
+    name: siteConfig.name,
+    alternateName: siteConfig.secondaryName,
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    logo: siteConfig.ogImage,
+    description: siteConfig.organizationDescription,
+    sameAs: [
+      "https://github.com/FlagForgeCTF/",
+      "https://www.instagram.com/flag.forge/",
+      "https://www.linkedin.com/company/flagforge/",
+    ],
   };
 
   const websiteData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "WebSite",
-    "name": "FlagForge",
-    "url": "https://flagforge.xyz",
-    "potentialAction": {
-      "@type": "SearchAction",
-      "target": "https://flagforge.xyz/search?q={search_term_string}",
-      "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
-    }
+    name: siteConfig.name,
+    alternateName: siteConfig.secondaryName,
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    description: siteConfig.description,
+    publisher: {
+      "@type": "Organization",
+      name: siteConfig.name,
+      url: siteConfig.url,
+    },
   };
 
   const faqData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "FAQPage",
-    "mainEntity": landingFaqItems.map((item) => ({
+    mainEntity: landingFaqItems.map((item) => ({
       "@type": "Question",
-      "name": item.question,
-      "acceptedAnswer": {
+      name: item.question,
+      acceptedAnswer: {
         "@type": "Answer",
-        "text": item.answer
-      }
-    }))
-  };
-
-  const breadcrumbData = {
-    "@context": "https://schema.org",
-    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
-    "itemListElement": [
-      {
-        "@type": "ListItem",
-        "position": 1,
-        "name": "Home",
-        "item": "https://flagforge.xyz/"
-      }
-    ]
+        text: item.answer,
+      },
+    })),
   };
 
-  if (status !== "authenticated") {
-    return (
-      <>
-        <JsonLd data={organizationData} />
-        <JsonLd data={websiteData} />
-        <JsonLd data={faqData} />
-        <JsonLd data={breadcrumbData} />
-        <main>
-          <Hero />
-        </main>
-      </>
-    );
-  }
-  return null;
+  return (
+    <>
+      <JsonLd data={organizationData} />
+      <JsonLd data={websiteData} />
+      <JsonLd data={faqData} />
+      <HomepageRedirect />
+      <section className="bg-white px-4 pt-10 pb-6 dark:bg-[#050505] sm:px-8 md:px-12">
+        <div className="mx-auto grid max-w-7xl gap-8 rounded-[2rem] border border-gray-200 bg-gray-50/80 p-6 shadow-[0_30px_70px_-45px_rgba(15,23,42,0.45)] dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-white/[0.03] lg:grid-cols-[1.5fr_1fr] lg:p-8">
+          <div className="space-y-4">
+            <p className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] text-red-500">
+              FlagForge CTF Platform
+            </p>
+            <h2 className="max-w-3xl text-2xl font-black tracking-tight text-gray-950 dark:text-white lg:text-4xl">
+              Train with real capture the flag challenges and practical cybersecurity learning.
+            </h2>
+            <p className="max-w-3xl text-sm font-medium leading-7 text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 lg:text-base">
+              FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted cybersecurity community and training platform built for learners who want
+              hands-on experience in web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and secure
+              problem solving. Start with guided resources, study writeups, and grow through practical CTF practice.
+            </p>
+            <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-3 text-sm font-bold">
+              <Link
+                href={siteConfig.blogUrl}
+                className="rounded-full border border-red-200 px-4 py-2 text-red-600 transition-colors hover:border-red-500 hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white dark:border-red-500/30 dark:text-red-400"
+              >
+                Read FlagForge blog guides
+              </Link>
+              <Link
+                href="/resources"
+                className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
+              >
+                Explore CTF learning resources
+              </Link>
+              <Link
+                href="/about"
+                className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
+              >
+                About the FlagForge community
+              </Link>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+          <div className="space-y-4 rounded-[1.5rem] border border-gray-200 bg-white p-5 dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-[#0b0b0b]">
+            <h3 className="text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">
+              Core Challenge Tracks
+            </h3>
+            <ul className="grid gap-3 text-sm font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200">
+              <li>Web exploitation and secure web app testing</li>
+              <li>Cryptography, encoding, and flag recovery</li>
+              <li>Reverse engineering and binary analysis</li>
+              <li>Digital forensics, OSINT, and incident-style puzzles</li>
+              <li>Community learning for students and aspiring security teams</li>
+            </ul>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </section>
+      <Hero />
+    </>
+  );
 }
diff --git a/app/robots.ts b/app/robots.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa3e7d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/robots.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import type { MetadataRoute } from "next";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
+
+export default function robots(): MetadataRoute.Robots {
+  return {
+    rules: [
+      {
+        userAgent: "*",
+        allow: ["/", "/about", "/resources", "/contact"],
+        disallow: [
+          "/api/",
+          "/authentication",
+          "/home",
+          "/leaderboard",
+          "/problems",
+          "/profile",
+          "/resources/upload",
+          "/roles/developers/",
+          "/testprofile",
+          "/unauthorized",
+        ],
+      },
+    ],
+    sitemap: `${siteConfig.url}/sitemap.xml`,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/app/sitemap.ts b/app/sitemap.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d36c292
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/sitemap.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import type { MetadataRoute } from "next";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
+
+type SitemapEntry = MetadataRoute.Sitemap[number];
+
+type RouteDefinition = {
+  url: string;
+  filePath: string;
+  changeFrequency: NonNullable<SitemapEntry["changeFrequency"]>;
+  priority: number;
+};
+
+const staticRoutes: RouteDefinition[] = [
+  { url: "/", filePath: "app/page.tsx", changeFrequency: "weekly", priority: 1 },
+  {
+    url: "/about",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/about/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "monthly",
+    priority: 0.85,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/resources",
+    filePath: "app/(main)/resources/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "weekly",
+    priority: 0.85,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/contact",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "monthly",
+    priority: 0.7,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/privacy-policy",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.4,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/terms-of-service",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.4,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/licensing",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.3,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/cookie-consent",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.2,
+  },
+];
+
+const getLastModified = (relativePath: string) => {
+  const absolutePath = path.join(process.cwd(), relativePath);
+  try {
+    return fs.statSync(absolutePath).mtime;
+  } catch {
+    return new Date();
+  }
+};
+
+export default async function sitemap(): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
+  return staticRoutes.map((route) => ({
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}${route.url}`,
+    lastModified: getLastModified(route.filePath),
+    changeFrequency: route.changeFrequency,
+    priority: route.priority,
+  }));
+}
diff --git a/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx b/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx
index 13419a3..845c01f 100644
--- a/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx
@@ -6,25 +6,33 @@ export const generateMetadata = ({
 }: {
   params: { username: string };
 }): Metadata => ({
-  title: "FlagForge User Profile",
+  title: `${params.username} | FlagForge profile`,
   description:
-    "View FlagForge user profiles with CTF rank, badges, and cybersecurity achievements.",
+    "Public FlagForge profile pages are available for sharing, but are excluded from search indexing to keep discovery focused on FlagForge learning content.",
   alternates: {
     canonical: `/user/${params.username}`,
   },
+  robots: {
+    index: false,
+    follow: true,
+    googleBot: {
+      index: false,
+      follow: true,
+    },
+  },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "FlagForge User Profile",
+    title: `${params.username} | FlagForge profile`,
     description:
-      "View FlagForge user profiles with CTF rank, badges, and cybersecurity achievements.",
-    url: `https://flagforge.xyz/user/${params.username}`,
+      "View a public FlagForge profile with badges, challenge activity, and CTF achievements.",
+    url: `https://flagforgectf.com/user/${params.username}`,
     type: "profile",
     siteName: "FlagForge",
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary",
-    title: "FlagForge User Profile",
+    title: `${params.username} | FlagForge profile`,
     description:
-      "View FlagForge user profiles with CTF rank, badges, and cybersecurity achievements.",
+      "Public FlagForge profile with badges, challenge activity, and CTF achievements.",
   },
 });
 
diff --git a/app/user/[username]/page.tsx b/app/user/[username]/page.tsx
index 1ce4bdd..9baedc6 100644
--- a/app/user/[username]/page.tsx
+++ b/app/user/[username]/page.tsx
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ const PublicUserPage = () => {
 
   if (!profileData) return null;
 
-  const currentDomain = typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.origin : 'https://flagforge.xyz';
+  const currentDomain = typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.origin : 'https://flagforgectf.com';
   const profileUrl = `${currentDomain}/user/${encodeURIComponent(username)}`;
   const badgeSvgUrl = `${currentDomain}/api/badge/${encodeURIComponent(username)}/svg`;
 
diff --git a/components/Footer.tsx b/components/Footer.tsx
index f9e08b8..fddffe1 100644
--- a/components/Footer.tsx
+++ b/components/Footer.tsx
@@ -10,14 +10,14 @@ export default function Footer() {
       name: "LinkedIn",
       url: "https://www.linkedin.com/company/flagforge/",
       icon: <Linkedin className="w-5 h-5 pointer-events-none" />,
-      color: "hover:text-[#0077b5] dark:hover:text-[#38b6ff]", // Lighter blue for dark mode visibility
+      color: "hover:text-[#0077b5] dark:hover:text-[#38b6ff]",
       bg: "hover:bg-[#0077b5]/10 dark:hover:bg-[#38b6ff]/15",
     },
     {
       name: "Instagram",
       url: "https://www.instagram.com/flag.forge/",
       icon: <Instagram className="w-5 h-5 pointer-events-none" />,
-      color: "hover:text-[#e4405f] dark:hover:text-[#ff4d6d]", // Lighter pink for dark mode visibility
+      color: "hover:text-[#e4405f] dark:hover:text-[#ff4d6d]",
       bg: "hover:bg-[#e4405f]/10 dark:hover:bg-[#ff4d6d]/15",
     },
     {
@@ -30,27 +30,24 @@ export default function Footer() {
   ];
 
   const footerLinks = [
-    { name: "About", href: "/about" },
-    { name: "Resources", href: "/resources" },
-    { name: "Contact", href: "/contact" },
-    { name: "Privacy Policy", href: "/privacy-policy" },
-    { name: "Licensing", href: "/licensing" },
+    { name: "About FlagForge", href: "/about", label: "Learn about FlagForge and our cybersecurity mission" },
+    { name: "CTF Resources", href: "/resources", label: "Browse FlagForge cybersecurity resources and study materials" },
+    { name: "Contact FlagForge", href: "/contact", label: "Contact the FlagForge team" },
+    { name: "Privacy Policy", href: "/privacy-policy", label: "Read the FlagForge privacy policy" },
+    { name: "Licensing", href: "/licensing", label: "Read FlagForge licensing information" },
   ];
 
   return (
     <footer className="bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 transition-colors duration-500 overflow-hidden">
       <div className="w-[92%] lg:w-[80%] mx-auto py-8 md:py-10">
-
         <div className="grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-12 items-center">
-
-          {/* Left: Brand Identity */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center lg:items-start gap-4">
-            <Link href="/" className="group flex items-center gap-3 transition-transform hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-95 outline-none">
+            <Link href="/" className="group flex items-center gap-3 transition-transform hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-95 outline-none" aria-label="Go to the FlagForge homepage">
               <div className="relative">
                 <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-500/20 blur-xl rounded-full opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity" />
                 <Image
                   src={logo}
-                  alt="FlagForge Logo"
+                  alt="FlagForge logo"
                   height={40}
                   width={40}
                   className="relative h-8 w-8 md:h-10 md:w-10 object-contain transition-all duration-500 group-hover:rotate-6"
@@ -60,12 +57,11 @@ export default function Footer() {
                 FlagForge
               </span>
             </Link>
-            <p className="text-xs md:text-sm font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 text-center lg:text-left leading-relaxed max-w-[280px]">
-              Forging excellence in cybersecurity, one flag at a time.
+            <p className="text-xs md:text-sm font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 text-center lg:text-left leading-relaxed max-w-[320px]">
+              Capture the flag training, cybersecurity resources, and hands-on challenge practice for curious learners.
             </p>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Center: Connect Section */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-4">
             <span className="text-[10px] font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-600">
               CONNECT
@@ -86,14 +82,14 @@ export default function Footer() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Right: Navigation */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center lg:items-end gap-6">
-            <nav>
+            <nav aria-label="Footer navigation">
               <ul className="flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-end gap-x-6 gap-y-3">
                 {footerLinks.map((link) => (
                   <li key={link.name}>
                     <Link
                       href={link.href}
+                      aria-label={link.label}
                       className="text-[13px] font-bold text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 hover:text-red-600 dark:hover:text-red-500 transition-colors uppercase tracking-tight relative group/link"
                     >
                       {link.name}
@@ -104,14 +100,12 @@ export default function Footer() {
               </ul>
             </nav>
           </div>
-
         </div>
 
-        {/* Global Footer Bottom */}
         <div className="mt-12 pt-8 border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex flex-col md:flex-row items-center justify-between gap-6">
           <div className="flex items-center gap-2.5 text-[10px] md:text-[11px] font-bold text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500 uppercase tracking-widest whitespace-nowrap">
             <span className="w-1.5 h-1.5 rounded-full bg-red-600 shadow-[0_0_8px_rgba(220,38,38,0.5)]" />
-            © {new Date().getFullYear()} FLAGFORGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
+            <span>&copy; {new Date().getFullYear()} FLAGFORGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.</span>
           </div>
 
           <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-[10px] md:text-[11px] font-bold text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500 uppercase tracking-widest whitespace-nowrap">
@@ -126,7 +120,6 @@ export default function Footer() {
             </Link>
           </div>
         </div>
-
       </div>
     </footer>
   );
diff --git a/components/HomepageRedirect.tsx b/components/HomepageRedirect.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3eb9f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/HomepageRedirect.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { useEffect } from "react";
+import { useSession } from "next-auth/react";
+import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
+
+export default function HomepageRedirect() {
+  const { status } = useSession();
+  const router = useRouter();
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (status === "authenticated") {
+      router.replace("/home");
+    }
+  }, [router, status]);
+
+  return null;
+}
diff --git a/components/Navbar.tsx b/components/Navbar.tsx
index 93cf8b5..50d0ca8 100644
--- a/components/Navbar.tsx
+++ b/components/Navbar.tsx
@@ -28,8 +28,6 @@ import {
   BookText,
   LogIn,
   LogOut,
-  User as UserIcon,
-  ShieldCheck,
   LayoutDashboard,
   ArrowRight
 } from "lucide-react";
@@ -132,7 +130,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
               <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-500/20 blur-xl rounded-full opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity" />
               <Image
                 src={logo}
-                alt="logo"
+                alt="FlagForge logo"
                 height={40}
                 width={40}
                 className="relative h-8 w-8 md:h-10 md:w-10 object-contain"
@@ -159,8 +157,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
             ) : (
               <li>
                 <Link
-                  href="https://blogs.flagforge.xyz"
-                  target="_blank"
+                  href="https://blogs.flagforgectf.com"
                   className="px-5 py-2.5 text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 hover:text-red-500 transition-colors"
                 >
                   Blogs
@@ -291,7 +288,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
               </SheetDescription>
               <div className="flex flex-col h-full">
                 <div className="p-8 border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex items-center gap-3">
-                  <Image src={logo} alt="logo" height={40} width={40} />
+                  <Image src={logo} alt="FlagForge logo" height={40} width={40} />
                   <span className="text-2xl font-black text-gray-950 dark:text-white tracking-tighter">FlagForge</span>
                 </div>
 
@@ -327,8 +324,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
                       <>
                         <li>
                           <Link
-                            href="https://blogs.flagforge.xyz"
-                            target="_blank"
+                            href="https://blogs.flagforgectf.com"
                             onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
                             className="flex items-center gap-4 px-6 py-4 text-lg font-bold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 rounded-2xl hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 transition-all border border-transparent hover:border-gray-100 dark:hover:border-white/10"
                           >
diff --git a/lib/seo.ts b/lib/seo.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0c361b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/seo.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+export const siteConfig = {
+  name: "FlagForge",
+  secondaryName: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
+  url: "https://flagforgectf.com",
+  blogUrl: "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com",
+  ogImage: "https://flagforgectf.com/flagforge-logo.png",
+  description:
+    "FlagForge is a capture the flag platform for cybersecurity training, hands-on CTF challenges, and practical learning for aspiring security engineers.",
+  organizationDescription:
+    "FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted cybersecurity training platform that helps learners practice capture the flag challenges, study security concepts, and grow through hands-on competition.",
+};
+
+export const defaultKeywords = [
+  "FlagForge",
+  "FlagForge CTF",
+  "CTF platform",
+  "capture the flag",
+  "cybersecurity challenges",
+  "cybersecurity training",
+  "ethical hacking practice",
+  "web exploitation challenges",
+  "cryptography challenges",
+  "Nepal cybersecurity community",
+];
diff --git a/middleware.ts b/middleware.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 996a5d8..0000000
--- a/middleware.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
-import { tokenBlacklistMiddleware } from './middleware/tokenBlacklist';
-import { adminMiddleware } from './middleware/adminToken';
-
-export async function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
-  const { pathname } = request.nextUrl;
-
-  const blacklistResponse = await tokenBlacklistMiddleware(request);
-  if (blacklistResponse && blacklistResponse instanceof NextResponse) return blacklistResponse;
-
-  if (
-    pathname.startsWith('/api/admin') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/roles/developers/admins') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/api/badges') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/api/badge-templates') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/resources/upload')
-  ) {
-    const adminResponse = await adminMiddleware(request);
-    if (adminResponse && adminResponse instanceof NextResponse) return adminResponse;
-  }
-
-  // 3) Continue if all checks passed
-  return NextResponse.next();
-}
-
-export const config = {
-  matcher: [
-    '/((?!api/auth|_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico).*)',
-  ],
-};
diff --git a/next-sitemap.config.js b/next-sitemap.config.js
deleted file mode 100644
index b5571a5..0000000
--- a/next-sitemap.config.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,218 +0,0 @@
-/** @type {import('next-sitemap').IConfig} */
-const fs = require('fs');
-const path = require('path');
-const { Client } = require('@notionhq/client');
-const mongoose = require('mongoose');
-
-const APP_DIR = path.join(process.cwd(), 'app');
-const PAGE_FILE_REGEX = /^page\.[jt]sx?$/;
-
-const isRouteGroup = (segment) => segment.startsWith('(') && segment.endsWith(')');
-const isDynamicSegment = (segment) => segment.startsWith('[') && segment.endsWith(']');
-
-const collectPageFiles = (dir, results = []) => {
-  if (!fs.existsSync(dir)) return results;
-
-  const entries = fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true });
-  for (const entry of entries) {
-    const fullPath = path.join(dir, entry.name);
-    if (entry.isDirectory()) {
-      collectPageFiles(fullPath, results);
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    if (PAGE_FILE_REGEX.test(entry.name)) {
-      results.push(fullPath);
-    }
-  }
-
-  return results;
-};
-
-const buildRouteLastmod = () => {
-  const routeLastmod = new Map();
-  const pageFiles = collectPageFiles(APP_DIR);
-
-  for (const filePath of pageFiles) {
-    const relativePath = path.relative(APP_DIR, filePath);
-    const dirName = path.dirname(relativePath);
-    const segments = dirName === '.' ? [] : dirName.split(path.sep);
-    const routeSegments = segments.filter((segment) => !isRouteGroup(segment));
-
-    if (routeSegments.some(isDynamicSegment)) {
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    const routePath = `/${routeSegments.join('/')}`;
-    const stats = fs.statSync(filePath);
-    routeLastmod.set(routePath === '/' ? '/' : routePath, stats.mtime.toISOString());
-  }
-
-  return routeLastmod;
-};
-
-const routeLastmod = buildRouteLastmod();
-
-const SITEMAP_EXCLUDE = [
-  '/roles/developers/*',
-  '/roles/developers',
-  '/profile',
-  '/problems',
-  '/leaderboard',
-  '/home',
-  'resources/uploads',
-  '/unauthorized',
-];
-
-const fetchBlogEntries = async () => {
-  const apiKey = process.env.NOTION_API_KEY;
-  const databaseId = process.env.NOTION_DATABASE_ID;
-
-  if (!apiKey || !databaseId) {
-    console.warn('Notion env vars missing, skipping blog sitemap entries.');
-    return [];
-  }
-
-  try {
-    const notion = new Client({ auth: apiKey });
-    const response = await notion.databases.query({ database_id: databaseId });
-
-    return response.results
-      .map((page) => {
-        const properties = page.properties ?? {};
-        const status = properties.Status?.select?.name;
-        const publishedDate =
-          properties['Publish Date']?.date?.start ||
-          properties['Published Date']?.date?.start;
-        const slug =
-          properties.Slug?.rich_text?.[0]?.plain_text?.trim() || page.id;
-
-        return {
-          id: page.id,
-          slug,
-          status,
-          lastmod: page.last_edited_time || publishedDate || page.created_time,
-        };
-      })
-      .filter((post) => {
-        if (!post.status) return true;
-        return post.status.toLowerCase() === 'published';
-      })
-      .map((post) => ({
-        loc: `/blogs/${encodeURIComponent(post.slug)}`,
-        lastmod: post.lastmod,
-        changefreq: 'monthly',
-        priority: 0.6,
-      }));
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.warn('Failed to fetch Notion blog posts for sitemap.', error);
-    return [];
-  }
-};
-
-const fetchPublicUserEntries = async () => {
-  const mongoUrl = process.env.MONGO_URL;
-
-  if (!mongoUrl) {
-    console.warn('MONGO_URL is missing, skipping public user sitemap entries.');
-    return [];
-  }
-
-  let shouldDisconnect = false;
-  try {
-    if (mongoose.connection.readyState === 0) {
-      await mongoose.connect(mongoUrl, {
-        maxPoolSize: 10,
-        minPoolSize: 1,
-        maxIdleTimeMS: 30000,
-        bufferCommands: false,
-      });
-      shouldDisconnect = true;
-    }
-
-    const users = await mongoose.connection.db
-      .collection('users')
-      .find({}, { projection: { name: 1, updatedAt: 1, createdAt: 1 } })
-      .toArray();
-
-    return users
-      .map((user) => {
-        const name = typeof user?.name === 'string' ? user.name.trim() : '';
-        if (!name) return null;
-        const slug = name.replace(/\s+/g, '-');
-        const lastmod = user.updatedAt || user.createdAt;
-
-        return {
-          loc: `/user/${encodeURIComponent(slug)}`,
-          lastmod: lastmod ? new Date(lastmod).toISOString() : undefined,
-          changefreq: 'weekly',
-          priority: 0.4,
-        };
-      })
-      .filter(Boolean);
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.warn('Failed to fetch public users for sitemap.', error);
-    return [];
-  } finally {
-    if (shouldDisconnect) {
-      await mongoose.disconnect();
-    }
-  }
-};
-
-
-module.exports = {
-  siteUrl: 'https://flagforge.xyz',
-  generateRobotsTxt: true,
-  generateIndexSitemap: false,
-  changefreq: 'monthly',
-  priority: 0.7,
-  autoLastmod: false,
-  exclude: SITEMAP_EXCLUDE,
-  additionalPaths: async () => {
-    const [blogEntries, userEntries] = await Promise.all([
-      fetchBlogEntries(),
-      fetchPublicUserEntries(),
-    ]);
-
-    return [...blogEntries, ...userEntries];
-  },
-  transform: async (config, path) => {
-    // Custom priority for landing and global pages
-    let priority = config.priority;
-    if (path === '/') {
-      priority = 1.0;
-    } else if (['/about', '/contact', '/blogs', '/authentication', '/resources'].includes(path)) {
-      priority = 0.9;
-    }
-
-    const lastmod = routeLastmod.get(path);
-
-    return {
-      loc: path,
-      changefreq: config.changefreq,
-      priority: priority,
-      lastmod: lastmod ?? undefined,
-      alternateRefs: config.alternateRefs ?? [],
-    };
-  },
-  robotsTxtOptions: {
-    transformRobotsTxt: async (config) => {
-      const disallowRules = SITEMAP_EXCLUDE.map((path) => `Disallow: ${path}`);
-
-      const sitemapRules = [
-        `Sitemap: ${config.siteUrl}/sitemap.xml`,
-        `Sitemap: ${config.siteUrl}/sitemap1.xml`,
-        `Sitemap: ${config.siteUrl}/sitemap.txt`,
-      ];
-
-      const customRules = [
-        'User-agent: *',
-        'Allow: /llms.txt',
-        ...disallowRules,
-      ];
-
-      return [...customRules, '', ...sitemapRules].join('\n');
-    },
-  },
-};
diff --git a/next.config.mjs b/next.config.mjs
index 2d3223f..cc31a6d 100644
--- a/next.config.mjs
+++ b/next.config.mjs
@@ -1,8 +1,27 @@
 /** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
 const nextConfig = {
   images: {
-    domains: ["writeup.flagforge.xyz", "flagforge.xyz", "github.com", "www.instagram.com"],
     remotePatterns: [
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "writeup.flagforge.xyz",
+      },
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "flagforgectf.com",
+      },
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "blogs.flagforgectf.com",
+      },
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "github.com",
+      },
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "www.instagram.com",
+      },
       {
         protocol: "https",
         hostname: "lh3.googleusercontent.com",
@@ -13,11 +32,11 @@ const nextConfig = {
       },
       {
         protocol: "https",
-        hostname: "*.cdninstagram.com",
+        hostname: "**.cdninstagram.com",
       },
       {
         protocol: "https",
-        hostname: "*.fbcdn.net",
+        hostname: "**.fbcdn.net",
       },
     ],
     formats: ["image/avif", "image/webp"],
@@ -47,12 +66,21 @@ const nextConfig = {
           },
         ],
       },
+      {
+        source: "/robots.txt",
+        headers: [
+          {
+            key: "Cache-Control",
+            value: "public, max-age=3600, must-revalidate",
+          },
+        ],
+      },
       {
         source: "/(.*)",
         headers: [
           {
             key: "Access-Control-Allow-Origin",
-            value: "https://flagforge.xyz",
+            value: "https://flagforgectf.com",
           },
           {
             key: "X-Frame-Options",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5e0c127..bfc825b 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -6,8 +6,7 @@
     "dev": "next dev",
     "build": "next build",
     "start": "next start",
-    "lint": "next lint",
-    "postbuild": "next-sitemap && node scripts/copy-sitemap.js"
+    "lint": "next lint"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@notionhq/client": "^4.0.2",
@@ -61,4 +60,4 @@
     "braces": "^3.0.3",
     "micromatch": "^4.0.8"
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/proxy.ts b/proxy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5e0b35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proxy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { tokenBlacklistMiddleware } from "./middleware/tokenBlacklist";
+import { adminMiddleware } from "./middleware/adminToken";
+
+export async function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
+  const { pathname } = request.nextUrl;
+
+  const blacklistResponse = await tokenBlacklistMiddleware(request);
+  if (blacklistResponse && blacklistResponse instanceof NextResponse) return blacklistResponse;
+
+  if (
+    pathname.startsWith("/api/admin") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/roles/developers/admins") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/api/badges") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/api/badge-templates") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/resources/upload")
+  ) {
+    const adminResponse = await adminMiddleware(request);
+    if (adminResponse && adminResponse instanceof NextResponse) return adminResponse;
+  }
+
+  return NextResponse.next();
+}
+
+export const config = {
+  matcher: [
+    "/((?!api/auth|_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico|robots.txt|sitemap.xml).*)",
+  ],
+};
diff --git a/public/llms.txt b/public/llms.txt
index cf3efe7..2c5ccd6 100644
--- a/public/llms.txt
+++ b/public/llms.txt
@@ -17,16 +17,16 @@ FlagForge is a premier Capture The Flag (CTF) platform designed to host, manage,
 
 ## Important Links
 
-- [Home](https://flagforge.xyz/): Landing page and overview.
-- [Challenges](https://flagforge.xyz/problems): List of available CTF challenges.
-- [Leaderboard](https://flagforge.xyz/leaderboard): Global rankings.
-- [Blogs](https://flagforge.xyz/blogs): Cybersecurity tutorials and news.
-- [Resources](https://flagforge.xyz/resources): Educational materials and tools.
-- [About](https://flagforge.xyz/about): Information about FlagForge.
-- [Contact](https://flagforge.xyz/contact): Support and inquiries.
+- [Home](https://flagforgectf.com/): Landing page and overview.
+- [Challenges](https://flagforgectf.com/problems): List of available CTF challenges.
+- [Leaderboard](https://flagforgectf.com/leaderboard): Global rankings.
+- [Blogs](https://blogs.flagforgectf.com): Cybersecurity tutorials and news.
+- [Resources](https://flagforgectf.com/resources): Educational materials and tools.
+- [About](https://flagforgectf.com/about): Information about FlagForge.
+- [Contact](https://flagforgectf.com/contact): Support and inquiries.
 
 ## Documentation & Legal
 
-- [Terms of Service](https://flagforge.xyz/terms-of-service)
-- [Privacy Policy](https://flagforge.xyz/privacy-policy)
-- [Licensing](https://flagforge.xyz/licensing)
+- [Terms of Service](https://flagforgectf.com/terms-of-service)
+- [Privacy Policy](https://flagforgectf.com/privacy-policy)
+- [Licensing](https://flagforgectf.com/licensing)
diff --git a/scripts/copy-sitemap.js b/scripts/copy-sitemap.js
deleted file mode 100644
index d10bb93..0000000
--- a/scripts/copy-sitemap.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-const fs = require("fs");
-const path = require("path");
-
-const publicDir = path.join(process.cwd(), "public");
-const source = path.join(publicDir, "sitemap.xml");
-const backup = path.join(publicDir, "sitemap1.xml");
-const textSitemap = path.join(publicDir, "sitemap.txt");
-
-if (fs.existsSync(source)) {
-  fs.copyFileSync(source, backup);
-
-  const xml = fs.readFileSync(source, "utf8");
-  const urls = [];
-  const locRegex = /<loc>([^<]+)<\/loc>/g;
-  let match;
-  while ((match = locRegex.exec(xml)) !== null) {
-    urls.push(match[1].trim());
-  }
-
-  if (urls.length > 0) {
-    fs.writeFileSync(textSitemap, `${urls.join("\n")}\n`);
-  } else {
-    console.warn("No <loc> entries found, skipping sitemap.txt generation.");
-  }
-} else {
-  console.warn("sitemap.xml not found, skipping backup generation.");
-}
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index f76363c..5c98bb8 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
     ".next/types/**/*.ts",
     "components/ProfileHeroBanner.tsx",
     ".next/dev/types/**/*.ts"
-, "next-sitemap.config.js"  ],
+  ],
   "exclude": [
     "node_modules"
   ]
diff --git a/utils/data.ts b/utils/data.ts
index 7449c68..f4d979c 100644
--- a/utils/data.ts
+++ b/utils/data.ts
@@ -17,14 +17,12 @@ export const NavbarData: NavbarItems[] = [
     style: undefined
   },
   {
-    href: "https://blogs.flagforge.xyz",
+    href: "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com",
     tags: "Blogs",
     style: undefined
   },
 ];
 
-
-
 const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
   {
     title: "Reverse Engineering",
@@ -83,13 +81,10 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
   },
 ];
 
-
 const dummyQuestions: Questions[] = ctfQuestions;
 
-
 export default dummyQuestions;
 
-
 export const initialQuestion: Questions = {
   title: "",
   description: "",

From 3c0e5202b128f204fc3efad013428130bb5173a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Shrijal Paudel <shrijalp2016@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 10:01:56 +0545
Subject: [PATCH 2/4] Improve FlagForge SEO strategy (#248)

---
 app/(footer)/about/page.tsx     | 137 +++++++++-----------
 app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx   |  51 ++++----
 app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx  |  20 +--
 app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx     |  21 +--
 app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx       |   6 +-
 app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx |  19 +--
 app/globals.css                 |   1 +
 app/layout.tsx                  | 102 +++------------
 app/page.tsx                    | 192 +++++++++++++++++++---------
 app/robots.ts                   |  26 ++++
 app/sitemap.ts                  |  77 +++++++++++
 app/user/[username]/layout.tsx  |  20 ++-
 components/Footer.tsx           |  64 +++-------
 components/HomepageRedirect.tsx |  18 +++
 components/Navbar.tsx           |  62 ++++-----
 lib/seo.ts                      |  24 ++++
 middleware.ts                   |  31 -----
 next-sitemap.config.js          | 218 --------------------------------
 next.config.mjs                 |  19 ++-
 package.json                    |   5 +-
 proxy.ts                        |  30 +++++
 public/llms.txt                 |   2 +-
 scripts/copy-sitemap.js         |  27 ----
 tsconfig.json                   |   2 +-
 utils/data.ts                   |  31 ++---
 25 files changed, 545 insertions(+), 660 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 app/robots.ts
 create mode 100644 app/sitemap.ts
 create mode 100644 components/HomepageRedirect.tsx
 create mode 100644 lib/seo.ts
 delete mode 100644 middleware.ts
 delete mode 100644 next-sitemap.config.js
 create mode 100644 proxy.ts
 delete mode 100644 scripts/copy-sitemap.js

diff --git a/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx
index 49ff391..cd2f8b5 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/about/page.tsx
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ import {
   Zap,
   Scale,
   CheckCircle2,
-  BookOpen,
-  Cpu,
   Network,
   Binary,
   Search,
@@ -22,35 +20,42 @@ import {
   TrendingUp,
   Heart
 } from "lucide-react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
   title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform for Cybersecurity Learning",
-  description: "FlagForge is a dynamic CTF platform promoting cybersecurity awareness and hands-on coding challenges. Join our global community of learners.",
+  description:
+    "Learn what FlagForge is, how the platform teaches capture the flag skills, and why the community focuses on practical cybersecurity learning.",
   keywords: [
-    "CTF",
-    "cybersecurity",
-    "capture the flag",
-    "coding challenges",
-    "hacking",
-    "security learning",
-    "FlagForge",
+    "About FlagForge",
+    "FlagForge CTF platform",
+    "cybersecurity learning",
+    "capture the flag training",
     "Nepal cybersecurity community",
   ],
   authors: [{ name: "FlagForge Team" }],
+  alternates: {
+    canonical: "/about",
+  },
+  robots: {
+    index: true,
+    follow: true,
+  },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform",
-    description: "Where curiosity meets cybersecurity. Learn, compete, and grow with our global community.",
+    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform for Cybersecurity Learning",
+    description:
+      "See how FlagForge helps learners practice cybersecurity skills through hands-on capture the flag challenges.",
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
-    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/about",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}/about`,
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "About FlagForge" }],
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform",
-    description: "Where curiosity meets cybersecurity. Learn, compete, and grow with our global community.",
-  },
-  alternates: {
-    canonical: "/about",
+    title: "About FlagForge | CTF Platform for Cybersecurity Learning",
+    description:
+      "See how FlagForge helps learners practice cybersecurity skills through hands-on capture the flag challenges.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
 };
 
@@ -58,27 +63,26 @@ export default function About() {
   const breadcrumbData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
-    "itemListElement": [
+    itemListElement: [
       {
         "@type": "ListItem",
-        "position": 1,
-        "name": "Home",
-        "item": "https://flagforgectf.com/"
+        position: 1,
+        name: "Home",
+        item: `${siteConfig.url}/`,
       },
       {
         "@type": "ListItem",
-        "position": 2,
-        "name": "About",
-        "item": "https://flagforgectf.com/about"
-      }
-    ]
+        position: 2,
+        name: "About",
+        item: `${siteConfig.url}/about`,
+      },
+    ],
   };
 
   return (
     <div className="min-h-screen bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] text-gray-950 dark:text-white pb-20 relative overflow-hidden transition-colors duration-500">
       <JsonLd data={breadcrumbData} />
 
-      {/* Background Effects */}
       <div className="fixed inset-0 pointer-events-none z-0">
         <div className="absolute top-[-10%] left-[-5%] w-[40%] h-[40%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[120px] animate-pulse" />
         <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />
@@ -86,8 +90,6 @@ export default function About() {
       </div>
 
       <div className="relative z-10 w-[92%] lg:w-[75%] max-w-5xl mx-auto pt-28 lg:pt-36">
-
-        {/* Header Section */}
         <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-6 mb-16 lg:mb-24">
           <div className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-1.5 rounded-full bg-red-50 dark:bg-red-950/30 border border-red-100 dark:border-red-900/40 text-red-600 dark:text-red-400 text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em]">
             <Info className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
@@ -98,22 +100,17 @@ export default function About() {
               About <span className="text-red-400 dark:text-red-500">FlagForge</span>
             </h1>
             <h2 className="text-md text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 italic font-medium tracking-wide uppercase">
-              "Where curiosity meets cybersecurity."
+              Capture the flag training built for real cybersecurity growth.
             </h2>
             <p className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-medium text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 max-w-3xl mx-auto leading-relaxed">
               FlagForge is a dynamic and engaging CTF platform dedicated to promoting{" "}
-              <span className="text-red-500 dark:text-red-500 font-black">
-                Cybersecurity
-              </span>{" "}
-              awareness and fostering a passion for coding among participants.
+              <span className="text-red-500 dark:text-red-500 font-black">Cybersecurity</span>{" "}
+              awareness and helping learners build practical security skills through hands-on challenge solving.
             </p>
           </div>
         </div>
 
-        {/* Main Content Dashboard */}
         <div className="space-y-10 lg:space-y-16">
-
-          {/* Platform & Features Card */}
           <div className="relative group">
             <div className="absolute -inset-4 bg-gradient-to-br from-red-600/5 to-orange-500/5 blur-3xl opacity-50 pointer-events-none" />
             <div className="relative bg-white/60 dark:bg-white/[0.02] backdrop-blur-3xl border border-white dark:border-white/10 rounded-[2.5rem] lg:rounded-[3.5rem] p-8 lg:p-14 shadow-2xl">
@@ -125,12 +122,10 @@ export default function About() {
                       <h2 className="text-2xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white">Our Platform</h2>
                     </div>
                     <p className="text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 leading-relaxed font-medium">
-                      Our platform features a clean, responsive interface and an easy-to-use
-                      experience. Flags are securely submitted and efficiently validated for
-                      fair play. Participants can track scores on a real-time leaderboard.
-                      With Google Authentication, users can sign in instantly and start
-                      solving. Challenges can be filtered by category and difficulty,
-                      helping participants find content that fits their skills and interests.
+                      FlagForge combines guided learning resources, practical CTF challenges, and a community-focused
+                      interface so learners can study cybersecurity by doing. Participants can sign in quickly, filter
+                      challenges by category, track progress, and move from beginner-friendly puzzles into deeper
+                      problem-solving across web, crypto, forensics, and binary analysis.
                     </p>
                   </div>
 
@@ -141,9 +136,8 @@ export default function About() {
                         <h4 className="text-lg font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white text-sm">Our Mission</h4>
                       </div>
                       <p className="text-sm text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                        To make cybersecurity learning accessible and engaging through practical
-                        challenges, collaboration, and gamified experiences that empower learners
-                        worldwide.
+                        To make cybersecurity learning accessible and engaging through practical challenges,
+                        collaboration, and gamified experiences that empower learners worldwide.
                       </p>
                     </div>
                     <div className="space-y-4">
@@ -152,8 +146,8 @@ export default function About() {
                         <h4 className="text-lg font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white text-sm">Our Vision</h4>
                       </div>
                       <p className="text-sm text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                        To build a global community where future cybersecurity experts and developers
-                        learn, compete, and grow together.
+                        To build a trusted capture the flag community where future security engineers learn, compete,
+                        and grow together.
                       </p>
                     </div>
                   </div>
@@ -161,10 +155,10 @@ export default function About() {
 
                 <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4">
                   {[
-                    { icon: Lock, title: "Secure", desc: "End-to-end encrypted communication" },
-                    { icon: Users, title: "Collaborative", desc: "Direct participant-organizer communication" },
-                    { icon: Globe, title: "Global", desc: "Worldwide network of participants" },
-                    { icon: ShieldAlert, title: "Private", desc: "Responsible disclosure practices" },
+                    { icon: Lock, title: "Secure", desc: "Practice in a controlled learning environment" },
+                    { icon: Users, title: "Collaborative", desc: "Built for students, teams, and communities" },
+                    { icon: Globe, title: "Open", desc: "Rooted in Nepal and accessible to global learners" },
+                    { icon: ShieldAlert, title: "Responsible", desc: "Focused on ethical hacking and safe skill-building" },
                   ].map((feature, i) => (
                     <div
                       key={i}
@@ -185,7 +179,6 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Ethical Hacking Disclosure Card */}
           <div className="relative">
             <div className="absolute -inset-1 bg-gradient-to-r from-amber-500 to-orange-600 rounded-[2rem] blur opacity-25" />
             <div className="relative bg-amber-50/80 dark:bg-amber-950/20 backdrop-blur-3xl border border-amber-200/50 dark:border-amber-900/40 rounded-[2rem] p-8 lg:p-12 overflow-hidden">
@@ -196,7 +189,7 @@ export default function About() {
                 </div>
                 <div className="space-y-6">
                   <h3 className="text-2xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-amber-900 dark:text-amber-400">
-                    Educational Purpose & Ethical Hacking
+                    Educational Purpose and Ethical Hacking
                   </h3>
                   <div className="space-y-4 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 font-medium leading-relaxed">
                     <p>
@@ -205,9 +198,7 @@ export default function About() {
                     <p>
                       All challenges and activities on FlagForge are intended to teach responsible security practices. We strictly prohibit the use of knowledge gained on our platform for any illegal activities, unauthorized access to systems, or malicious purposes.
                     </p>
-                    <p>
-                      By participating in FlagForge challenges, users agree to:
-                    </p>
+                    <p>By participating in FlagForge challenges, users agree to:</p>
                     <ul className="grid sm:grid-cols-2 gap-4 pt-2">
                       {[
                         "Use their skills only for legal and ethical purposes",
@@ -231,45 +222,44 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Learning Categories Grid */}
           <div className="space-y-10">
             <div className="text-center space-y-4">
               <h3 className="text-3xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase dark:text-white">
-                What You'll <span className="text-red-500">Learn</span>
+                What You&apos;ll <span className="text-red-500">Learn</span>
               </h3>
-              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium">Comprehensive cybersecurity skills development</p>
+              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium">Core challenge areas available across the FlagForge learning experience</p>
             </div>
             <div className="grid md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
               {[
                 {
                   title: "Web Security",
                   icon: Globe,
-                  skills: ["XSS Prevention", "SQL Injection Defense", "CSRF Protection", "Secure Authentication"]
+                  skills: ["XSS prevention", "SQL injection defense", "CSRF protection", "Secure authentication"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Cryptography",
                   icon: Lock,
-                  skills: ["Encryption Basics", "Hash Functions", "Digital Signatures", "Secure Communication"]
+                  skills: ["Encryption basics", "Hash functions", "Digital signatures", "Secure communication"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Network Security",
                   icon: Network,
-                  skills: ["Protocol Analysis", "Packet Inspection", "Firewall Configuration", "Intrusion Detection"]
+                  skills: ["Protocol analysis", "Packet inspection", "Firewall concepts", "Intrusion detection"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Reverse Engineering",
                   icon: Binary,
-                  skills: ["Binary Analysis", "Debugging Techniques", "Code Decompilation", "Malware Analysis"]
+                  skills: ["Binary analysis", "Debugging techniques", "Code decompilation", "Malware analysis"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Forensics",
                   icon: Search,
-                  skills: ["Data Recovery", "Log Analysis", "Memory Forensics", "Evidence Collection"]
+                  skills: ["Data recovery", "Log analysis", "Memory forensics", "Evidence collection"]
                 },
                 {
                   title: "Problem Solving",
                   icon: Puzzle,
-                  skills: ["Critical Thinking", "Pattern Recognition", "Logical Reasoning", "Creative Solutions"]
+                  skills: ["Critical thinking", "Pattern recognition", "Logical reasoning", "Creative solutions"]
                 }
               ].map((category, i) => (
                 <div
@@ -294,7 +284,6 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Stats & Community Card */}
           <div className="relative group overflow-hidden">
             <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-r from-red-600 to-rose-700 opacity-90 transition-opacity" />
             <div className="absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.1]" />
@@ -302,15 +291,15 @@ export default function About() {
               <div className="space-y-4">
                 <h3 className="text-4xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase leading-[0.9]">Join Our Growing Community</h3>
                 <p className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-medium opacity-90 max-w-3xl leading-relaxed">
-                  Built by passionate developers and cybersecurity enthusiasts, FlagForge is more than just a platform—it's a community dedicated to helping others learn, grow, and forge their own path in technology and cybersecurity.
+                  Built by passionate developers and cybersecurity enthusiasts, FlagForge is more than just a platform. It is a community dedicated to helping others learn, grow, and build practical security confidence.
                 </p>
               </div>
 
               <div className="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-3 gap-12 w-full pt-4">
                 {[
-                  { label: "Active Users", value: "1000+", icon: Users },
-                  { label: "Challenges Solved", value: "500+", icon: TrendingUp },
-                  { label: "Learning Support", value: "24/7", icon: Heart }
+                  { label: "Active users", value: "1000+", icon: Users },
+                  { label: "Challenges solved", value: "500+", icon: TrendingUp },
+                  { label: "Learning support", value: "24/7", icon: Heart }
                 ].map((stat, i) => (
                   <div key={i} className="space-y-4 group/stat">
                     <div className="w-14 h-14 rounded-full bg-white/10 flex items-center justify-center mx-auto border border-white/20 group-hover/stat:rotate-[12deg] transition-transform">
@@ -326,7 +315,6 @@ export default function About() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Call to Action */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-6 py-10 lg:py-14 animate-in fade-in slide-in-from-bottom-5 duration-1000">
             <Link
               href="/problems"
@@ -348,7 +336,6 @@ export default function About() {
               </p>
             </div>
           </div>
-
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx b/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx
index a0b41d6..17952bb 100644
--- a/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx
@@ -7,33 +7,35 @@ import {
   Send,
   Home
 } from "lucide-react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: "Contact Us - FlagForge CTF Platform",
+  title: "Contact FlagForge | CTF Support and Cybersecurity Collaboration",
   description:
-    "Contact FlagForge for CTF support and cybersecurity inquiries via email, phone, or our Lalitpur office.",
+    "Contact FlagForge for platform support, partnerships, CTF collaboration, or general cybersecurity learning inquiries.",
   keywords: [
     "contact FlagForge",
-    "CTF support",
-    "cybersecurity help",
-    "FlagForge team",
-    "Nepal cybersecurity support",
-    "Nepal CTF community",
+    "FlagForge support",
+    "CTF platform contact",
+    "cybersecurity collaboration",
+    "Nepal cybersecurity community",
   ],
   authors: [{ name: "FlagForge Team" }],
   openGraph: {
-    title: "Contact FlagForge - Get in Touch",
+    title: "Contact FlagForge | CTF Support and Cybersecurity Collaboration",
     description:
-      "Contact the FlagForge team for inquiries, support, or collaboration opportunities.",
-    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/contact",
+      "Contact the FlagForge team for platform support, partnerships, or cybersecurity collaboration.",
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}/contact`,
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
     locale: "en_US",
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "Contact FlagForge" }],
   },
   twitter: {
-    card: "summary",
-    title: "Contact FlagForge - Get in Touch",
+    card: "summary_large_image",
+    title: "Contact FlagForge | CTF Support and Cybersecurity Collaboration",
     description: "Reach out to the FlagForge team for support, inquiries, or collaboration.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
   alternates: {
     canonical: "/contact",
@@ -47,31 +49,24 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
 export default function Contact() {
   return (
     <div className="min-h-screen bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] text-gray-950 dark:text-white pb-16 relative overflow-hidden flex items-center justify-center p-4 lg:p-8">
-
-      {/* Background Effects */}
       <div className="absolute inset-0 pointer-events-none z-0">
         <div className="absolute top-[-10%] left-[-5%] w-[40%] h-[40%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[120px] animate-pulse" />
-        <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />        <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.02] dark:opacity-[0.04]" />
+        <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />
+        <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.02] dark:opacity-[0.04]" />
       </div>
 
       <div className="relative z-10 w-[80%] animate-in fade-in zoom-in-95 duration-700">
-
-        {/* Compact Glass Dashboard */}
         <div className="relative bg-white/70 dark:bg-white/[0.02] backdrop-blur-3xl border border-white dark:border-white/10 rounded-[2.5rem] lg:rounded-[3.5rem] shadow-2xl shadow-black/5 overflow-hidden">
-
           <div className="grid lg:grid-cols-[0.9fr_1.1fr]">
-
-            {/* Left Column: Header & Info */}
             <div className="p-8 lg:p-16 bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/[0.01] border-b lg:border-b-0 lg:border-r border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 space-y-12">
-
               <div className="space-y-6">
                 <h1 className="text-5xl lg:text-7xl font-black tracking-tighter leading-none text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
-                  Contact <span className="text-red-500">Us</span>
+                  Contact <span className="text-red-500">FlagForge</span>
                 </h1>
                 <p className="text-base font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 max-w-sm">
-                  Get in touch with us. We'd love to hear from you!
+                  Reach the team for platform support, partnership conversations, and CTF or cybersecurity learning inquiries.
                 </p>
-                <h3 className="sr-only">FlagForge Contact Details</h3>
+                <h3 className="sr-only">FlagForge contact details</h3>
                 <h4 className="sr-only">Email, phone, and office location</h4>
               </div>
 
@@ -79,7 +74,7 @@ export default function Contact() {
                 <h2 className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-red-500/80">Get in Touch</h2>
                 <div className="grid gap-8">
                   {[
-                    { icon: Mail, label: "Email", value: "info@flagforgectf.com", href: "mailto:info@flagforgectf.com" },
+                    { icon: Mail, label: "Email", value: "info@flagforge.xyz", href: "mailto:info@flagforge.xyz" },
                     { icon: Phone, label: "Phone", value: "+977 9828137085", href: "tel:+9779828137085" },
                     { icon: MapPin, label: "Address", value: "Lalitpur, 44600" }
                   ].map((item, idx) => (
@@ -108,10 +103,9 @@ export default function Contact() {
               </div>
             </div>
 
-            {/* Right Column: Contact Form */}
             <div className="p-8 lg:p-16 space-y-10">
               <h2 className="text-3xl font-black tracking-tighter text-gray-900 dark:text-white uppercase">
-                Send us a Message
+                Send Us a Message
               </h2>
 
               <form className="space-y-8">
@@ -155,7 +149,6 @@ export default function Contact() {
                 </button>
               </form>
             </div>
-
           </div>
         </div>
       </div>
diff --git a/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx b/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx
index a100804..a85c03f 100644
--- a/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/blogs/[id]/page.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type {
   PartialBlockObjectResponse,
 } from "@notionhq/client/build/src/api-endpoints";
 import JsonLd from "@/components/JsonLd";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 import BlogPostClient from "./BlogPostClient";
 
 export const revalidate = 300;
@@ -228,13 +229,13 @@ export async function generateMetadata({
     description,
     keywords,
     alternates: {
-      canonical: `/blogs/${canonicalSlug}`,
+      canonical: `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${canonicalSlug}`,
     },
     openGraph: {
       title: post.title,
       description,
       type: "article",
-      url: `/blogs/${canonicalSlug}`,
+      url: `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${canonicalSlug}`,
       images: imageUrl ? [{ url: imageUrl, alt: post.title }] : [],
     },
     twitter: {
@@ -254,8 +255,7 @@ export default async function BlogPostPage({
   const { id } = await params;
   const post = await fetchBlogPost(id);
   const postSlug = post?.slug || id;
-  const seoImage =
-    post?.cover || post?.thumbnail || post?.image || "https://flagforgectf.com/flagforge-logo.png";
+  const seoImage = post?.cover || post?.thumbnail || post?.image || siteConfig.ogImage;
   const wordCount = post?.content
     ? post.content.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length
     : undefined;
@@ -286,18 +286,18 @@ export default async function BlogPostPage({
                 name: "FlagForge",
                 logo: {
                   "@type": "ImageObject",
-                  url: "https://flagforgectf.com/flagforge-logo.png",
+                  url: siteConfig.ogImage,
                 },
               },
               mainEntityOfPage: {
                 "@type": "WebPage",
-                "@id": `https://flagforgectf.com/blogs/${postSlug}`,
+                "@id": `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${postSlug}`,
               },
               keywords: post.tags?.join(", ") || "",
               isPartOf: {
                 "@type": "Blog",
                 name: "FlagForge Blog",
-                url: "https://flagforgectf.com/blogs",
+                url: siteConfig.blogUrl,
               },
             }}
           />
@@ -310,19 +310,19 @@ export default async function BlogPostPage({
                   "@type": "ListItem",
                   position: 1,
                   name: "Home",
-                  item: "https://flagforgectf.com/",
+                  item: `${siteConfig.url}/`,
                 },
                 {
                   "@type": "ListItem",
                   position: 2,
                   name: "Blogs",
-                  item: "https://flagforgectf.com/blogs",
+                  item: siteConfig.blogUrl,
                 },
                 {
                   "@type": "ListItem",
                   position: 3,
                   name: post.title,
-                  item: `https://flagforgectf.com/blogs/${postSlug}`,
+                  item: `${siteConfig.blogUrl}/${postSlug}`,
                 },
               ],
             }}
diff --git a/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx b/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx
index 88ee465..0a33b42 100644
--- a/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/blogs/layout.tsx
@@ -1,26 +1,29 @@
 import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: "FlagForge Blog",
+  title: "FlagForge Blog | CTF Guides and Cybersecurity Tutorials",
   description:
-    "Read FlagForge blog posts on CTF challenges, cybersecurity tutorials, and competition guides.",
+    "Read FlagForge blog posts covering capture the flag walkthroughs, cybersecurity tutorials, learning paths, and community updates.",
   alternates: {
-    canonical: "/blogs",
+    canonical: siteConfig.blogUrl,
   },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "FlagForge Blog",
+    title: "FlagForge Blog | CTF Guides and Cybersecurity Tutorials",
     description:
-      "Read FlagForge blog posts on CTF challenges, cybersecurity tutorials, and competition guides.",
-    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/blogs",
+      "Read FlagForge blog posts covering capture the flag walkthroughs, cybersecurity tutorials, learning paths, and community updates.",
+    url: siteConfig.blogUrl,
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "FlagForge Blog" }],
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    title: "FlagForge Blog",
+    title: "FlagForge Blog | CTF Guides and Cybersecurity Tutorials",
     description:
-      "Read FlagForge blog posts on CTF challenges, cybersecurity tutorials, and competition guides.",
+      "Read FlagForge blog posts covering capture the flag walkthroughs, cybersecurity tutorials, learning paths, and community updates.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
 };
 
diff --git a/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx b/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx
index d9c088a..8110dcd 100644
--- a/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/blogs/page.tsx
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ export default function BlogsPage() {
         "@type": "ListItem",
         "position": 2,
         "name": "Blogs",
-        "item": "https://flagforgectf.com/blogs"
+        "item": "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com"
       }
     ]
   };
@@ -135,11 +135,11 @@ export default function BlogsPage() {
           "@type": "Blog",
           name: "FlagForge Blog",
           description: "Discover insights, tutorials, and stories from our team at FlagForge.",
-          url: "https://flagforgectf.com/blogs",
+          url: "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com",
           blogPost: posts.map((post) => ({
             "@type": "BlogPosting",
             headline: post.title,
-            url: `https://flagforgectf.com/blogs/${post.slug || post.id}`,
+            url: `https://blogs.flagforgectf.com/${post.slug || post.id}`,
             datePublished: post.created,
             description: post.excerpt,
           })),
diff --git a/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx b/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx
index db1266a..e5b8f04 100644
--- a/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/(main)/resources/layout.tsx
@@ -1,26 +1,29 @@
 import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: "Learning Resources",
+  title: "FlagForge Resources | CTF Learning Materials and Security Study Guides",
   description:
-    "Explore FlagForge learning resources and CTF training materials organized by category to build cybersecurity skills.",
+    "Explore FlagForge resources for capture the flag preparation, cybersecurity study paths, curated tools, and practical learning materials.",
   alternates: {
     canonical: "/resources",
   },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "Learning Resources - FlagForge",
+    title: "FlagForge Resources | CTF Learning Materials and Security Study Guides",
     description:
-      "Explore FlagForge learning resources and CTF training materials organized by category to build cybersecurity skills.",
-    url: "https://flagforgectf.com/resources",
+      "Explore FlagForge resources for capture the flag preparation, cybersecurity study paths, curated tools, and practical learning materials.",
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}/resources`,
     type: "website",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    images: [{ url: siteConfig.ogImage, alt: "FlagForge Resources" }],
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    title: "Learning Resources - FlagForge",
+    title: "FlagForge Resources | CTF Learning Materials and Security Study Guides",
     description:
-      "Explore FlagForge learning resources and CTF training materials organized by category to build cybersecurity skills.",
+      "Explore FlagForge resources for capture the flag preparation, cybersecurity study paths, curated tools, and practical learning materials.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
 };
 
diff --git a/app/globals.css b/app/globals.css
index f9010ef..ddad2f5 100644
--- a/app/globals.css
+++ b/app/globals.css
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@
 
   body {
     @apply bg-background text-foreground;
+    font-family: "Segoe UI", "Aptos", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;
   }
 
   /* Custom dark mode styles */
diff --git a/app/layout.tsx b/app/layout.tsx
index 18f52c1..8ae81d0 100644
--- a/app/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/layout.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import type { Metadata, Viewport } from "next";
-import { DM_Sans } from "next/font/google";
 import Script from "next/script";
 import "./globals.css";
 import Navbar from "@/components/Navbar";
@@ -8,40 +7,20 @@ import CookieConsent from "@/components/CookieConsent";
 import Authprovider from "@/providers/auth-provider";
 import { ThemeProvider } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
 import { Analytics } from "@vercel/analytics/react";
-
-const dmSans = DM_Sans({
-  subsets: ["latin"],
-  display: "swap",
-  preload: true,
-});
+import { defaultKeywords, siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
+  metadataBase: new URL(siteConfig.url),
   title: {
-    default: "FlagForge - The Ultimate CTF Platform",
+    default: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
     template: "%s | FlagForge",
   },
-  description:
-    "Join FlagForge, the premier CTF platform to hone your cybersecurity skills with engaging challenges. Compete, learn, and grow your hacking expertise.",
-  metadataBase: new URL("https://flagforgectf.com"),
-  applicationName: "FlagForge CTF",
+  description: siteConfig.description,
+  applicationName: siteConfig.name,
   referrer: "origin-when-cross-origin",
-  keywords: [
-    "CTF",
-    "Capture The Flag",
-    "Cybersecurity",
-    "Ethical Hacking",
-    "FlagForge",
-    "CTF Challenges",
-    "Cybersecurity Platform",
-    "Online CTF Competitions",
-    "Nepal cybersecurity",
-    "Nepal CTF platform",
-  ],
-  authors: [{ name: "@Aryanstha", url: "https://github.com/aryan4859" }],
-  publisher: "FlagForge",
-  alternates: {
-    canonical: "/",
-  },
+  keywords: defaultKeywords,
+  authors: [{ name: "FlagForge Team", url: "https://github.com/FlagForgeCTF/" }],
+  publisher: siteConfig.name,
   robots: {
     index: true,
     follow: true,
@@ -57,17 +36,16 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     "google-adsense-account": "ca-pub-2506540900080142",
   },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "FlagForge - The Ultimate CTF Platform",
-    description:
-      "FlagForge is the go-to platform for Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions. Test your hacking skills with thrilling challenges in cybersecurity.",
-    url: "https://flagforgectf.com",
-    siteName: "FlagForge",
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description: siteConfig.description,
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
     images: [
       {
-        url: "/flagforge.gif",
+        url: siteConfig.ogImage,
         width: 1200,
         height: 630,
-        alt: "FlagForge - Capture The Flag Platform",
+        alt: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
       },
     ],
     locale: "en_US",
@@ -75,11 +53,9 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary_large_image",
-    site: "@Aryanstha",
-    title: "FlagForge - The Ultimate CTF Platform",
-    description:
-      "Join FlagForge, the leading Capture The Flag platform to enhance your cybersecurity skills. Compete and learn with exciting CTF challenges.",
-    images: ["/flagforge.gif"],
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description: siteConfig.description,
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
   },
   icons: {
     icon: "/favicon.ico",
@@ -95,37 +71,6 @@ export const viewport: Viewport = {
   userScalable: true,
 };
 
-const structuredData = {
-  "@context": "https://schema.org",
-  "@graph": [
-    {
-      "@type": "WebSite",
-      "@id": "https://flagforgectf.com/#website",
-      url: "https://flagforgectf.com",
-      name: "FlagForge",
-      alternateName: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
-      potentialAction: {
-        "@type": "SearchAction",
-        target: "https://flagforgectf.com/search?q={search_term_string}",
-        "query-input": "required name=search_term_string",
-      },
-      publisher: {
-        "@id": "https://flagforgectf.com/#organization",
-      },
-    },
-    {
-      "@type": "Organization",
-      "@id": "https://flagforgectf.com/#organization",
-      name: "FlagForge",
-      url: "https://flagforgectf.com",
-      logo: {
-        "@type": "ImageObject",
-        url: "https://flagforgectf.com/flagforge-logo.png",
-      },
-    },
-  ],
-};
-
 export default function RootLayout({
   children,
 }: {
@@ -133,22 +78,13 @@ export default function RootLayout({
 }) {
   return (
     <html lang="en">
-      <head>
-        <script
-          id="structured-data"
-          type="application/ld+json"
-          dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: JSON.stringify(structuredData) }}
-        />
-      </head>
-      <body
-        className={`${dmSans.className} antialiased transition-colors duration-300 bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 overflow-x-hidden sm:overflow-x-visible`}
-      >
+      <body className="font-sans antialiased transition-colors duration-300 bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 overflow-x-hidden sm:overflow-x-visible">
         <ThemeProvider>
           <Authprovider>
             <div className="mx-auto grid min-h-[100dvh] grid-rows-[auto_1fr_auto]">
               <Navbar />
               <main className="flex-1">{children}</main>
-              {typeof window !== "undefined" && <Analytics />}
+              <Analytics />
               <CookieConsent />
               <Footer />
             </div>
diff --git a/app/page.tsx b/app/page.tsx
index 7d8127e..932641f 100644
--- a/app/page.tsx
+++ b/app/page.tsx
@@ -1,83 +1,155 @@
-"use client";
-
-import { useSession } from "next-auth/react";
-import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
-import { useEffect } from "react";
+import type { Metadata } from "next";
+import Link from "next/link";
 import Hero from "@/components/Hero";
 import JsonLd from "@/components/JsonLd";
+import HomepageRedirect from "@/components/HomepageRedirect";
 import { landingFaqItems } from "@/lib/faq";
+import { defaultKeywords, siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
 
-export default function Home() {
-  const { status } = useSession();
-  const router = useRouter();
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (status === "authenticated") {
-      router.replace("/home");
-    }
-  }, [status, router]);
+export const metadata: Metadata = {
+  title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+  description:
+    "FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted capture the flag platform where learners practice cybersecurity challenges, study writeups, and build hands-on offensive and defensive security skills.",
+  keywords: defaultKeywords,
+  alternates: {
+    canonical: "/",
+  },
+  robots: {
+    index: true,
+    follow: true,
+    googleBot: {
+      index: true,
+      follow: true,
+      "max-image-preview": "large",
+      "max-snippet": -1,
+      "max-video-preview": -1,
+    },
+  },
+  openGraph: {
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description:
+      "Practice web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and other CTF categories on FlagForge.",
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    siteName: siteConfig.name,
+    images: [
+      {
+        url: siteConfig.ogImage,
+        width: 1200,
+        height: 630,
+        alt: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
+      },
+    ],
+    locale: "en_US",
+    type: "website",
+  },
+  twitter: {
+    card: "summary_large_image",
+    title: "FlagForge | Capture the Flag Platform for Cybersecurity Training",
+    description:
+      "Train with practical CTF challenges, security writeups, and community-driven cybersecurity learning on FlagForge.",
+    images: [siteConfig.ogImage],
+  },
+};
 
+export default function Home() {
   const organizationData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "Organization",
-    "name": "FlagForge",
-    "url": "https://flagforgectf.com",
-    "logo": "https://flagforgectf.com/flagforge.gif",
-    "sameAs": [
-      "https://github.com/aryan4859"
-    ]
+    name: siteConfig.name,
+    alternateName: siteConfig.secondaryName,
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    logo: siteConfig.ogImage,
+    description: siteConfig.organizationDescription,
+    sameAs: [
+      "https://github.com/FlagForgeCTF/",
+      "https://www.instagram.com/flag.forge/",
+      "https://www.linkedin.com/company/flagforge/",
+    ],
   };
 
   const websiteData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "WebSite",
-    "name": "FlagForge",
-    "url": "https://flagforgectf.com",
-    "potentialAction": {
-      "@type": "SearchAction",
-      "target": "https://flagforgectf.com/search?q={search_term_string}",
-      "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
-    }
+    name: siteConfig.name,
+    alternateName: siteConfig.secondaryName,
+    url: siteConfig.url,
+    description: siteConfig.description,
+    publisher: {
+      "@type": "Organization",
+      name: siteConfig.name,
+      url: siteConfig.url,
+    },
   };
 
   const faqData = {
     "@context": "https://schema.org",
     "@type": "FAQPage",
-    "mainEntity": landingFaqItems.map((item) => ({
+    mainEntity: landingFaqItems.map((item) => ({
       "@type": "Question",
-      "name": item.question,
-      "acceptedAnswer": {
+      name: item.question,
+      acceptedAnswer: {
         "@type": "Answer",
-        "text": item.answer
-      }
-    }))
-  };
-
-  const breadcrumbData = {
-    "@context": "https://schema.org",
-    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
-    "itemListElement": [
-      {
-        "@type": "ListItem",
-        "position": 1,
-        "name": "Home",
-        "item": "https://flagforgectf.com/"
-      }
-    ]
+        text: item.answer,
+      },
+    })),
   };
 
-  if (status !== "authenticated") {
-    return (
-      <>
-        <JsonLd data={organizationData} />
-        <JsonLd data={websiteData} />
-        <JsonLd data={faqData} />
-        <JsonLd data={breadcrumbData} />
-        <main>
-          <Hero />
-        </main>
-      </>
-    );
-  }
-  return null;
+  return (
+    <>
+      <JsonLd data={organizationData} />
+      <JsonLd data={websiteData} />
+      <JsonLd data={faqData} />
+      <HomepageRedirect />
+      <section className="bg-white px-4 pt-10 pb-6 dark:bg-[#050505] sm:px-8 md:px-12">
+        <div className="mx-auto grid max-w-7xl gap-8 rounded-[2rem] border border-gray-200 bg-gray-50/80 p-6 shadow-[0_30px_70px_-45px_rgba(15,23,42,0.45)] dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-white/[0.03] lg:grid-cols-[1.5fr_1fr] lg:p-8">
+          <div className="space-y-4">
+            <p className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] text-red-500">
+              FlagForge CTF Platform
+            </p>
+            <h2 className="max-w-3xl text-2xl font-black tracking-tight text-gray-950 dark:text-white lg:text-4xl">
+              Train with real capture the flag challenges and practical cybersecurity learning.
+            </h2>
+            <p className="max-w-3xl text-sm font-medium leading-7 text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 lg:text-base">
+              FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted cybersecurity community and training platform built for learners who want
+              hands-on experience in web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and secure
+              problem solving. Start with guided resources, study writeups, and grow through practical CTF practice.
+            </p>
+            <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-3 text-sm font-bold">
+              <Link
+                href={siteConfig.blogUrl}
+                className="rounded-full border border-red-200 px-4 py-2 text-red-600 transition-colors hover:border-red-500 hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white dark:border-red-500/30 dark:text-red-400"
+              >
+                Read FlagForge blog guides
+              </Link>
+              <Link
+                href="/resources"
+                className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
+              >
+                Explore CTF learning resources
+              </Link>
+              <Link
+                href="/about"
+                className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
+              >
+                About the FlagForge community
+              </Link>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+          <div className="space-y-4 rounded-[1.5rem] border border-gray-200 bg-white p-5 dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-[#0b0b0b]">
+            <h3 className="text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">
+              Core Challenge Tracks
+            </h3>
+            <ul className="grid gap-3 text-sm font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200">
+              <li>Web exploitation and secure web app testing</li>
+              <li>Cryptography, encoding, and flag recovery</li>
+              <li>Reverse engineering and binary analysis</li>
+              <li>Digital forensics, OSINT, and incident-style puzzles</li>
+              <li>Community learning for students and aspiring security teams</li>
+            </ul>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </section>
+      <Hero />
+    </>
+  );
 }
diff --git a/app/robots.ts b/app/robots.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa3e7d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/robots.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import type { MetadataRoute } from "next";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
+
+export default function robots(): MetadataRoute.Robots {
+  return {
+    rules: [
+      {
+        userAgent: "*",
+        allow: ["/", "/about", "/resources", "/contact"],
+        disallow: [
+          "/api/",
+          "/authentication",
+          "/home",
+          "/leaderboard",
+          "/problems",
+          "/profile",
+          "/resources/upload",
+          "/roles/developers/",
+          "/testprofile",
+          "/unauthorized",
+        ],
+      },
+    ],
+    sitemap: `${siteConfig.url}/sitemap.xml`,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/app/sitemap.ts b/app/sitemap.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d36c292
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/sitemap.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import type { MetadataRoute } from "next";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
+
+type SitemapEntry = MetadataRoute.Sitemap[number];
+
+type RouteDefinition = {
+  url: string;
+  filePath: string;
+  changeFrequency: NonNullable<SitemapEntry["changeFrequency"]>;
+  priority: number;
+};
+
+const staticRoutes: RouteDefinition[] = [
+  { url: "/", filePath: "app/page.tsx", changeFrequency: "weekly", priority: 1 },
+  {
+    url: "/about",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/about/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "monthly",
+    priority: 0.85,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/resources",
+    filePath: "app/(main)/resources/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "weekly",
+    priority: 0.85,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/contact",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/contact/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "monthly",
+    priority: 0.7,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/privacy-policy",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/privacy-policy/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.4,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/terms-of-service",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/terms-of-service/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.4,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/licensing",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/licensing/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.3,
+  },
+  {
+    url: "/cookie-consent",
+    filePath: "app/(footer)/cookie-consent/page.tsx",
+    changeFrequency: "yearly",
+    priority: 0.2,
+  },
+];
+
+const getLastModified = (relativePath: string) => {
+  const absolutePath = path.join(process.cwd(), relativePath);
+  try {
+    return fs.statSync(absolutePath).mtime;
+  } catch {
+    return new Date();
+  }
+};
+
+export default async function sitemap(): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
+  return staticRoutes.map((route) => ({
+    url: `${siteConfig.url}${route.url}`,
+    lastModified: getLastModified(route.filePath),
+    changeFrequency: route.changeFrequency,
+    priority: route.priority,
+  }));
+}
diff --git a/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx b/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx
index 79e19ab..845c01f 100644
--- a/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/user/[username]/layout.tsx
@@ -6,25 +6,33 @@ export const generateMetadata = ({
 }: {
   params: { username: string };
 }): Metadata => ({
-  title: "FlagForge User Profile",
+  title: `${params.username} | FlagForge profile`,
   description:
-    "View FlagForge user profiles with CTF rank, badges, and cybersecurity achievements.",
+    "Public FlagForge profile pages are available for sharing, but are excluded from search indexing to keep discovery focused on FlagForge learning content.",
   alternates: {
     canonical: `/user/${params.username}`,
   },
+  robots: {
+    index: false,
+    follow: true,
+    googleBot: {
+      index: false,
+      follow: true,
+    },
+  },
   openGraph: {
-    title: "FlagForge User Profile",
+    title: `${params.username} | FlagForge profile`,
     description:
-      "View FlagForge user profiles with CTF rank, badges, and cybersecurity achievements.",
+      "View a public FlagForge profile with badges, challenge activity, and CTF achievements.",
     url: `https://flagforgectf.com/user/${params.username}`,
     type: "profile",
     siteName: "FlagForge",
   },
   twitter: {
     card: "summary",
-    title: "FlagForge User Profile",
+    title: `${params.username} | FlagForge profile`,
     description:
-      "View FlagForge user profiles with CTF rank, badges, and cybersecurity achievements.",
+      "Public FlagForge profile with badges, challenge activity, and CTF achievements.",
   },
 });
 
diff --git a/components/Footer.tsx b/components/Footer.tsx
index 597984c..fddffe1 100644
--- a/components/Footer.tsx
+++ b/components/Footer.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import React from "react";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import Image from "next/image";
-import { Linkedin, Github } from "lucide-react";
+import { Linkedin, Instagram, Github } from "lucide-react";
 import logo from "@/public/flagforge-logo.png";
 
 export default function Footer() {
@@ -10,9 +10,16 @@ export default function Footer() {
       name: "LinkedIn",
       url: "https://www.linkedin.com/company/flagforge/",
       icon: <Linkedin className="w-5 h-5 pointer-events-none" />,
-      color: "hover:text-[#0077b5] dark:hover:text-[#38b6ff]", // Lighter blue for dark mode visibility
+      color: "hover:text-[#0077b5] dark:hover:text-[#38b6ff]",
       bg: "hover:bg-[#0077b5]/10 dark:hover:bg-[#38b6ff]/15",
     },
+    {
+      name: "Instagram",
+      url: "https://www.instagram.com/flag.forge/",
+      icon: <Instagram className="w-5 h-5 pointer-events-none" />,
+      color: "hover:text-[#e4405f] dark:hover:text-[#ff4d6d]",
+      bg: "hover:bg-[#e4405f]/10 dark:hover:bg-[#ff4d6d]/15",
+    },
     {
       name: "GitHub",
       url: "https://github.com/FlagForgeCTF/",
@@ -20,52 +27,27 @@ export default function Footer() {
       color: "hover:text-gray-950 dark:hover:text-white",
       bg: "hover:bg-gray-950/10 dark:hover:bg-white/10",
     },
-    {
-      name: "Instagram",
-      url: "https://www.instagram.com/flag.forge/",
-      icon: (
-        <svg
-          className="w-5 h-5"
-          fill="none"
-          stroke="currentColor"
-          strokeWidth="2"
-          strokeLinecap="round"
-          strokeLinejoin="round"
-          viewBox="0 0 24 24"
-          xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
-        >
-          <rect x="2" y="2" width="20" height="20" rx="5" ry="5" />
-          <path d="M16 11.37A4 4 0 1 1 12.63 8 4 4 0 0 1 16 11.37z" />
-          <line x1="17.5" y1="6.5" x2="17.51" y2="6.5" />
-        </svg>
-      ),
-      color: "hover:text-[#E4405F]",
-      bg: "hover:bg-[#E4405F]/10",
-    },
   ];
 
   const footerLinks = [
-    { name: "About", href: "/about" },
-    { name: "Resources", href: "/resources" },
-    { name: "Contact", href: "/contact" },
-    { name: "Privacy Policy", href: "/privacy-policy" },
-    { name: "Licensing", href: "/licensing" },
+    { name: "About FlagForge", href: "/about", label: "Learn about FlagForge and our cybersecurity mission" },
+    { name: "CTF Resources", href: "/resources", label: "Browse FlagForge cybersecurity resources and study materials" },
+    { name: "Contact FlagForge", href: "/contact", label: "Contact the FlagForge team" },
+    { name: "Privacy Policy", href: "/privacy-policy", label: "Read the FlagForge privacy policy" },
+    { name: "Licensing", href: "/licensing", label: "Read FlagForge licensing information" },
   ];
 
   return (
     <footer className="bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 transition-colors duration-500 overflow-hidden">
       <div className="w-[92%] lg:w-[80%] mx-auto py-8 md:py-10">
-
         <div className="grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-12 items-center">
-
-          {/* Left: Brand Identity */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center lg:items-start gap-4">
-            <Link href="/" className="group flex items-center gap-3 transition-transform hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-95 outline-none">
+            <Link href="/" className="group flex items-center gap-3 transition-transform hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-95 outline-none" aria-label="Go to the FlagForge homepage">
               <div className="relative">
                 <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-500/20 blur-xl rounded-full opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity" />
                 <Image
                   src={logo}
-                  alt="FlagForge Logo"
+                  alt="FlagForge logo"
                   height={40}
                   width={40}
                   className="relative h-8 w-8 md:h-10 md:w-10 object-contain transition-all duration-500 group-hover:rotate-6"
@@ -75,12 +57,11 @@ export default function Footer() {
                 FlagForge
               </span>
             </Link>
-            <p className="text-xs md:text-sm font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 text-center lg:text-left leading-relaxed max-w-[280px]">
-              Forging excellence in cybersecurity, one flag at a time.
+            <p className="text-xs md:text-sm font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 text-center lg:text-left leading-relaxed max-w-[320px]">
+              Capture the flag training, cybersecurity resources, and hands-on challenge practice for curious learners.
             </p>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Center: Connect Section */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-4">
             <span className="text-[10px] font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-600">
               CONNECT
@@ -101,14 +82,14 @@ export default function Footer() {
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Right: Navigation */}
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center lg:items-end gap-6">
-            <nav>
+            <nav aria-label="Footer navigation">
               <ul className="flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-end gap-x-6 gap-y-3">
                 {footerLinks.map((link) => (
                   <li key={link.name}>
                     <Link
                       href={link.href}
+                      aria-label={link.label}
                       className="text-[13px] font-bold text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 hover:text-red-600 dark:hover:text-red-500 transition-colors uppercase tracking-tight relative group/link"
                     >
                       {link.name}
@@ -119,14 +100,12 @@ export default function Footer() {
               </ul>
             </nav>
           </div>
-
         </div>
 
-        {/* Global Footer Bottom */}
         <div className="mt-12 pt-8 border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex flex-col md:flex-row items-center justify-between gap-6">
           <div className="flex items-center gap-2.5 text-[10px] md:text-[11px] font-bold text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500 uppercase tracking-widest whitespace-nowrap">
             <span className="w-1.5 h-1.5 rounded-full bg-red-600 shadow-[0_0_8px_rgba(220,38,38,0.5)]" />
-            © {new Date().getFullYear()} FLAGFORGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
+            <span>&copy; {new Date().getFullYear()} FLAGFORGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.</span>
           </div>
 
           <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-[10px] md:text-[11px] font-bold text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500 uppercase tracking-widest whitespace-nowrap">
@@ -141,7 +120,6 @@ export default function Footer() {
             </Link>
           </div>
         </div>
-
       </div>
     </footer>
   );
diff --git a/components/HomepageRedirect.tsx b/components/HomepageRedirect.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3eb9f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/HomepageRedirect.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { useEffect } from "react";
+import { useSession } from "next-auth/react";
+import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
+
+export default function HomepageRedirect() {
+  const { status } = useSession();
+  const router = useRouter();
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (status === "authenticated") {
+      router.replace("/home");
+    }
+  }, [router, status]);
+
+  return null;
+}
diff --git a/components/Navbar.tsx b/components/Navbar.tsx
index 04a6f26..7a3cb22 100644
--- a/components/Navbar.tsx
+++ b/components/Navbar.tsx
@@ -22,21 +22,20 @@ import {
 } from "@/components/ui/dropdown-menu";
 import { useTheme } from "@/context/ThemeContext";
 import {
-  Home,
-  Terminal,
-  Trophy,
+  Archive,
+  ArrowRight,
   BookText,
+  Home,
+  LayoutDashboard,
   LogIn,
   LogOut,
-  User as UserIcon,
   ShieldCheck,
-  LayoutDashboard,
-  ArrowRight,
-  Archive
+  Terminal,
+  Trophy,
 } from "lucide-react";
 
 const NavItem = ({ href, tags, onClick, style }: NavbarItems) => {
-  const isExternal = href.startsWith('http');
+  const isExternal = href.startsWith("http");
 
   return (
     <li onClick={onClick}>
@@ -112,7 +111,6 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
     let active = true;
     const loadUserData = async () => {
       try {
-        // Load user profile data
         const profileResponse = await fetch("/api/profile");
         if (profileResponse.ok) {
           const data = await profileResponse.json();
@@ -124,13 +122,12 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
           if (active) setStanding(nextStanding);
         }
 
-        // Load user role data
         const roleResponse = await fetch("/api/user/role");
         if (roleResponse.ok) {
           const roleData = await roleResponse.json();
           if (active) setIsAdmin(roleData.isAdmin || false);
         }
-      } catch (error) {
+      } catch {
         if (active) {
           setStanding("");
           setIsAdmin(false);
@@ -153,7 +150,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
               <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-500/20 blur-xl rounded-full opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity" />
               <Image
                 src={logo}
-                alt="logo"
+                alt="FlagForge logo"
                 height={40}
                 width={40}
                 className="relative h-8 w-8 md:h-10 md:w-10 object-contain"
@@ -165,12 +162,10 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
           </div>
         </Link>
 
-        {/* Desktop Navigation */}
         <div className="hidden md:flex items-center gap-8 lg:gap-12">
           <ul className="flex items-center gap-1 lg:gap-2">
-            {/* Show navigation based on authentication status */}
             {NavbarData
-              .filter(item => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
+              .filter((item) => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
               .map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => (
                 <NavItem
                   key={href}
@@ -182,7 +177,6 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
           </ul>
 
           <div className="flex items-center gap-4 lg:gap-6 ml-4 pl-4 border-l border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10">
-            {/* Theme Toggle */}
             <button
               onClick={toggleTheme}
               className="p-2.5 rounded-xl text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 hover:text-gray-900 dark:hover:text-white hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-white/5 transition-all duration-300 active:scale-90"
@@ -192,17 +186,13 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
                 <SunIcon
                   className={cn(
                     "absolute h-full w-full transition-all duration-300",
-                    theme === "dark"
-                      ? "rotate-0 scale-100"
-                      : "-rotate-90 scale-0"
+                    theme === "dark" ? "rotate-0 scale-100" : "-rotate-90 scale-0"
                   )}
                 />
                 <MoonIcon
                   className={cn(
                     "absolute h-full w-full transition-all duration-300",
-                    theme === "dark"
-                      ? "rotate-90 scale-0"
-                      : "rotate-0 scale-100"
+                    theme === "dark" ? "rotate-90 scale-0" : "rotate-0 scale-100"
                   )}
                 />
               </div>
@@ -272,7 +262,6 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
           </div>
         </div>
 
-        {/* Mobile Navigation Toggle */}
         <div className="md:hidden flex items-center gap-4">
           <button
             onClick={toggleTheme}
@@ -311,27 +300,33 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
               </SheetDescription>
               <div className="flex flex-col h-full">
                 <div className="p-8 border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex items-center gap-3">
-                  <Image src={logo} alt="logo" height={40} width={40} />
+                  <Image src={logo} alt="FlagForge logo" height={40} width={40} />
                   <span className="text-2xl font-black text-gray-950 dark:text-white tracking-tighter">FlagForge</span>
                 </div>
 
                 <nav className="flex-1 p-6">
                   <ul className="space-y-4">
-                    {/* Show navigation based on authentication status */}
                     {NavbarData
-                      .filter(item => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
+                      .filter((item) => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
                       .map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => {
                         const getIcon = (tag: string) => {
                           switch (tag.toLowerCase()) {
-                            case "home": return <Home className="w-5 h-5" />;
-                            case "problems": return <Terminal className="w-5 h-5" />;
-                            case "leaderboard": return <Trophy className="w-5 h-5" />;
-                            case "archives": return <Archive className="w-5 h-5" />;
-                            case "blogs": return <BookText className="w-5 h-5" />;
-                            default: return <Terminal className="w-5 h-5" />;
+                            case "home":
+                              return <Home className="w-5 h-5" />;
+                            case "problems":
+                              return <Terminal className="w-5 h-5" />;
+                            case "leaderboard":
+                              return <Trophy className="w-5 h-5" />;
+                            case "archives":
+                              return <Archive className="w-5 h-5" />;
+                            case "blogs":
+                              return <BookText className="w-5 h-5" />;
+                            default:
+                              return <Terminal className="w-5 h-5" />;
                           }
                         };
-                        const isExternal = href.startsWith('http');
+
+                        const isExternal = href.startsWith("http");
                         return (
                           <li key={href}>
                             <Link
@@ -350,7 +345,6 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
                         );
                       })}
 
-                    {/* Show sign in/up button for unauthenticated users */}
                     {session.status === "unauthenticated" && (
                       <li className="pt-6">
                         <Link
diff --git a/lib/seo.ts b/lib/seo.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0c361b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/seo.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+export const siteConfig = {
+  name: "FlagForge",
+  secondaryName: "FlagForge CTF Platform",
+  url: "https://flagforgectf.com",
+  blogUrl: "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com",
+  ogImage: "https://flagforgectf.com/flagforge-logo.png",
+  description:
+    "FlagForge is a capture the flag platform for cybersecurity training, hands-on CTF challenges, and practical learning for aspiring security engineers.",
+  organizationDescription:
+    "FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted cybersecurity training platform that helps learners practice capture the flag challenges, study security concepts, and grow through hands-on competition.",
+};
+
+export const defaultKeywords = [
+  "FlagForge",
+  "FlagForge CTF",
+  "CTF platform",
+  "capture the flag",
+  "cybersecurity challenges",
+  "cybersecurity training",
+  "ethical hacking practice",
+  "web exploitation challenges",
+  "cryptography challenges",
+  "Nepal cybersecurity community",
+];
diff --git a/middleware.ts b/middleware.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index f643bec..0000000
--- a/middleware.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
-import { tokenBlacklistMiddleware } from './middleware/tokenBlacklist';
-import { adminMiddleware } from './middleware/adminToken';
-
-export async function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
-  const { pathname } = request.nextUrl;
-
-  const blacklistResponse = await tokenBlacklistMiddleware(request);
-  if (blacklistResponse && blacklistResponse instanceof NextResponse) return blacklistResponse;
-
-  if (
-    pathname.startsWith('/api/admin') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/roles/developers/admins') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/admin') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/api/badges') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/api/badge-templates') ||
-    pathname.startsWith('/resources/upload')
-  ) {
-    const adminResponse = await adminMiddleware(request);
-    if (adminResponse && adminResponse instanceof NextResponse) return adminResponse;
-  }
-
-  // 3) Continue if all checks passed
-  return NextResponse.next();
-}
-
-export const config = {
-  matcher: [
-    '/((?!api/auth|_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico).*)',
-  ],
-};
diff --git a/next-sitemap.config.js b/next-sitemap.config.js
deleted file mode 100644
index ecfbe46..0000000
--- a/next-sitemap.config.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,218 +0,0 @@
-/** @type {import('next-sitemap').IConfig} */
-const fs = require('fs');
-const path = require('path');
-const { Client } = require('@notionhq/client');
-const mongoose = require('mongoose');
-
-const APP_DIR = path.join(process.cwd(), 'app');
-const PAGE_FILE_REGEX = /^page\.[jt]sx?$/;
-
-const isRouteGroup = (segment) => segment.startsWith('(') && segment.endsWith(')');
-const isDynamicSegment = (segment) => segment.startsWith('[') && segment.endsWith(']');
-
-const collectPageFiles = (dir, results = []) => {
-  if (!fs.existsSync(dir)) return results;
-
-  const entries = fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true });
-  for (const entry of entries) {
-    const fullPath = path.join(dir, entry.name);
-    if (entry.isDirectory()) {
-      collectPageFiles(fullPath, results);
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    if (PAGE_FILE_REGEX.test(entry.name)) {
-      results.push(fullPath);
-    }
-  }
-
-  return results;
-};
-
-const buildRouteLastmod = () => {
-  const routeLastmod = new Map();
-  const pageFiles = collectPageFiles(APP_DIR);
-
-  for (const filePath of pageFiles) {
-    const relativePath = path.relative(APP_DIR, filePath);
-    const dirName = path.dirname(relativePath);
-    const segments = dirName === '.' ? [] : dirName.split(path.sep);
-    const routeSegments = segments.filter((segment) => !isRouteGroup(segment));
-
-    if (routeSegments.some(isDynamicSegment)) {
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    const routePath = `/${routeSegments.join('/')}`;
-    const stats = fs.statSync(filePath);
-    routeLastmod.set(routePath === '/' ? '/' : routePath, stats.mtime.toISOString());
-  }
-
-  return routeLastmod;
-};
-
-const routeLastmod = buildRouteLastmod();
-
-const SITEMAP_EXCLUDE = [
-  '/roles/developers/*',
-  '/roles/developers',
-  '/profile',
-  '/problems',
-  '/leaderboard',
-  '/home',
-  'resources/uploads',
-  '/unauthorized',
-];
-
-const fetchBlogEntries = async () => {
-  const apiKey = process.env.NOTION_API_KEY;
-  const databaseId = process.env.NOTION_DATABASE_ID;
-
-  if (!apiKey || !databaseId) {
-    console.warn('Notion env vars missing, skipping blog sitemap entries.');
-    return [];
-  }
-
-  try {
-    const notion = new Client({ auth: apiKey });
-    const response = await notion.databases.query({ database_id: databaseId });
-
-    return response.results
-      .map((page) => {
-        const properties = page.properties ?? {};
-        const status = properties.Status?.select?.name;
-        const publishedDate =
-          properties['Publish Date']?.date?.start ||
-          properties['Published Date']?.date?.start;
-        const slug =
-          properties.Slug?.rich_text?.[0]?.plain_text?.trim() || page.id;
-
-        return {
-          id: page.id,
-          slug,
-          status,
-          lastmod: page.last_edited_time || publishedDate || page.created_time,
-        };
-      })
-      .filter((post) => {
-        if (!post.status) return true;
-        return post.status.toLowerCase() === 'published';
-      })
-      .map((post) => ({
-        loc: `/blogs/${encodeURIComponent(post.slug)}`,
-        lastmod: post.lastmod,
-        changefreq: 'monthly',
-        priority: 0.6,
-      }));
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.warn('Failed to fetch Notion blog posts for sitemap.', error);
-    return [];
-  }
-};
-
-const fetchPublicUserEntries = async () => {
-  const mongoUrl = process.env.MONGO_URL;
-
-  if (!mongoUrl) {
-    console.warn('MONGO_URL is missing, skipping public user sitemap entries.');
-    return [];
-  }
-
-  let shouldDisconnect = false;
-  try {
-    if (mongoose.connection.readyState === 0) {
-      await mongoose.connect(mongoUrl, {
-        maxPoolSize: 10,
-        minPoolSize: 1,
-        maxIdleTimeMS: 30000,
-        bufferCommands: false,
-      });
-      shouldDisconnect = true;
-    }
-
-    const users = await mongoose.connection.db
-      .collection('users')
-      .find({}, { projection: { name: 1, updatedAt: 1, createdAt: 1 } })
-      .toArray();
-
-    return users
-      .map((user) => {
-        const name = typeof user?.name === 'string' ? user.name.trim() : '';
-        if (!name) return null;
-        const slug = name.replace(/\s+/g, '-');
-        const lastmod = user.updatedAt || user.createdAt;
-
-        return {
-          loc: `/user/${encodeURIComponent(slug)}`,
-          lastmod: lastmod ? new Date(lastmod).toISOString() : undefined,
-          changefreq: 'weekly',
-          priority: 0.4,
-        };
-      })
-      .filter(Boolean);
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.warn('Failed to fetch public users for sitemap.', error);
-    return [];
-  } finally {
-    if (shouldDisconnect) {
-      await mongoose.disconnect();
-    }
-  }
-};
-
-
-module.exports = {
-  siteUrl: 'https://flagforgectf.com',
-  generateRobotsTxt: true,
-  generateIndexSitemap: false,
-  changefreq: 'monthly',
-  priority: 0.7,
-  autoLastmod: false,
-  exclude: SITEMAP_EXCLUDE,
-  additionalPaths: async () => {
-    const [blogEntries, userEntries] = await Promise.all([
-      fetchBlogEntries(),
-      fetchPublicUserEntries(),
-    ]);
-
-    return [...blogEntries, ...userEntries];
-  },
-  transform: async (config, path) => {
-    // Custom priority for landing and global pages
-    let priority = config.priority;
-    if (path === '/') {
-      priority = 1.0;
-    } else if (['/about', '/contact', '/blogs', '/authentication', '/resources'].includes(path)) {
-      priority = 0.9;
-    }
-
-    const lastmod = routeLastmod.get(path);
-
-    return {
-      loc: path,
-      changefreq: config.changefreq,
-      priority: priority,
-      lastmod: lastmod ?? undefined,
-      alternateRefs: config.alternateRefs ?? [],
-    };
-  },
-  robotsTxtOptions: {
-    transformRobotsTxt: async (config) => {
-      const disallowRules = SITEMAP_EXCLUDE.map((path) => `Disallow: ${path}`);
-
-      const sitemapRules = [
-        `Sitemap: ${config.siteUrl}/sitemap.xml`,
-        `Sitemap: ${config.siteUrl}/sitemap1.xml`,
-        `Sitemap: ${config.siteUrl}/sitemap.txt`,
-      ];
-
-      const customRules = [
-        'User-agent: *',
-        'Allow: /llms.txt',
-        ...disallowRules,
-      ];
-
-      return [...customRules, '', ...sitemapRules].join('\n');
-    },
-  },
-};
diff --git a/next.config.mjs b/next.config.mjs
index f6e2d7d..7c76065 100644
--- a/next.config.mjs
+++ b/next.config.mjs
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 const nextConfig = {
   images: {
     remotePatterns: [
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "writeup.flagforge.xyz",
+      },
       {
         protocol: "https",
         hostname: "writeup.flagforgectf.com",
@@ -10,6 +14,10 @@ const nextConfig = {
         protocol: "https",
         hostname: "flagforgectf.com",
       },
+      {
+        protocol: "https",
+        hostname: "blogs.flagforgectf.com",
+      },
       {
         protocol: "https",
         hostname: "github.com",
@@ -32,7 +40,7 @@ const nextConfig = {
       },
       {
         protocol: "https",
-        hostname: "*.fbcdn.net",
+        hostname: "**.fbcdn.net",
       },
       {
         protocol: "https",
@@ -66,6 +74,15 @@ const nextConfig = {
           },
         ],
       },
+      {
+        source: "/robots.txt",
+        headers: [
+          {
+            key: "Cache-Control",
+            value: "public, max-age=3600, must-revalidate",
+          },
+        ],
+      },
       {
         source: "/(.*)",
         headers: [
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 46862c1..e633720 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -6,8 +6,7 @@
     "dev": "next dev",
     "build": "next build",
     "start": "next start",
-    "lint": "next lint",
-    "postbuild": "next-sitemap && node scripts/copy-sitemap.js"
+    "lint": "next lint"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@notionhq/client": "^4.0.2",
@@ -61,4 +60,4 @@
     "braces": "^3.0.3",
     "micromatch": "^4.0.8"
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/proxy.ts b/proxy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bb702f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proxy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { tokenBlacklistMiddleware } from "./middleware/tokenBlacklist";
+import { adminMiddleware } from "./middleware/adminToken";
+
+export async function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
+  const { pathname } = request.nextUrl;
+
+  const blacklistResponse = await tokenBlacklistMiddleware(request);
+  if (blacklistResponse && blacklistResponse instanceof NextResponse) return blacklistResponse;
+
+  if (
+    pathname.startsWith("/api/admin") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/roles/developers/admins") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/admin") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/api/badges") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/api/badge-templates") ||
+    pathname.startsWith("/resources/upload")
+  ) {
+    const adminResponse = await adminMiddleware(request);
+    if (adminResponse && adminResponse instanceof NextResponse) return adminResponse;
+  }
+
+  return NextResponse.next();
+}
+
+export const config = {
+  matcher: [
+    "/((?!api/auth|_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico|robots.txt|sitemap.xml).*)",
+  ],
+};
diff --git a/public/llms.txt b/public/llms.txt
index aa5679c..2c5ccd6 100644
--- a/public/llms.txt
+++ b/public/llms.txt
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ FlagForge is a premier Capture The Flag (CTF) platform designed to host, manage,
 - [Home](https://flagforgectf.com/): Landing page and overview.
 - [Challenges](https://flagforgectf.com/problems): List of available CTF challenges.
 - [Leaderboard](https://flagforgectf.com/leaderboard): Global rankings.
-- [Blogs](https://flagforgectf.com/blogs): Cybersecurity tutorials and news.
+- [Blogs](https://blogs.flagforgectf.com): Cybersecurity tutorials and news.
 - [Resources](https://flagforgectf.com/resources): Educational materials and tools.
 - [About](https://flagforgectf.com/about): Information about FlagForge.
 - [Contact](https://flagforgectf.com/contact): Support and inquiries.
diff --git a/scripts/copy-sitemap.js b/scripts/copy-sitemap.js
deleted file mode 100644
index d10bb93..0000000
--- a/scripts/copy-sitemap.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-const fs = require("fs");
-const path = require("path");
-
-const publicDir = path.join(process.cwd(), "public");
-const source = path.join(publicDir, "sitemap.xml");
-const backup = path.join(publicDir, "sitemap1.xml");
-const textSitemap = path.join(publicDir, "sitemap.txt");
-
-if (fs.existsSync(source)) {
-  fs.copyFileSync(source, backup);
-
-  const xml = fs.readFileSync(source, "utf8");
-  const urls = [];
-  const locRegex = /<loc>([^<]+)<\/loc>/g;
-  let match;
-  while ((match = locRegex.exec(xml)) !== null) {
-    urls.push(match[1].trim());
-  }
-
-  if (urls.length > 0) {
-    fs.writeFileSync(textSitemap, `${urls.join("\n")}\n`);
-  } else {
-    console.warn("No <loc> entries found, skipping sitemap.txt generation.");
-  }
-} else {
-  console.warn("sitemap.xml not found, skipping backup generation.");
-}
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index f76363c..5c98bb8 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
     ".next/types/**/*.ts",
     "components/ProfileHeroBanner.tsx",
     ".next/dev/types/**/*.ts"
-, "next-sitemap.config.js"  ],
+  ],
   "exclude": [
     "node_modules"
   ]
diff --git a/utils/data.ts b/utils/data.ts
index 814cf93..1323e03 100644
--- a/utils/data.ts
+++ b/utils/data.ts
@@ -4,32 +4,30 @@ export const NavbarData: NavbarItems[] = [
   {
     href: "/home",
     tags: "Home",
-    style: undefined
+    style: undefined,
   },
   {
     href: "/problems",
     tags: "Problems",
-    style: undefined
+    style: undefined,
   },
   {
     href: "/leaderboard",
     tags: "Leaderboard",
-    style: undefined
+    style: undefined,
   },
   {
     href: "/archives",
     tags: "Archives",
-    style: undefined
+    style: undefined,
   },
   {
-    href: "https://blog.flagforgectf.com",
+    href: "https://blogs.flagforgectf.com",
     tags: "Blogs",
-    style: undefined
+    style: undefined,
   },
 ];
 
-
-
 const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
   {
     title: "Reverse Engineering",
@@ -39,7 +37,7 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
     points: 300,
     flag: "REVERSE_FLAG",
     isSolved: false,
-    done: false
+    done: false,
   },
   {
     title: "Web Exploitation",
@@ -48,7 +46,7 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
     points: 200,
     flag: "WEB_FLAG",
     isSolved: false,
-    done: false
+    done: false,
   },
   {
     title: "Forensics",
@@ -57,7 +55,7 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
     points: 150,
     flag: "FORENSICS_FLAG",
     isSolved: false,
-    done: false
+    done: false,
   },
   {
     title: "Crypto Challenge",
@@ -66,7 +64,7 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
     points: 250,
     flag: "CRYPTO_FLAG",
     isSolved: false,
-    done: false
+    done: false,
   },
   {
     title: "Steganography",
@@ -75,7 +73,7 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
     points: 200,
     flag: "STEGANOGRAPHY_FLAG",
     isSolved: false,
-    done: false
+    done: false,
   },
   {
     title: "Network Security",
@@ -84,17 +82,14 @@ const ctfQuestions: Questions[] = [
     points: 300,
     flag: "NETWORK_FLAG",
     isSolved: false,
-    done: false
+    done: false,
   },
 ];
 
-
 const dummyQuestions: Questions[] = ctfQuestions;
 
-
 export default dummyQuestions;
 
-
 export const initialQuestion: Questions = {
   title: "",
   description: "",
@@ -102,5 +97,5 @@ export const initialQuestion: Questions = {
   points: 0,
   flag: "",
   isSolved: false,
-  done: false
+  done: false,
 };

From b968aca33ada29f7150903f879ad2f3dce21cba3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: lynxx-st <shrijalp2016@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 10:10:01 +0545
Subject: [PATCH 3/4] Implement SEO recovery plan

---
 app/page.tsx                    |   53 +-
 components/Hero.tsx             | 1051 ++++++++++++++++---------------
 components/HomeIntroSection.tsx |   56 ++
 components/Navbar.tsx           |  225 ++++---
 4 files changed, 707 insertions(+), 678 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 components/HomeIntroSection.tsx

diff --git a/app/page.tsx b/app/page.tsx
index 932641f..5be5b26 100644
--- a/app/page.tsx
+++ b/app/page.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { Metadata } from "next";
-import Link from "next/link";
 import Hero from "@/components/Hero";
+import HomeIntroSection from "@/components/HomeIntroSection";
 import JsonLd from "@/components/JsonLd";
 import HomepageRedirect from "@/components/HomepageRedirect";
 import { landingFaqItems } from "@/lib/faq";
@@ -100,56 +100,7 @@ export default function Home() {
       <JsonLd data={websiteData} />
       <JsonLd data={faqData} />
       <HomepageRedirect />
-      <section className="bg-white px-4 pt-10 pb-6 dark:bg-[#050505] sm:px-8 md:px-12">
-        <div className="mx-auto grid max-w-7xl gap-8 rounded-[2rem] border border-gray-200 bg-gray-50/80 p-6 shadow-[0_30px_70px_-45px_rgba(15,23,42,0.45)] dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-white/[0.03] lg:grid-cols-[1.5fr_1fr] lg:p-8">
-          <div className="space-y-4">
-            <p className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] text-red-500">
-              FlagForge CTF Platform
-            </p>
-            <h2 className="max-w-3xl text-2xl font-black tracking-tight text-gray-950 dark:text-white lg:text-4xl">
-              Train with real capture the flag challenges and practical cybersecurity learning.
-            </h2>
-            <p className="max-w-3xl text-sm font-medium leading-7 text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 lg:text-base">
-              FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted cybersecurity community and training platform built for learners who want
-              hands-on experience in web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and secure
-              problem solving. Start with guided resources, study writeups, and grow through practical CTF practice.
-            </p>
-            <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-3 text-sm font-bold">
-              <Link
-                href={siteConfig.blogUrl}
-                className="rounded-full border border-red-200 px-4 py-2 text-red-600 transition-colors hover:border-red-500 hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white dark:border-red-500/30 dark:text-red-400"
-              >
-                Read FlagForge blog guides
-              </Link>
-              <Link
-                href="/resources"
-                className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
-              >
-                Explore CTF learning resources
-              </Link>
-              <Link
-                href="/about"
-                className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
-              >
-                About the FlagForge community
-              </Link>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-          <div className="space-y-4 rounded-[1.5rem] border border-gray-200 bg-white p-5 dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-[#0b0b0b]">
-            <h3 className="text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">
-              Core Challenge Tracks
-            </h3>
-            <ul className="grid gap-3 text-sm font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200">
-              <li>Web exploitation and secure web app testing</li>
-              <li>Cryptography, encoding, and flag recovery</li>
-              <li>Reverse engineering and binary analysis</li>
-              <li>Digital forensics, OSINT, and incident-style puzzles</li>
-              <li>Community learning for students and aspiring security teams</li>
-            </ul>
-          </div>
-        </div>
-      </section>
-      <Hero />
+      <Hero afterFaqSection={<HomeIntroSection />} />
     </>
   );
 }
diff --git a/components/Hero.tsx b/components/Hero.tsx
index c9687fa..a6a5df8 100644
--- a/components/Hero.tsx
+++ b/components/Hero.tsx
@@ -1,522 +1,529 @@
-"use client";
-import { useSession } from "next-auth/react";
-import Link from "next/link";
-import Image from "next/image";
-import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
-import { landingFaqItems } from "@/lib/faq";
-
-// Import images statically
-import nirmalImage from "@/public/NirmalDahal.jpeg";
-import sobitImage from "@/public/SobitThakuri.jpeg";
-import bibekImage from "@/public/bibekghimire.jpeg"; 
-
-import { Activity, Rocket, Target, Users, Layers, Clock } from "lucide-react";
-
-const Hero: React.FC = () => {
-  const { status } = useSession();
-  const [currentTestimonial, setCurrentTestimonial] = useState(0);
-  const [isAutoPlaying, setIsAutoPlaying] = useState(true);
-  const [isAnimating, setIsAnimating] = useState(false);
-  const [openFaqIndex, setOpenFaqIndex] = useState<number | null>(null);
-
-  // Icons for the stats section, mapped by index to preserve original data structure
-  const statIcons = [Target, Users, Layers, Clock];
-
-  const testimonials = [
-    {
-      id: 1,
-      name: "Nirmal Dahal",
-      position: "Cofounder of Cryptogen Nepal",
-      image: nirmalImage,
-      testimonial:
-        "FlagForge provides an exceptional platform for cybersecurity professionals to validate their skills. The challenges mirror real-world attack vectors and help teams stay sharp in an ever-evolving threat landscape.",
-    },
-    {
-      id: 2,
-      name: "Sobit Thakuri",
-      position: "Information Security Officer and ISO 27001:2022 Lead Auditor",
-      image: sobitImage,
-      testimonial:
-        "I appreciate FlagForge's comprehensive approach to security training. The platform effectively bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application in cybersecurity.",
-    },
-    {
-      id: 3,
-      name: "Bibek Ghimire",
-      position: "CTO of Bardali Creation",
-      image: bibekImage,
-      testimonial:
-        "FlagForge is an engaging and fun CTF platform that helped me sharpen my cybersecurity and problem-solving skills in web exploitation and cryptography. A great place to learn, compete, and grow as a hacker!",
-    },
-  ];
-
-  const categories = [
-    {
-      icon: "🌐",
-      title: "Web Exploitation",
-      description: "Master web vulnerabilities like SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, and more. Learn to identify and exploit common web application security flaws.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🔐",
-      title: "Cryptography",
-      description: "Decode encrypted messages, break ciphers, and understand cryptographic algorithms. From classical to modern encryption techniques.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🔍",
-      title: "Reverse Engineering",
-      description: "Analyze binaries, understand assembly code, and reverse engineer software to uncover hidden flags and vulnerabilities.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🕵️",
-      title: "Forensics",
-      description: "Investigate digital artifacts, analyze memory dumps, recover hidden data, and solve mysteries through digital forensics.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🎯",
-      title: "Binary Exploitation",
-      description: "Exploit buffer overflows, format string vulnerabilities, and other binary-level security issues in compiled programs.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🧩",
-      title: "Miscellaneous",
-      description: "Tackle unique challenges that don't fit traditional categories. Logic puzzles, OSINT, steganography, and creative problem-solving.",
-    },
-  ];
-
-  const features = [
-    {
-      icon: "🎓",
-      title: "Learn by Doing",
-      description: "Hands-on challenges that teach real-world cybersecurity skills through practical application.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "📊",
-      title: "Track Your Progress",
-      description: "Monitor your improvement with detailed statistics, solve rates, and performance analytics.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🏆",
-      title: "Compete & Rank",
-      description: "Climb the leaderboard, earn points, and compete with cybersecurity enthusiasts worldwide.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "💡",
-      title: "Smart Hint System",
-      description: "Get unstuck with our intelligent hint system. Choose between watching ads or using points for hints.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "🌙",
-      title: "Dark Mode Support",
-      description: "Comfortable coding experience with full dark mode support for extended practice sessions.",
-    },
-    {
-      icon: "📱",
-      title: "Fully Responsive",
-      description: "Practice anywhere, anytime. Our platform works seamlessly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.",
-    },
-  ];
-
-  const howItWorks = [
-    {
-      step: "1",
-      title: "Create Your Account",
-      description: "Sign up for free and join our community of cybersecurity enthusiasts.",
-    },
-    {
-      step: "2",
-      title: "Choose Your Challenge",
-      description: "Browse challenges across multiple categories and difficulty levels.",
-    },
-    {
-      step: "3",
-      title: "Solve & Submit",
-      description: "Work through the challenge, find the flag, and submit your solution.",
-    },
-    {
-      step: "4",
-      title: "Earn Points & Rank Up",
-      description: "Gain points for correct solutions and climb the global leaderboard.",
-    },
-  ];
-
-  const stats = [
-    { number: "100+", label: "Challenges" },
-    { number: "1000+", label: "Active Users" },
-    { number: "6", label: "Categories" },
-    { number: "24/7", label: "Availability" },
-  ];
-
-  const changeTestimonial = (newIndex: number) => {
-    if (newIndex === currentTestimonial || isAnimating) return;
-
-    setIsAnimating(true);
-
-    setTimeout(() => {
-      setCurrentTestimonial(newIndex);
-      setTimeout(() => {
-        setIsAnimating(false);
-      }, 50);
-    }, 200);
-  };
-
-  const nextTestimonial = () => {
-    const newIndex = (currentTestimonial + 1) % testimonials.length;
-    changeTestimonial(newIndex);
-  };
-
-  const prevTestimonial = () => {
-    const newIndex =
-      (currentTestimonial - 1 + testimonials.length) % testimonials.length;
-    changeTestimonial(newIndex);
-  };
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (!isAutoPlaying || isAnimating) return;
-
-    const interval = setInterval(() => {
-      nextTestimonial();
-    }, 3000);
-
-    return () => clearInterval(interval);
-  }, [isAutoPlaying, currentTestimonial, isAnimating]);
-
-  const handleManualNavigation = (action: () => void) => {
-    setIsAutoPlaying(false);
-    action();
-    setTimeout(() => setIsAutoPlaying(true), 6000);
-  };
-
-  const toggleFaq = (index: number) => {
-    setOpenFaqIndex(openFaqIndex === index ? null : index);
-  };
-
-  return (
-    <div className="min-h-screen bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] text-gray-950 dark:text-white pb-20 relative overflow-hidden transition-colors duration-500">
-
-      {/* Background Effects (Static) */}
-      <div className="fixed inset-0 pointer-events-none z-0">
-        <div className="absolute top-[-10%] left-[-5%] w-[40%] h-[40%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[120px]" />
-        <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />
-        {/* Volumetric Spotlight */}
-        <div className="absolute top-[20%] left-[10%] w-[600px] h-[600px] bg-gradient-to-tr from-red-500/10 to-transparent rounded-full blur-[80px] opacity-40 mix-blend-screen" />
-        <div className="absolute top-1/2 left-1/2 -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 w-full h-full bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.01] dark:opacity-[0.05] pointer-events-none" />
-      </div>
-
-      <div className="relative z-10 w-full px-4 sm:px-8 md:px-12 flex flex-col gap-16 lg:gap-24 pb-16">
-
-        {/* Hero Section: Asymmetric Split */}
-        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full min-h-[calc(100vh-5rem)] grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-2 gap-12 lg:gap-20 content-center">
-          {/* Left: Content */}
-          <div className="space-y-8 text-center lg:text-left relative">
-            <div className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-1 rounded-full bg-red-50 dark:bg-red-950/30 border border-red-100 dark:border-red-900/40 text-red-600 dark:text-red-400 text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em]">
-              <Activity className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
-              <span>Platform Online</span>
-            </div>
-
-            {/* Typography with fixed clipping */}
-            <h1 className="relative text-4xl lg:text-6xl xl:text-7xl font-black tracking-tighter leading-[0.9] text-gray-900 dark:text-white z-10">
-              WELCOME TO <br />
-              <span className="bg-gradient-to-r from-red-600 to-orange-500 bg-clip-text text-transparent italic pr-4 py-2 inline-block">FLAGFORGE</span> <br />
-              <span className="text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-600 text-2xl lg:text-4xl block mt-2">CTF PLAYGROUND</span>
-            </h1>
-
-            <p className="text-lg text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed max-w-xl mx-auto lg:mx-0 relative z-10">
-              <span className="text-red-500 font-black">FlagForge</span> is a dynamic platform for
-              <span className="text-gray-900 dark:text-white font-bold italic"> Cybersecurity </span>
-              excellence. Sharpen your skills in cryptography, web exploitation, reverse engineering, and more.
-            </p>
-
-            <div className="flex justify-center lg:justify-start pt-4 relative z-10">
-              <Link
-                href={status === "authenticated" ? "/problems" : "/authentication"}
-                className="group relative px-10 py-5 rounded-xl bg-red-600 hover:bg-red-500 text-white text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em] shadow-xl shadow-red-600/20 transition-all flex items-center gap-4 overflow-hidden"
-              >
-                <span>Start Solving</span>
-                <Rocket className="w-4 h-4 group-hover:-translate-y-1 group-hover:translate-x-1 transition-transform" />
-              </Link>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-
-          {/* Right: Clean Connected Stats Grid (Reference Style) */}
-          <div className="relative w-full flex items-center justify-center py-10">
-            <div className="relative grid grid-cols-2 gap-6 w-full max-w-lg shadow-[0_0_100px_-20px_rgba(220,38,38,0.1)] rounded-[3rem] p-4">
-
-              {/* Central Connector Lines */}
-              <div className="absolute top-1/2 left-1/2 -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 w-24 h-24 z-0 opacity-20">
-                <div className="absolute inset-0 border-t border-l border-red-500 rotate-45 scale-125" />
-                <div className="absolute inset-0 border-b border-r border-red-500 rotate-45 scale-125" />
-              </div>
-
-              {stats.map((stat, index) => {
-                const Icon = statIcons[index];
-                // Determine corner badge position based on index
-                // 0: top-left (badge bottom-right), 1: top-right (badge bottom-left)
-                // 2: bottom-left (badge top-right), 3: bottom-right (badge top-left)
-                const badgePosition =
-                  index === 0 ? "bottom-[-6px] right-[-6px]" :
-                    index === 1 ? "bottom-[-6px] left-[-6px]" :
-                      index === 2 ? "top-[-6px] right-[-6px]" :
-                        "top-[-6px] left-[-6px]";
-
-                return (
-                  <div key={index} className="relative bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] p-8 rounded-[2rem] shadow-xl flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-4 z-10 hover:scale-[1.02] transition-transform duration-300">
-                    {/* Inner Corner Connection Dot */}
-                    <div className={`absolute ${badgePosition} w-3 h-3 rounded-full bg-red-100 dark:bg-[#050505] border-2 border-red-500 z-20`} />
-
-                    <Icon className="w-10 h-10 text-red-500 stroke-[1.5]" />
-                    <div className="text-center">
-                      <div className="text-4xl font-black text-gray-900 dark:text-white tracking-tighter mb-1">{stat.number}</div>
-                      <div className="text-[10px] font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-gray-400">{stat.label}</div>
-                    </div>
-                  </div>
-                );
-              })}
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        {/* Features Section: Bento Grid */}
-        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full space-y-16">
-          <div className="flex flex-col md:flex-row md:items-end justify-between gap-6 border-b border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-800 pb-8">
-            <div className="max-w-2xl">
-              <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-4">
-                Why Choose <span className="text-red-500">FlagForge</span>
-              </h2>
-              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium">
-                Everything you need to master cybersecurity through hands-on practice
-              </p>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-6 auto-rows-[minmax(250px,auto)]">
-            {features.map((feature, index) => (
-              <div
-                key={index}
-                className={`group relative overflow-hidden bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/10 border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-3xl p-8 hover:border-red-500/30 transition-colors ${index === 0 || index === 3 || index === 4 ? "md:col-span-2" : "md:col-span-1"
-                  }`}
-              >
-                <div className="absolute top-0 right-0 p-8 opacity-10 group-hover:opacity-20 transition-opacity">
-                  <div className="text-9xl font-black">{index + 1}</div>
-                </div>
-                <div className="h-full flex flex-col justify-between relative z-10">
-                  <div className="w-12 h-12 rounded-xl bg-white dark:bg-white/5 flex items-center justify-center text-2xl mb-6 shadow-sm">
-                    {feature.icon}
-                  </div>
-                  <div>
-                    <h3 className="text-xl font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-3">
-                      {feature.title}
-                    </h3>
-                    <p className="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                      {feature.description}
-                    </p>
-                  </div>
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        {/* Challenge Categories: Hover Cards */}
-        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full space-y-16">
-          <div className="text-left border-l-4 border-red-500 pl-6">
-            <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-2">
-              Challenge <span className="block text-red-500">Categories</span>
-            </h2>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4">
-            {categories.map((category, index) => (
-              <div
-                key={index}
-                className="group relative h-64 bg-white dark:bg-white/10 border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-2xl overflow-hidden hover:shadow-2xl hover:shadow-red-500/10 transition-all duration-300"
-              >
-                <div className="absolute inset-0 p-8 flex flex-col items-center justify-center text-center transition-all duration-300 group-hover:-translate-y-full opacity-100 group-hover:opacity-0">
-                  <div className="text-6xl mb-6 grayscale group-hover:grayscale-0 transition-all">{category.icon}</div>
-                  <h3 className="text-xl font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
-                    {category.title}
-                  </h3>
-                </div>
-
-                <div className="absolute inset-0 p-8 bg-red-600 flex flex-col items-center justify-center text-center translate-y-full group-hover:translate-y-0 transition-transform duration-300">
-                  <h3 className="text-xl font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-white mb-4">
-                    {category.title}
-                  </h3>
-                  <p className="text-white/90 text-sm font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                    {category.description}
-                  </p>
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        {/* How It Works: Horizontal Circuit Flow */}
-        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full space-y-16">
-          <div className="text-center">
-            <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
-              How It <span className="text-red-500">Works</span>
-            </h2>
-            <p className="text-lg text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium max-w-2xl mx-auto mt-4">
-              Get started in just four simple steps
-            </p>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="relative">
-            {/* Connecting Line (Desktop) */}
-            <div className="hidden md:block absolute top-[2rem] left-0 w-full h-0.5 bg-gradient-to-r from-transparent via-red-500/50 to-transparent" />
-
-            <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-4 gap-8 relative z-10">
-              {howItWorks.map((item, index) => (
-                <div key={index} className="group relative flex flex-col items-center text-center">
-                  {/* Step Node */}
-                  <div className="w-16 h-16 rounded-2xl bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] border-2 border-red-500 shadow-[0_0_20px_rgba(239,68,68,0.3)] flex items-center justify-center text-2xl font-black text-red-500 mb-6 relative z-10 group-hover:scale-110 transition-transform duration-300">
-                    {item.step}
-                  </div>
-
-                  {/* Content Card */}
-                  <div className="bg-white/60 dark:bg-white/10 backdrop-blur-xl border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-2xl p-6 w-full h-full hover:border-red-500/30 transition-all hover:-translate-y-2">
-                    <h3 className="text-lg font-black tracking-tight uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-3">
-                      {item.title}
-                    </h3>
-                    <p className="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
-                      {item.description}
-                    </p>
-                  </div>
-
-                  {/* Connecting Line (Mobile Vertical) */}
-                  {index !== howItWorks.length - 1 && (
-                    <div className="md:hidden absolute bottom-[-2rem] left-1/2 w-0.5 h-8 bg-red-500/30" />
-                  )}
-                </div>
-              ))}
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        {/* Testimonial Carousel */}
-        <section className="w-full max-w-7xl mx-auto" aria-labelledby="testimonials-title">
-          <div className="text-center mb-16 space-y-4">
-            <h2 id="testimonials-title" className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
-              Expert <span className="text-red-500">Vouches</span>
-            </h2>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="relative max-w-5xl mx-auto">
-            <div
-              className={`relative overflow-hidden bg-white/80 dark:bg-white/10 backdrop-blur-3xl border border-white dark:border-white/10 rounded-[2.5rem] p-6 lg:p-10 shadow-2xl transition-all duration-700 ease-in-out ${isAnimating ? "opacity-40 scale-95 blur-sm" : "opacity-100 scale-100 blur-0"}`}
-              onMouseEnter={() => setIsAutoPlaying(false)}
-              onMouseLeave={() => setIsAutoPlaying(true)}
-            >
-              <div className="absolute top-0 right-0 w-64 h-64 bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full -mr-32 -mt-32 blur-3xl pointer-events-none" />
-              <div className="flex flex-col md:flex-row items-center gap-8 lg:gap-16">
-                <div className="relative flex-shrink-0">
-                  <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-600 rounded-full blur opacity-20 group-hover:opacity-40 transition-opacity" />
-                  <Image
-                    src={testimonials[currentTestimonial].image}
-                    alt={testimonials[currentTestimonial].name}
-                    width={160}
-                    height={160}
-                    className="relative w-24 h-24 lg:w-32 lg:h-32 rounded-full object-cover border-4 border-white dark:border-white/5"
-                  />
-                </div>
-
-                <div className="flex-1 text-center md:text-left space-y-6">
-                  <blockquote className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-medium italic text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 leading-tight">
-                    "{testimonials[currentTestimonial].testimonial}"
-                  </blockquote>
-                  <div className="space-y-1">
-                    <div className="text-xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-red-500">
-                      {testimonials[currentTestimonial].name}
-                    </div>
-                    <div className="text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-gray-400">
-                      {testimonials[currentTestimonial].position}
-                    </div>
-                  </div>
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            </div>
-
-            {/* Controls */}
-            <div className="flex justify-center mt-8 gap-4">
-              <button
-                onClick={() => handleManualNavigation(prevTestimonial)}
-                disabled={isAnimating}
-                className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full bg-white dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 flex items-center justify-center hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white transition-all shadow-xl disabled:opacity-50"
-              >
-                <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="3" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"><path d="m15 18-6-6 6-6" /></svg>
-              </button>
-              <button
-                onClick={() => handleManualNavigation(nextTestimonial)}
-                disabled={isAnimating}
-                className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full bg-white dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 flex items-center justify-center hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white transition-all shadow-xl disabled:opacity-50"
-              >
-                <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="3" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"><path d="m9 18 6-6-6-6" /></svg>
-              </button>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        {/* CTA: Minimalist */}
-        <section className="max-w-4xl mx-auto w-full text-center py-20">
-          <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-8">
-            Ready to <span className="text-red-500">Hack?</span>
-          </h2>
-          <div className="flex justify-center">
-            <Link
-              href={status === "authenticated" ? "/problems" : "/authentication"}
-              className="group relative px-16 py-8 rounded-full bg-gray-900 dark:bg-white text-white dark:text-black text-lg font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] transition-transform hover:scale-105"
-            >
-              <span>Get Started Now</span>
-            </Link>
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        {/* FAQ: Split Layout */}
-        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-12 lg:gap-24">
-          {/* Sticky Header */}
-          <div className="lg:col-span-1">
-            <div className="lg:sticky lg:top-32">
-              <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-6xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-6">
-                FAQ<span className="text-red-500">S</span>
-              </h2>
-              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium text-lg">
-                Common questions about the platform, challenges, and community.
-              </p>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-
-          {/* Accordion List */}
-          <div className="lg:col-span-2 space-y-4">
-            {landingFaqItems.map((faq, index) => (
-              <div
-                key={index}
-                className="group border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-2xl overflow-hidden bg-white dark:bg-white/10"
-              >
-                <button
-                  onClick={() => toggleFaq(index)}
-                  className="w-full px-8 py-6 flex items-center justify-between text-left hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 transition-colors"
-                >
-                  <span className="text-lg font-bold text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
-                    {faq.question}
-                  </span>
-                  <div className={`w-6 h-6 flex items-center justify-center transition-transform duration-300 ${openFaqIndex === index ? "rotate-180 text-red-500" : "text-gray-400"}`}>
-                    <svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"><path d="m6 9 6 6 6-6" /></svg>
-                  </div>
-                </button>
-                <div
-                  className={`transition-all duration-300 ease-in-out ${openFaqIndex === index ? "max-h-[500px]" : "max-h-0"}`}
-                >
-                  <div className="px-8 pb-8 text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 leading-relaxed font-medium">
-                    {faq.answer}
-                  </div>
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  );
-};
-
-export default Hero;
+"use client";
+import { useSession } from "next-auth/react";
+import Link from "next/link";
+import Image from "next/image";
+import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
+import { landingFaqItems } from "@/lib/faq";
+
+// Import images statically
+import nirmalImage from "@/public/NirmalDahal.jpeg";
+import sobitImage from "@/public/SobitThakuri.jpeg";
+import bibekImage from "@/public/bibekghimire.jpeg"; 
+
+import { Activity, Rocket, Target, Users, Layers, Clock } from "lucide-react";
+
+interface HeroProps {
+  afterFaqSection?: React.ReactNode;
+}
+
+const Hero: React.FC<HeroProps> = ({ afterFaqSection }) => {
+  const { status } = useSession();
+  const [currentTestimonial, setCurrentTestimonial] = useState(0);
+  const [isAutoPlaying, setIsAutoPlaying] = useState(true);
+  const [isAnimating, setIsAnimating] = useState(false);
+  const [openFaqIndex, setOpenFaqIndex] = useState<number | null>(null);
+
+  // Icons for the stats section, mapped by index to preserve original data structure
+  const statIcons = [Target, Users, Layers, Clock];
+
+  const testimonials = [
+    {
+      id: 1,
+      name: "Nirmal Dahal",
+      position: "Cofounder of Cryptogen Nepal",
+      image: nirmalImage,
+      testimonial:
+        "FlagForge provides an exceptional platform for cybersecurity professionals to validate their skills. The challenges mirror real-world attack vectors and help teams stay sharp in an ever-evolving threat landscape.",
+    },
+    {
+      id: 2,
+      name: "Sobit Thakuri",
+      position: "Information Security Officer and ISO 27001:2022 Lead Auditor",
+      image: sobitImage,
+      testimonial:
+        "I appreciate FlagForge's comprehensive approach to security training. The platform effectively bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application in cybersecurity.",
+    },
+    {
+      id: 3,
+      name: "Bibek Ghimire",
+      position: "CTO of Bardali Creation",
+      image: bibekImage,
+      testimonial:
+        "FlagForge is an engaging and fun CTF platform that helped me sharpen my cybersecurity and problem-solving skills in web exploitation and cryptography. A great place to learn, compete, and grow as a hacker!",
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const categories = [
+    {
+      icon: "🌐",
+      title: "Web Exploitation",
+      description: "Master web vulnerabilities like SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, and more. Learn to identify and exploit common web application security flaws.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🔐",
+      title: "Cryptography",
+      description: "Decode encrypted messages, break ciphers, and understand cryptographic algorithms. From classical to modern encryption techniques.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🔍",
+      title: "Reverse Engineering",
+      description: "Analyze binaries, understand assembly code, and reverse engineer software to uncover hidden flags and vulnerabilities.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🕵️",
+      title: "Forensics",
+      description: "Investigate digital artifacts, analyze memory dumps, recover hidden data, and solve mysteries through digital forensics.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🎯",
+      title: "Binary Exploitation",
+      description: "Exploit buffer overflows, format string vulnerabilities, and other binary-level security issues in compiled programs.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🧩",
+      title: "Miscellaneous",
+      description: "Tackle unique challenges that don't fit traditional categories. Logic puzzles, OSINT, steganography, and creative problem-solving.",
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const features = [
+    {
+      icon: "🎓",
+      title: "Learn by Doing",
+      description: "Hands-on challenges that teach real-world cybersecurity skills through practical application.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "📊",
+      title: "Track Your Progress",
+      description: "Monitor your improvement with detailed statistics, solve rates, and performance analytics.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🏆",
+      title: "Compete & Rank",
+      description: "Climb the leaderboard, earn points, and compete with cybersecurity enthusiasts worldwide.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "💡",
+      title: "Smart Hint System",
+      description: "Get unstuck with our intelligent hint system. Choose between watching ads or using points for hints.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "🌙",
+      title: "Dark Mode Support",
+      description: "Comfortable coding experience with full dark mode support for extended practice sessions.",
+    },
+    {
+      icon: "📱",
+      title: "Fully Responsive",
+      description: "Practice anywhere, anytime. Our platform works seamlessly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.",
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const howItWorks = [
+    {
+      step: "1",
+      title: "Create Your Account",
+      description: "Sign up for free and join our community of cybersecurity enthusiasts.",
+    },
+    {
+      step: "2",
+      title: "Choose Your Challenge",
+      description: "Browse challenges across multiple categories and difficulty levels.",
+    },
+    {
+      step: "3",
+      title: "Solve & Submit",
+      description: "Work through the challenge, find the flag, and submit your solution.",
+    },
+    {
+      step: "4",
+      title: "Earn Points & Rank Up",
+      description: "Gain points for correct solutions and climb the global leaderboard.",
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const stats = [
+    { number: "100+", label: "Challenges" },
+    { number: "1000+", label: "Active Users" },
+    { number: "6", label: "Categories" },
+    { number: "24/7", label: "Availability" },
+  ];
+
+  const changeTestimonial = (newIndex: number) => {
+    if (newIndex === currentTestimonial || isAnimating) return;
+
+    setIsAnimating(true);
+
+    setTimeout(() => {
+      setCurrentTestimonial(newIndex);
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        setIsAnimating(false);
+      }, 50);
+    }, 200);
+  };
+
+  const nextTestimonial = () => {
+    const newIndex = (currentTestimonial + 1) % testimonials.length;
+    changeTestimonial(newIndex);
+  };
+
+  const prevTestimonial = () => {
+    const newIndex =
+      (currentTestimonial - 1 + testimonials.length) % testimonials.length;
+    changeTestimonial(newIndex);
+  };
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!isAutoPlaying || isAnimating) return;
+
+    const interval = setInterval(() => {
+      nextTestimonial();
+    }, 3000);
+
+    return () => clearInterval(interval);
+  }, [isAutoPlaying, currentTestimonial, isAnimating]);
+
+  const handleManualNavigation = (action: () => void) => {
+    setIsAutoPlaying(false);
+    action();
+    setTimeout(() => setIsAutoPlaying(true), 6000);
+  };
+
+  const toggleFaq = (index: number) => {
+    setOpenFaqIndex(openFaqIndex === index ? null : index);
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div className="min-h-screen bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] text-gray-950 dark:text-white pb-20 relative overflow-hidden transition-colors duration-500">
+
+      {/* Background Effects (Static) */}
+      <div className="fixed inset-0 pointer-events-none z-0">
+        <div className="absolute top-[-10%] left-[-5%] w-[40%] h-[40%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[120px]" />
+        <div className="absolute bottom-[-5%] right-[-2%] w-[30%] h-[30%] bg-red-600/5 dark:bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full blur-[100px]" />
+        {/* Volumetric Spotlight */}
+        <div className="absolute top-[20%] left-[10%] w-[600px] h-[600px] bg-gradient-to-tr from-red-500/10 to-transparent rounded-full blur-[80px] opacity-40 mix-blend-screen" />
+        <div className="absolute top-1/2 left-1/2 -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 w-full h-full bg-[url('https://www.transparenttextures.com/patterns/carbon-fibre.png')] opacity-[0.01] dark:opacity-[0.05] pointer-events-none" />
+      </div>
+
+      <div className="relative z-10 w-full px-4 sm:px-8 md:px-12 flex flex-col gap-16 lg:gap-24 pb-16">
+
+        {/* Hero Section: Asymmetric Split */}
+        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full min-h-[calc(100vh-5rem)] grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-2 gap-12 lg:gap-20 content-center">
+          {/* Left: Content */}
+          <div className="space-y-8 text-center lg:text-left relative">
+            <div className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-1 rounded-full bg-red-50 dark:bg-red-950/30 border border-red-100 dark:border-red-900/40 text-red-600 dark:text-red-400 text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em]">
+              <Activity className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
+              <span>Platform Online</span>
+            </div>
+
+            {/* Typography with fixed clipping */}
+            <h1 className="relative text-4xl lg:text-6xl xl:text-7xl font-black tracking-tighter leading-[0.9] text-gray-900 dark:text-white z-10">
+              WELCOME TO <br />
+              <span className="bg-gradient-to-r from-red-600 to-orange-500 bg-clip-text text-transparent italic pr-4 py-2 inline-block">FLAGFORGE</span> <br />
+              <span className="text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-600 text-2xl lg:text-4xl block mt-2">CTF PLAYGROUND</span>
+            </h1>
+
+            <p className="text-lg text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed max-w-xl mx-auto lg:mx-0 relative z-10">
+              <span className="text-red-500 font-black">FlagForge</span> is a dynamic platform for
+              <span className="text-gray-900 dark:text-white font-bold italic"> Cybersecurity </span>
+              excellence. Sharpen your skills in cryptography, web exploitation, reverse engineering, and more.
+            </p>
+
+            <div className="flex justify-center lg:justify-start pt-4 relative z-10">
+              <Link
+                href={status === "authenticated" ? "/problems" : "/authentication"}
+                className="group relative px-10 py-5 rounded-xl bg-red-600 hover:bg-red-500 text-white text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em] shadow-xl shadow-red-600/20 transition-all flex items-center gap-4 overflow-hidden"
+              >
+                <span>Start Solving</span>
+                <Rocket className="w-4 h-4 group-hover:-translate-y-1 group-hover:translate-x-1 transition-transform" />
+              </Link>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+
+          {/* Right: Clean Connected Stats Grid (Reference Style) */}
+          <div className="relative w-full flex items-center justify-center py-10">
+            <div className="relative grid grid-cols-2 gap-6 w-full max-w-lg shadow-[0_0_100px_-20px_rgba(220,38,38,0.1)] rounded-[3rem] p-4">
+
+              {/* Central Connector Lines */}
+              <div className="absolute top-1/2 left-1/2 -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 w-24 h-24 z-0 opacity-20">
+                <div className="absolute inset-0 border-t border-l border-red-500 rotate-45 scale-125" />
+                <div className="absolute inset-0 border-b border-r border-red-500 rotate-45 scale-125" />
+              </div>
+
+              {stats.map((stat, index) => {
+                const Icon = statIcons[index];
+                // Determine corner badge position based on index
+                // 0: top-left (badge bottom-right), 1: top-right (badge bottom-left)
+                // 2: bottom-left (badge top-right), 3: bottom-right (badge top-left)
+                const badgePosition =
+                  index === 0 ? "bottom-[-6px] right-[-6px]" :
+                    index === 1 ? "bottom-[-6px] left-[-6px]" :
+                      index === 2 ? "top-[-6px] right-[-6px]" :
+                        "top-[-6px] left-[-6px]";
+
+                return (
+                  <div key={index} className="relative bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] p-8 rounded-[2rem] shadow-xl flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-4 z-10 hover:scale-[1.02] transition-transform duration-300">
+                    {/* Inner Corner Connection Dot */}
+                    <div className={`absolute ${badgePosition} w-3 h-3 rounded-full bg-red-100 dark:bg-[#050505] border-2 border-red-500 z-20`} />
+
+                    <Icon className="w-10 h-10 text-red-500 stroke-[1.5]" />
+                    <div className="text-center">
+                      <div className="text-4xl font-black text-gray-900 dark:text-white tracking-tighter mb-1">{stat.number}</div>
+                      <div className="text-[10px] font-black uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-gray-400">{stat.label}</div>
+                    </div>
+                  </div>
+                );
+              })}
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        {/* Features Section: Bento Grid */}
+        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full space-y-16">
+          <div className="flex flex-col md:flex-row md:items-end justify-between gap-6 border-b border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-800 pb-8">
+            <div className="max-w-2xl">
+              <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-4">
+                Why Choose <span className="text-red-500">FlagForge</span>
+              </h2>
+              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium">
+                Everything you need to master cybersecurity through hands-on practice
+              </p>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-6 auto-rows-[minmax(250px,auto)]">
+            {features.map((feature, index) => (
+              <div
+                key={index}
+                className={`group relative overflow-hidden bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/10 border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-3xl p-8 hover:border-red-500/30 transition-colors ${index === 0 || index === 3 || index === 4 ? "md:col-span-2" : "md:col-span-1"
+                  }`}
+              >
+                <div className="absolute top-0 right-0 p-8 opacity-10 group-hover:opacity-20 transition-opacity">
+                  <div className="text-9xl font-black">{index + 1}</div>
+                </div>
+                <div className="h-full flex flex-col justify-between relative z-10">
+                  <div className="w-12 h-12 rounded-xl bg-white dark:bg-white/5 flex items-center justify-center text-2xl mb-6 shadow-sm">
+                    {feature.icon}
+                  </div>
+                  <div>
+                    <h3 className="text-xl font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-3">
+                      {feature.title}
+                    </h3>
+                    <p className="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
+                      {feature.description}
+                    </p>
+                  </div>
+                </div>
+              </div>
+            ))}
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        {/* Challenge Categories: Hover Cards */}
+        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full space-y-16">
+          <div className="text-left border-l-4 border-red-500 pl-6">
+            <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-2">
+              Challenge <span className="block text-red-500">Categories</span>
+            </h2>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4">
+            {categories.map((category, index) => (
+              <div
+                key={index}
+                className="group relative h-64 bg-white dark:bg-white/10 border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-2xl overflow-hidden hover:shadow-2xl hover:shadow-red-500/10 transition-all duration-300"
+              >
+                <div className="absolute inset-0 p-8 flex flex-col items-center justify-center text-center transition-all duration-300 group-hover:-translate-y-full opacity-100 group-hover:opacity-0">
+                  <div className="text-6xl mb-6 grayscale group-hover:grayscale-0 transition-all">{category.icon}</div>
+                  <h3 className="text-xl font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
+                    {category.title}
+                  </h3>
+                </div>
+
+                <div className="absolute inset-0 p-8 bg-red-600 flex flex-col items-center justify-center text-center translate-y-full group-hover:translate-y-0 transition-transform duration-300">
+                  <h3 className="text-xl font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-white mb-4">
+                    {category.title}
+                  </h3>
+                  <p className="text-white/90 text-sm font-medium leading-relaxed">
+                    {category.description}
+                  </p>
+                </div>
+              </div>
+            ))}
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        {/* How It Works: Horizontal Circuit Flow */}
+        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full space-y-16">
+          <div className="text-center">
+            <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
+              How It <span className="text-red-500">Works</span>
+            </h2>
+            <p className="text-lg text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium max-w-2xl mx-auto mt-4">
+              Get started in just four simple steps
+            </p>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="relative">
+            {/* Connecting Line (Desktop) */}
+            <div className="hidden md:block absolute top-[2rem] left-0 w-full h-0.5 bg-gradient-to-r from-transparent via-red-500/50 to-transparent" />
+
+            <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-4 gap-8 relative z-10">
+              {howItWorks.map((item, index) => (
+                <div key={index} className="group relative flex flex-col items-center text-center">
+                  {/* Step Node */}
+                  <div className="w-16 h-16 rounded-2xl bg-white dark:bg-[#050505] border-2 border-red-500 shadow-[0_0_20px_rgba(239,68,68,0.3)] flex items-center justify-center text-2xl font-black text-red-500 mb-6 relative z-10 group-hover:scale-110 transition-transform duration-300">
+                    {item.step}
+                  </div>
+
+                  {/* Content Card */}
+                  <div className="bg-white/60 dark:bg-white/10 backdrop-blur-xl border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-2xl p-6 w-full h-full hover:border-red-500/30 transition-all hover:-translate-y-2">
+                    <h3 className="text-lg font-black tracking-tight uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-3">
+                      {item.title}
+                    </h3>
+                    <p className="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium leading-relaxed">
+                      {item.description}
+                    </p>
+                  </div>
+
+                  {/* Connecting Line (Mobile Vertical) */}
+                  {index !== howItWorks.length - 1 && (
+                    <div className="md:hidden absolute bottom-[-2rem] left-1/2 w-0.5 h-8 bg-red-500/30" />
+                  )}
+                </div>
+              ))}
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        {/* Testimonial Carousel */}
+        <section className="w-full max-w-7xl mx-auto" aria-labelledby="testimonials-title">
+          <div className="text-center mb-16 space-y-4">
+            <h2 id="testimonials-title" className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
+              Expert <span className="text-red-500">Vouches</span>
+            </h2>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="relative max-w-5xl mx-auto">
+            <div
+              className={`relative overflow-hidden bg-white/80 dark:bg-white/10 backdrop-blur-3xl border border-white dark:border-white/10 rounded-[2.5rem] p-6 lg:p-10 shadow-2xl transition-all duration-700 ease-in-out ${isAnimating ? "opacity-40 scale-95 blur-sm" : "opacity-100 scale-100 blur-0"}`}
+              onMouseEnter={() => setIsAutoPlaying(false)}
+              onMouseLeave={() => setIsAutoPlaying(true)}
+            >
+              <div className="absolute top-0 right-0 w-64 h-64 bg-red-600/[0.03] rounded-full -mr-32 -mt-32 blur-3xl pointer-events-none" />
+              <div className="flex flex-col md:flex-row items-center gap-8 lg:gap-16">
+                <div className="relative flex-shrink-0">
+                  <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-600 rounded-full blur opacity-20 group-hover:opacity-40 transition-opacity" />
+                  <Image
+                    src={testimonials[currentTestimonial].image}
+                    alt={testimonials[currentTestimonial].name}
+                    width={160}
+                    height={160}
+                    className="relative w-24 h-24 lg:w-32 lg:h-32 rounded-full object-cover border-4 border-white dark:border-white/5"
+                  />
+                </div>
+
+                <div className="flex-1 text-center md:text-left space-y-6">
+                  <blockquote className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-medium italic text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 leading-tight">
+                    "{testimonials[currentTestimonial].testimonial}"
+                  </blockquote>
+                  <div className="space-y-1">
+                    <div className="text-xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-red-500">
+                      {testimonials[currentTestimonial].name}
+                    </div>
+                    <div className="text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-gray-400">
+                      {testimonials[currentTestimonial].position}
+                    </div>
+                  </div>
+                </div>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+
+            {/* Controls */}
+            <div className="flex justify-center mt-8 gap-4">
+              <button
+                onClick={() => handleManualNavigation(prevTestimonial)}
+                disabled={isAnimating}
+                className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full bg-white dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 flex items-center justify-center hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white transition-all shadow-xl disabled:opacity-50"
+              >
+                <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="3" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"><path d="m15 18-6-6 6-6" /></svg>
+              </button>
+              <button
+                onClick={() => handleManualNavigation(nextTestimonial)}
+                disabled={isAnimating}
+                className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full bg-white dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 flex items-center justify-center hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white transition-all shadow-xl disabled:opacity-50"
+              >
+                <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="3" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"><path d="m9 18 6-6-6-6" /></svg>
+              </button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        {/* CTA: Minimalist */}
+        <section className="max-w-4xl mx-auto w-full text-center py-20">
+          <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-5xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-8">
+            Ready to <span className="text-red-500">Hack?</span>
+          </h2>
+          <div className="flex justify-center">
+            <Link
+              href={status === "authenticated" ? "/problems" : "/authentication"}
+              className="group relative px-16 py-8 rounded-full bg-gray-900 dark:bg-white text-white dark:text-black text-lg font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] transition-transform hover:scale-105"
+            >
+              <span>Get Started Now</span>
+            </Link>
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        {/* FAQ: Split Layout */}
+        <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-12 lg:gap-24">
+          {/* Sticky Header */}
+          <div className="lg:col-span-1">
+            <div className="lg:sticky lg:top-32">
+              <h2 className="text-3xl lg:text-6xl font-black tracking-tighter uppercase text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-6">
+                FAQ<span className="text-red-500">S</span>
+              </h2>
+              <p className="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium text-lg">
+                Common questions about the platform, challenges, and community.
+              </p>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+
+          {/* Accordion List */}
+          <div className="lg:col-span-2 space-y-4">
+            {landingFaqItems.map((faq, index) => (
+              <div
+                key={index}
+                className="group border border-gray-200 dark:border-white/10 rounded-2xl overflow-hidden bg-white dark:bg-white/10"
+              >
+                <button
+                  onClick={() => toggleFaq(index)}
+                  className="w-full px-8 py-6 flex items-center justify-between text-left hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 transition-colors"
+                >
+                  <span className="text-lg font-bold text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
+                    {faq.question}
+                  </span>
+                  <div className={`w-6 h-6 flex items-center justify-center transition-transform duration-300 ${openFaqIndex === index ? "rotate-180 text-red-500" : "text-gray-400"}`}>
+                    <svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"><path d="m6 9 6 6 6-6" /></svg>
+                  </div>
+                </button>
+                <div
+                  className={`transition-all duration-300 ease-in-out ${openFaqIndex === index ? "max-h-[500px]" : "max-h-0"}`}
+                >
+                  <div className="px-8 pb-8 text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 leading-relaxed font-medium">
+                    {faq.answer}
+                  </div>
+                </div>
+              </div>
+            ))}
+          </div>

+        </section>
+
+        {afterFaqSection}
+
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+export default Hero;
+
diff --git a/components/HomeIntroSection.tsx b/components/HomeIntroSection.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4bb68eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/HomeIntroSection.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { siteConfig } from "@/lib/seo";
+
+export default function HomeIntroSection() {
+  return (
+    <section className="max-w-7xl mx-auto w-full bg-white px-4 pt-10 pb-6 dark:bg-[#050505] sm:px-0">
+      <div className="grid gap-8 rounded-[2rem] border border-gray-200 bg-gray-50/80 p-6 shadow-[0_30px_70px_-45px_rgba(15,23,42,0.45)] dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-white/[0.03] lg:grid-cols-[1.5fr_1fr] lg:p-8">
+        <div className="space-y-4">
+          <p className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.25em] text-red-500">
+            FlagForge CTF Platform
+          </p>
+          <h2 className="max-w-3xl text-2xl font-black tracking-tight text-gray-950 dark:text-white lg:text-4xl">
+            Train with real capture the flag challenges and practical cybersecurity learning.
+          </h2>
+          <p className="max-w-3xl text-sm font-medium leading-7 text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 lg:text-base">
+            FlagForge is a Nepal-rooted cybersecurity community and training platform built for learners who want
+            hands-on experience in web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and secure
+            problem solving. Start with guided resources, study writeups, and grow through practical CTF practice.
+          </p>
+          <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-3 text-sm font-bold">
+            <Link
+              href={siteConfig.blogUrl}
+              className="rounded-full border border-red-200 px-4 py-2 text-red-600 transition-colors hover:border-red-500 hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white dark:border-red-500/30 dark:text-red-400"
+            >
+              Read FlagForge blog guides
+            </Link>
+            <Link
+              href="/resources"
+              className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
+            >
+              Explore CTF learning resources
+            </Link>
+            <Link
+              href="/about"
+              className="rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:border-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-900 hover:text-white dark:border-white/15 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:border-white dark:hover:bg-white dark:hover:text-black"
+            >
+              About the FlagForge community
+            </Link>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+        <div className="space-y-4 rounded-[1.5rem] border border-gray-200 bg-white p-5 dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-[#0b0b0b]">
+          <h3 className="text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">
+            Core Challenge Tracks
+          </h3>
+          <ul className="grid gap-3 text-sm font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200">
+            <li>Web exploitation and secure web app testing</li>
+            <li>Cryptography, encoding, and flag recovery</li>
+            <li>Reverse engineering and binary analysis</li>
+            <li>Digital forensics, OSINT, and incident-style puzzles</li>
+            <li>Community learning for students and aspiring security teams</li>
+          </ul>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </section>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/components/Navbar.tsx b/components/Navbar.tsx
index 7a3cb22..0da74d7 100644
--- a/components/Navbar.tsx
+++ b/components/Navbar.tsx
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ const NavItem = ({ href, tags, onClick, style }: NavbarItems) => {
 
 const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  const [mounted, setMounted] = useState(false);
   const session = useSession();
   const [standing, setStanding] = useState("");
   const [isAdmin, setIsAdmin] = useState(false);
@@ -64,6 +65,10 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
   const pendingCloseRef = React.useRef(false);
   const closeTimeoutRef = React.useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
 
+  const isAuthenticated = mounted && session.status === "authenticated";
+  const isUnauthenticated = !mounted || session.status === "unauthenticated";
+  const visibleNavItems = NavbarData.filter((item) => isAuthenticated || item.tags !== "Home");
+
   const handleMobileItemClick = () => {
     pendingCloseRef.current = true;
   };
@@ -84,6 +89,10 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
     }
   };
 
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    setMounted(true);
+  }, []);
+
   React.useEffect(() => {
     if (!pendingCloseRef.current) return;
     pendingCloseRef.current = false;
@@ -102,7 +111,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
   }, []);
 
   React.useEffect(() => {
-    if (session.status !== "authenticated") {
+    if (!isAuthenticated) {
       setStanding("");
       setIsAdmin(false);
       return;
@@ -139,7 +148,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
     return () => {
       active = false;
     };
-  }, [session.status]);
+  }, [isAuthenticated]);
 
   return (
     <header className="bg-white/80 dark:bg-gray-950/80 backdrop-blur-xl border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 sticky top-0 z-50 w-full transition-all duration-500">
@@ -164,16 +173,14 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
 
         <div className="hidden md:flex items-center gap-8 lg:gap-12">
           <ul className="flex items-center gap-1 lg:gap-2">
-            {NavbarData
-              .filter((item) => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
-              .map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => (
-                <NavItem
-                  key={href}
-                  href={href}
-                  tags={tags}
-                  style="px-4 py-2 text-xs md:text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 rounded-xl transition-all"
-                />
-              ))}
+            {visibleNavItems.map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => (
+              <NavItem
+                key={href}
+                href={href}
+                tags={tags}
+                style="px-4 py-2 text-xs md:text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 rounded-xl transition-all"
+              />
+            ))}
           </ul>
 
           <div className="flex items-center gap-4 lg:gap-6 ml-4 pl-4 border-l border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10">
@@ -198,7 +205,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
               </div>
             </button>
 
-            {session.status === "authenticated" ? (
+            {isAuthenticated ? (
               <DropdownMenu>
                 <DropdownMenuTrigger className="outline-none">
                   <div className="group flex items-center gap-3 p-1.5 pr-4 rounded-full bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 hover:border-red-500/30 transition-all duration-300 hover:shadow-lg hover:shadow-red-500/5 hover:-translate-y-0.5">
@@ -284,31 +291,30 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
             </div>
           </button>
 
-          <Sheet open={open} onOpenChange={handleSheetOpenChange}>
-            <SheetTrigger asChild>
-              <button
-                aria-label="Open navigation menu"
-                className="p-2.5 rounded-xl bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 active:scale-90 transition-all"
-              >
-                <CgMenuRightAlt className="text-3xl text-gray-900 dark:text-white" />
-              </button>
-            </SheetTrigger>
-            <SheetContent side="right" className="w-[85vw] sm:w-[400px] border-none p-0 bg-white dark:bg-gray-950">
-              <SheetTitle className="sr-only">Navigation Menu</SheetTitle>
-              <SheetDescription className="sr-only">
-                Access site navigation links, user profile, and session controls.
-              </SheetDescription>
-              <div className="flex flex-col h-full">
-                <div className="p-8 border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex items-center gap-3">
-                  <Image src={logo} alt="FlagForge logo" height={40} width={40} />
-                  <span className="text-2xl font-black text-gray-950 dark:text-white tracking-tighter">FlagForge</span>
-                </div>
+          {mounted ? (
+            <Sheet open={open} onOpenChange={handleSheetOpenChange}>
+              <SheetTrigger asChild>
+                <button
+                  aria-label="Open navigation menu"
+                  className="p-2.5 rounded-xl bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 active:scale-90 transition-all"
+                >
+                  <CgMenuRightAlt className="text-3xl text-gray-900 dark:text-white" />
+                </button>
+              </SheetTrigger>
+              <SheetContent side="right" className="w-[85vw] sm:w-[400px] border-none p-0 bg-white dark:bg-gray-950">
+                <SheetTitle className="sr-only">Navigation Menu</SheetTitle>
+                <SheetDescription className="sr-only">
+                  Access site navigation links, user profile, and session controls.
+                </SheetDescription>
+                <div className="flex flex-col h-full">
+                  <div className="p-8 border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex items-center gap-3">
+                    <Image src={logo} alt="FlagForge logo" height={40} width={40} />
+                    <span className="text-2xl font-black text-gray-950 dark:text-white tracking-tighter">FlagForge</span>
+                  </div>
 
-                <nav className="flex-1 p-6">
-                  <ul className="space-y-4">
-                    {NavbarData
-                      .filter((item) => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
-                      .map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => {
+                  <nav className="flex-1 p-6">
+                    <ul className="space-y-4">
+                      {visibleNavItems.map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => {
                         const getIcon = (tag: string) => {
                           switch (tag.toLowerCase()) {
                             case "home":
@@ -345,85 +351,94 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
                         );
                       })}
 
-                    {session.status === "unauthenticated" && (
-                      <li className="pt-6">
-                        <Link
-                          href="/authentication"
-                          onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
-                          className="group relative flex items-center justify-center w-full py-5 overflow-hidden rounded-2xl transition-all active:scale-[0.98]"
-                        >
-                          <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-600 transition-transform group-hover:scale-105" />
-                          <div className="relative flex items-center gap-3 font-black text-lg text-white">
-                            <LogIn className="w-6 h-6" />
-                            <span>Sign in / Sign up</span>
-                          </div>
-                        </Link>
-                      </li>
-                    )}
-                  </ul>
-                </nav>
-
-                {session.status === "authenticated" && (
-                  <div className="p-8 bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/[0.02] border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5">
-                    <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mb-8">
-                      <div className="relative">
-                        <div className="absolute -inset-1 bg-red-500/20 blur-md rounded-2xl" />
-                        <Image src={session.data?.user?.image ?? logo} alt="P" height={56} width={56} className="relative rounded-2xl border-2 border-white dark:border-gray-800 object-cover" />
-                        <div className="absolute -bottom-1 -right-1 bg-green-500 w-4 h-4 rounded-full border-2 border-white dark:border-gray-950" />
-                      </div>
-                      <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
-                        <h4 className="font-bold text-gray-950 dark:text-white truncate">
-                          {session.data?.user?.name}
-                        </h4>
-                        <p className="text-xs text-gray-500 truncate">
-                          {session.data?.user?.email}
-                        </p>
-                        <p className="text-[10px] font-bold uppercase tracking-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500">
-                          {standing}
-                        </p>
-                      </div>
-                    </div>
+                      {isUnauthenticated && (
+                        <li className="pt-6">
+                          <Link
+                            href="/authentication"
+                            onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
+                            className="group relative flex items-center justify-center w-full py-5 overflow-hidden rounded-2xl transition-all active:scale-[0.98]"
+                          >
+                            <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-600 transition-transform group-hover:scale-105" />
+                            <div className="relative flex items-center gap-3 font-black text-lg text-white">
+                              <LogIn className="w-6 h-6" />
+                              <span>Sign in / Sign up</span>
+                            </div>
+                          </Link>
+                        </li>
+                      )}
+                    </ul>
+                  </nav>
 
-                    <div className="space-y-3">
-                      <Link
-                        href="/profile"
-                        onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
-                        className="flex items-center justify-between w-full p-4 rounded-2xl bg-white dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 hover:border-red-500/20 transition-all group"
-                      >
-                        <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
-                          <LayoutDashboard className="w-5 h-5 text-gray-400 group-hover:text-red-500 transition-colors" />
-                          <span className="text-sm font-bold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300">Workspace</span>
+                  {isAuthenticated && (
+                    <div className="p-8 bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/[0.02] border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5">
+                      <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mb-8">
+                        <div className="relative">
+                          <div className="absolute -inset-1 bg-red-500/20 blur-md rounded-2xl" />
+                          <Image src={session.data?.user?.image ?? logo} alt="P" height={56} width={56} className="relative rounded-2xl border-2 border-white dark:border-gray-800 object-cover" />
+                          <div className="absolute -bottom-1 -right-1 bg-green-500 w-4 h-4 rounded-full border-2 border-white dark:border-gray-950" />
                         </div>
-                        <ArrowRight className="w-4 h-4 text-gray-300 group-hover:translate-x-1 transition-all" />
-                      </Link>
+                        <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
+                          <h4 className="font-bold text-gray-950 dark:text-white truncate">
+                            {session.data?.user?.name}
+                          </h4>
+                          <p className="text-xs text-gray-500 truncate">
+                            {session.data?.user?.email}
+                          </p>
+                          <p className="text-[10px] font-bold uppercase tracking-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500">
+                            {standing}
+                          </p>
+                        </div>
+                      </div>
 
-                      {isAdmin && (
+                      <div className="space-y-3">
                         <Link
-                          href="/roles/developers/admins"
+                          href="/profile"
                           onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
-                          className="flex items-center justify-between w-full p-4 rounded-2xl bg-orange-50 dark:bg-orange-950/20 border border-orange-200 dark:border-orange-800/30 hover:border-orange-500/20 transition-all group"
+                          className="flex items-center justify-between w-full p-4 rounded-2xl bg-white dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 hover:border-red-500/20 transition-all group"
                         >
                           <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
-                            <ShieldCheck className="w-5 h-5 text-orange-500 group-hover:text-orange-600 transition-colors" />
-                            <span className="text-sm font-bold text-orange-700 dark:text-orange-300">Admin Dashboard</span>
+                            <LayoutDashboard className="w-5 h-5 text-gray-400 group-hover:text-red-500 transition-colors" />
+                            <span className="text-sm font-bold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300">Workspace</span>
                           </div>
-                          <ArrowRight className="w-4 h-4 text-orange-400 group-hover:translate-x-1 transition-all" />
+                          <ArrowRight className="w-4 h-4 text-gray-300 group-hover:translate-x-1 transition-all" />
                         </Link>
-                      )}
 
-                      <button
-                        onClick={handleMobileSignOut}
-                        className="flex items-center justify-center gap-3 w-full py-4 text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-red-500 bg-red-50 dark:bg-red-500/10 border-2 border-red-500/20 rounded-2xl hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white transition-all group"
-                      >
-                        <LogOut className="w-4 h-4 transition-transform group-hover:translate-x-1" />
-                        Terminate
-                      </button>
+                        {isAdmin && (
+                          <Link
+                            href="/roles/developers/admins"
+                            onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
+                            className="flex items-center justify-between w-full p-4 rounded-2xl bg-orange-50 dark:bg-orange-950/20 border border-orange-200 dark:border-orange-800/30 hover:border-orange-500/20 transition-all group"
+                          >
+                            <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
+                              <ShieldCheck className="w-5 h-5 text-orange-500 group-hover:text-orange-600 transition-colors" />
+                              <span className="text-sm font-bold text-orange-700 dark:text-orange-300">Admin Dashboard</span>
+                            </div>
+                            <ArrowRight className="w-4 h-4 text-orange-400 group-hover:translate-x-1 transition-all" />
+                          </Link>
+                        )}
+
+                        <button
+                          onClick={handleMobileSignOut}
+                          className="flex items-center justify-center gap-3 w-full py-4 text-sm font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-red-500 bg-red-50 dark:bg-red-500/10 border-2 border-red-500/20 rounded-2xl hover:bg-red-500 hover:text-white transition-all group"
+                        >
+                          <LogOut className="w-4 h-4 transition-transform group-hover:translate-x-1" />
+                          Terminate
+                        </button>
+                      </div>
                     </div>
-                  </div>
-                )}
-              </div>
-            </SheetContent>
-          </Sheet>
+                  )}
+                </div>
+              </SheetContent>
+            </Sheet>
+          ) : (
+            <button
+              aria-label="Open navigation menu"
+              className="p-2.5 rounded-xl bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 active:scale-90 transition-all"
+              type="button"
+            >
+              <CgMenuRightAlt className="text-3xl text-gray-900 dark:text-white" />
+            </button>
+          )}
         </div>
       </nav>
     </header>

From d0e41778e8f2f79316bb7bb5bc88c93b0198bb17 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: lynxx-st <shrijalp2016@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 10:32:55 +0545
Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Fix navbar parse error and stabilize hydration

---
 components/Navbar.tsx | 120 +++++++++++++++++-------------------------
 1 file changed, 48 insertions(+), 72 deletions(-)

diff --git a/components/Navbar.tsx b/components/Navbar.tsx
index 2198ce0..0da74d7 100644
--- a/components/Navbar.tsx
+++ b/components/Navbar.tsx
@@ -173,16 +173,14 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
 
         <div className="hidden md:flex items-center gap-8 lg:gap-12">
           <ul className="flex items-center gap-1 lg:gap-2">
-            {NavbarData
-              .filter((item) => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
-              .map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => (
-                <NavItem
-                  key={href}
-                  href={href}
-                  tags={tags}
-                  style="px-4 py-2 text-xs md:text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 rounded-xl transition-all"
-                />
-              ))}
+            {visibleNavItems.map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => (
+              <NavItem
+                key={href}
+                href={href}
+                tags={tags}
+                style="px-4 py-2 text-xs md:text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-white/5 rounded-xl transition-all"
+              />
+            ))}
           </ul>
 
           <div className="flex items-center gap-4 lg:gap-6 ml-4 pl-4 border-l border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10">
@@ -293,31 +291,30 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
             </div>
           </button>
 
-          <Sheet open={open} onOpenChange={handleSheetOpenChange}>
-            <SheetTrigger asChild>
-              <button
-                aria-label="Open navigation menu"
-                className="p-2.5 rounded-xl bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 active:scale-90 transition-all"
-              >
-                <CgMenuRightAlt className="text-3xl text-gray-900 dark:text-white" />
-              </button>
-            </SheetTrigger>
-            <SheetContent side="right" className="w-[85vw] sm:w-[400px] border-none p-0 bg-white dark:bg-gray-950">
-              <SheetTitle className="sr-only">Navigation Menu</SheetTitle>
-              <SheetDescription className="sr-only">
-                Access site navigation links, user profile, and session controls.
-              </SheetDescription>
-              <div className="flex flex-col h-full">
-                <div className="p-8 border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex items-center gap-3">
-                  <Image src={logo} alt="FlagForge logo" height={40} width={40} />
-                  <span className="text-2xl font-black text-gray-950 dark:text-white tracking-tighter">FlagForge</span>
-                </div>
+          {mounted ? (
+            <Sheet open={open} onOpenChange={handleSheetOpenChange}>
+              <SheetTrigger asChild>
+                <button
+                  aria-label="Open navigation menu"
+                  className="p-2.5 rounded-xl bg-gray-50 dark:bg-white/5 border border-gray-100 dark:border-white/10 active:scale-90 transition-all"
+                >
+                  <CgMenuRightAlt className="text-3xl text-gray-900 dark:text-white" />
+                </button>
+              </SheetTrigger>
+              <SheetContent side="right" className="w-[85vw] sm:w-[400px] border-none p-0 bg-white dark:bg-gray-950">
+                <SheetTitle className="sr-only">Navigation Menu</SheetTitle>
+                <SheetDescription className="sr-only">
+                  Access site navigation links, user profile, and session controls.
+                </SheetDescription>
+                <div className="flex flex-col h-full">
+                  <div className="p-8 border-b border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5 flex items-center gap-3">
+                    <Image src={logo} alt="FlagForge logo" height={40} width={40} />
+                    <span className="text-2xl font-black text-gray-950 dark:text-white tracking-tighter">FlagForge</span>
+                  </div>
 
-                <nav className="flex-1 p-6">
-                  <ul className="space-y-4">
-                    {NavbarData
-                      .filter((item) => session.status === "authenticated" || item.tags !== "Home")
-                      .map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => {
+                  <nav className="flex-1 p-6">
+                    <ul className="space-y-4">
+                      {visibleNavItems.map(({ href, tags }: NavbarItems) => {
                         const getIcon = (tag: string) => {
                           switch (tag.toLowerCase()) {
                             case "home":
@@ -354,44 +351,23 @@ const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
                         );
                       })}
 
-                    {session.status === "unauthenticated" && (
-                      <li className="pt-6">
-                        <Link
-                          href="/authentication"
-                          onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
-                          className="group relative flex items-center justify-center w-full py-5 overflow-hidden rounded-2xl transition-all active:scale-[0.98]"
-                        >
-                          <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-600 transition-transform group-hover:scale-105" />
-                          <div className="relative flex items-center gap-3 font-black text-lg text-white">
-                            <LogIn className="w-6 h-6" />
-                            <span>Sign in / Sign up</span>
-                          </div>
-                        </Link>
-                      </li>
-                    )}
-                  </ul>
-                </nav>
-
-                {session.status === "authenticated" && (
-                  <div className="p-8 bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/[0.02] border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5">
-                    <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mb-8">
-                      <div className="relative">
-                        <div className="absolute -inset-1 bg-red-500/20 blur-md rounded-2xl" />
-                        <Image src={session.data?.user?.image ?? logo} alt="P" height={56} width={56} className="relative rounded-2xl border-2 border-white dark:border-gray-800 object-cover" />
-                        <div className="absolute -bottom-1 -right-1 bg-green-500 w-4 h-4 rounded-full border-2 border-white dark:border-gray-950" />
-                      </div>
-                      <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
-                        <h4 className="font-bold text-gray-950 dark:text-white truncate">
-                          {session.data?.user?.name}
-                        </h4>
-                        <p className="text-xs text-gray-500 truncate">
-                          {session.data?.user?.email}
-                        </p>
-                        <p className="text-[10px] font-bold uppercase tracking-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500">
-                          {standing}
-                        </p>
-                      </div>
-                    </div>
+                      {isUnauthenticated && (
+                        <li className="pt-6">
+                          <Link
+                            href="/authentication"
+                            onClick={handleMobileItemClick}
+                            className="group relative flex items-center justify-center w-full py-5 overflow-hidden rounded-2xl transition-all active:scale-[0.98]"
+                          >
+                            <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-red-600 transition-transform group-hover:scale-105" />
+                            <div className="relative flex items-center gap-3 font-black text-lg text-white">
+                              <LogIn className="w-6 h-6" />
+                              <span>Sign in / Sign up</span>
+                            </div>
+                          </Link>
+                        </li>
+                      )}
+                    </ul>
+                  </nav>
 
                   {isAuthenticated && (
                     <div className="p-8 bg-gray-50/50 dark:bg-white/[0.02] border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-white/5">