Flexible Content Types

8 Built-In Content Types

Ink ships with eight content types, each with its own layout template, frontmatter schema, archive page, and directory data file:

Type	Directory	Use Case
Blog	content/blog/	Posts with dates, authors, excerpts
Docs	content/docs/	Documentation with ordering and sections
Team	content/employees/	Staff profiles with roles and photos
Services	content/services/	Service descriptions with icons and pricing
Features	content/features/	Product feature pages with ordering
Portfolio	content/portfolio/	Project showcases with images and tags
FAQ	content/faq/	Question-and-answer pairs
Service Areas	content/service-areas/	Location-based service pages

Generate any of them with a single command:

npx ink generate blog

This creates the content directory, layout, archive page, and directory data file. Start writing immediately.

How Content Types Work

Each content type is registered in contentTypes.json at the project root. This file tells Eleventy how to collect, sort, and paginate the content:

{
  "blog": {
    "directory": "content/blog",
    "layout": "post.njk",
    "sortBy": "date",
    "sortOrder": "desc",
    "tags": "blog"
  }
}

Ink's collection factory reads this configuration and builds Eleventy collections automatically. You never write manual addCollection() calls.

Frontmatter Schemas

Each content type defines expected frontmatter fields. A blog post expects title, date, author, and excerpt. A team member expects name, role, photo, and bio. These schemas serve as documentation and ensure consistency across your content.

Custom Content Types

Need something Ink does not ship with -- case studies, events, recipes, product listings? The CLI wizard generates a custom content type:

npx ink generate custom

The wizard asks for a name, singular label, and frontmatter fields, then creates the full directory structure, layout template, archive page, and contentTypes.json entry. Your custom type works exactly like the built-in ones -- same collection factory, same archive pagination, same design token integration.

Collection Factory Pattern

Under the hood, Ink uses a collection factory that reads contentTypes.json and registers an Eleventy collection for each type. This means adding a new content type never requires editing your Eleventy config. Drop the files in place, update the JSON, and the build picks it up.