Frankensuite Website Development

FrankenSuite Website Development

Reference implementation: /data/projects/frankentui_website (frankentui.com) Read the source files AND DESIGN-PHILOSOPHY.md before building.

Brand Essence

"Laboratory of Beautiful Monsters" — industrial horror meets Stripe-grade polish.

• Bolts = fasteners, Stitches = sutures, Glitches = electrical surges, Eye = the monster watching, Green = life force
• Every heading uses the "One Green Word" pattern: "Get [Started]." — green word is the most evocative, period makes it declarative
• Micro-labels (text-[10px] font-black uppercase tracking-[0.3em]) appear everywhere — eyebrows, status indicators, nav badges, stats. This is what makes it feel like an instrument dashboard, not a blog
• The site breathes through 4 atmospheric layers: GlowOrbits (background) → SpectralBackground noise/grain (atmosphere) → glass-modern cards (content) → custom cursor (interactive)
• Homepage is a scroll narrative — each section is a story chapter from "Here's what this is" (hero) through "Others love it" (tweets) to "The machine is alive" (footer)

Full philosophy, anti-patterns, visual language: DESIGN-PHILOSOPHY.md

Quick Start

bunx create-next-app@latest <project>-website --ts --tailwind --app --src-dir=false
cd <project>-website
bun add framer-motion lucide-react clsx tailwind-merge highlight.js marked dompurify

Copy from frankentui_website:

# Required (brand consistency)
components/  franken-elements.tsx franken-glitch.tsx franken-eye.tsx
             motion-wrapper.tsx section-shell.tsx client-shell.tsx
             site-header.tsx site-footer.tsx custom-cursor.tsx
lib/         utils.ts site-state.tsx
hooks/       use-body-scroll-lock.ts use-intersection-observer.ts
app/         globals.css

# Optional (copy as needed)
components/  glow-orbits.tsx spectral-background.tsx terminal-demo.tsx
             screenshot-gallery.tsx rust-code-block.tsx comparison-table.tsx
             timeline.tsx tweet-wall.tsx video-player.tsx stats-grid.tsx
             animated-number.tsx decoding-text.tsx error-boundary.tsx
             motion/index.tsx motion/magnetic.tsx

Then: create lib/content.ts → update app/layout.tsx (Inter + JetBrains Mono) → build pages.

Full step-by-step: ADAPTATION-GUIDE.md

Workflow

• Scaffold Next.js 16 + BUN
• Copy design system + shared components
• Create lib/content.ts (ALL content in this one file)
• Build homepage following scroll narrative order
• Build subpages: Showcase, Architecture, Getting Started (minimum)
• Verify mobile: bottom nav, responsive grids, touch interactions
• bun run build && bun tsc --noEmit — zero errors
• Deploy to Vercel

Tech Stack

Next.js 16 (App Router, Turbopack) · React 19 · Tailwind CSS 4 (@tailwindcss/postcss, no tailwind.config) · Framer Motion 12 · lucide-react · Inter + JetBrains Mono via next/font/google

BUN only — never npm/yarn/pnpm. TypeScript strict, bundler resolution, @/* path alias.

Architecture

RootLayout (server) → ClientShell ("use client" boundary)
  ├── SiteProvider (context: anatomy, terminal, audio)
  ├── SiteHeader (desktop pill nav + mobile bottom nav)
  ├── AnimatePresence page transitions
  │   └── {children}
  ├── SiteFooter
  └── CustomCursor (desktop only)

SectionShell — core layout primitive (4/8 col grid, sticky sidebar):

<SectionShell id="features" icon="sparkles" eyebrow="Why" title="Built Different" kicker="...">
  {/* content */}
</SectionShell>

Content centralization: ALL data in lib/content.ts — siteConfig, navItems, heroStats, features, screenshots, codeExample, comparisonData, changelog, tweets. Types co-located. Never separate data files.

Component details: COMPONENTS.md · Motion system: EXACT-VALUES.md

Key Design Patterns

Gotchas

1. SectionShell icon: String key, not component ref. Add to BOTH import AND sectionIcons map
2. Server/Client boundary: No next/dynamic with ssr: false in Server Components (Next.js 16). Import "use client" components directly
3. React 19: No ref writes during render. No synchronous setState in effects
4. Satori (next/og): No WebP, no <br />, no borderRadius: "full" (use "9999px"). Pre-convert with sharp
5. Linter auto-modifies: Re-read files before editing — ESLint may have changed imports
6. .next/cache: rm -r .next/cache fixes phantom type errors
7. BUN only: bun dev, bun run build, bun lint, bun tsc --noEmit
8. Content: ALL data in lib/content.ts — never separate data files
9. RustCodeBlock: Uses title prop, NOT filename
10. GlowOrbits: Native Web Animation API — don't convert to Framer Motion
11. Portal: Fixed-position inside transform parents breaks — use Portal from motion-wrapper.tsx
12. Body scroll lock: Must compensate scrollbar width — use useBodyScrollLock
13. Event listeners: Always { passive: true } for scroll/mouse. RAF batching for cursor.
14. Font loading: Both fonts need display: "swap" to prevent FOIT

Adapting for a New Project

1. Read DESIGN-PHILOSOPHY.md first — absorb the aesthetic soul
2. Fork structure, not code — same tech stack, same visual language
3. Replace content — new siteConfig, navItems, features, etc.
4. Swap accent color — update --color-green-prime in CSS vars + component defaults
5. Keep decorative system — FrankenBolt/Stitch/Container/Glitch for brand unity
6. Follow the scroll narrative — homepage tells a story, each section is a chapter
7. Maintain micro-labels — every section needs the 10px uppercase eyebrow
8. Preserve atmosphere — GlowOrbits + noise + glass-modern + breathing space
9. Test the "alive" feeling — if the page feels static, something is missing

Full 10-phase guide + checklist: ADAPTATION-GUIDE.md

References