---
id: M011
title: "Interaction Polish, Navigation & Accessibility"
status: complete
completed_at: 2026-03-31T09:01:50.957Z
key_decisions:
  - D021: 12 of 16 UI/UX findings approved for implementation (F01 beginner paths, F02 YouTube links, F03 hide admin, F15 CTA label denied)
  - CSS stagger pattern uses --stagger-index custom property with calc() delay rather than nth-child — works with dynamic lists
  - Dedicated /random endpoint returning {slug} rather than reusing sort=random on list endpoint
  - CSS grid-template-rows 0fr/1fr for collapse/expand animation — no JS height measurement needed
  - SearchAutocomplete refactored from boolean heroSize to variant string prop ('hero'|'inline'|'nav') for multi-context usage
  - Mobile nav search uses second component instance (no globalShortcut) to avoid double keyboard handler registration
  - Nav brand demoted from h1 to span — page headings own the h1 role
  - useDocumentTitle hook restores previous title on unmount for clean SPA navigation
key_files:
  - frontend/src/App.css
  - frontend/src/App.tsx
  - frontend/src/components/SearchAutocomplete.tsx
  - frontend/src/components/TagList.tsx
  - frontend/src/hooks/useDocumentTitle.ts
  - frontend/src/pages/Home.tsx
  - frontend/src/pages/TopicsBrowse.tsx
  - frontend/src/pages/CreatorDetail.tsx
  - frontend/src/pages/SubTopicPage.tsx
  - frontend/src/pages/SearchResults.tsx
  - backend/routers/techniques.py
  - frontend/src/api/public-client.ts
lessons_learned:
  - border-image CSS property strips border-radius — use box-shadow for glow effects when rounded corners are needed
  - CSS grid-template-rows 0fr/1fr is the cleanest pattern for animating variable-height content without JS measurement
  - When adding a variant prop to replace a boolean, keep the old boolean as a deprecated fallback to avoid breaking callers during migration
  - For keyboard shortcuts in components rendered multiple times (e.g., search in nav + mobile panel), use a prop to control which instance owns the global handler
---

# M011: Interaction Polish, Navigation & Accessibility

**Transformed Chrysopedia from functionally adequate to engaging and accessible with card animations, staggered entrances, random discovery, collapsed topics, global nav search, mobile hamburger menu, tag overflow, and WCAG accessibility fixes across all pages.**

## What Happened

M011 addressed 12 approved findings from the UI/UX assessment that characterized the site as "functionally competent but emotionally flat." Four slices delivered in parallel tracks:

**S01 — Interaction Delight & Discovery** added scale(1.02) hover transitions with will-change:transform to all 6 card types, a reusable `.card-stagger` CSS utility driven by `--stagger-index` custom properties for entrance animations across 5 page components, gradient border-image + double box-shadow glow on the featured technique section, and a Random Technique button backed by a new `GET /api/v1/techniques/random` endpoint.

**S02 — Topics, Creator Stats & Card Polish** changed the Topics page to load with all categories collapsed, using CSS grid-template-rows 0fr/1fr animation for smooth expand/collapse (no JS height measurement). Creator detail pages got colored topic-distribution pill badges reusing the catSlug utility. A new shared TagList component caps visible tags at 4 with a "+N more" overflow pill, applied across all 5 tag-rendering sites. Subtopics with zero techniques now render as non-clickable spans with "Coming soon" badges.

**S03 — Global Search & Mobile Navigation** refactored SearchAutocomplete from a boolean heroSize prop to a variant string prop ('hero'|'inline'|'nav'), added a globalShortcut prop for Cmd+K/Ctrl+K keyboard focus, and wired a compact nav-variant into App.tsx on all non-home routes. A hamburger menu visible below 768px provides 44px touch targets and three auto-close mechanisms (route change, Escape, outside click).

**S04 — Accessibility & SEO Fixes** demoted the nav brand from h1 to span and promoted each page's main heading to h1, ensuring exactly one h1 per page with no heading level skips. A skip-to-content link was added as the first focusable element. The muted text color was changed from #6b6b7a to #828291 (5.05:1 contrast ratio). A useDocumentTitle hook sets descriptive browser tab titles across all 10 pages with async data support.

All slices verified via TypeScript strict compilation and Vite production build with zero errors. 18 source files changed across backend and frontend (1288 insertions, 711 deletions).

## Success Criteria Results

- ✅ **Cards animate on hover and stagger entrance on all listing pages** — S01 added scale(1.02) hover to all 6 card types and cardEnter stagger animation to 5 page components (Home, TopicsBrowse, CreatorDetail, SubTopicPage, SearchResults). Verified by grep.
- ✅ **Random technique button navigates to a real technique page** — S01 added GET /api/v1/techniques/random endpoint and 🎲 Random Technique button on homepage with loading/error states. Route placed before /{slug} to avoid capture.
- ✅ **Topics page loads collapsed and expands with animation** — S02 changed TopicsBrowse to initialize with empty expanded set. CSS grid-template-rows 0fr→1fr provides 300ms smooth animation.
- ✅ **Global search works from non-home pages with Cmd+K shortcut** — S03 added nav-variant SearchAutocomplete with globalShortcut prop, rendered conditionally on non-home routes.
- ✅ **Mobile hamburger menu works at narrow viewports** — S03 added hamburger button visible below 768px with 44px touch targets, three auto-close mechanisms (route change, Escape, outside click).
- ✅ **Accessibility improvements (heading hierarchy, contrast, skip link, titles)** — S04 delivered: single h1 per page (verified by grep across all 10 pages), skip-link as first focusable element, --color-text-muted changed to #828291 (5.05:1 contrast), useDocumentTitle hook in all 10 pages.

## Definition of Done Results

- ✅ All 4 slices completed: S01 ✅, S02 ✅, S03 ✅, S04 ✅
- ✅ All 4 slice summaries exist in .gsd/milestones/M011/slices/
- ✅ Code changes verified: 18 source files modified (git diff --stat confirms 1288 insertions, 711 deletions)
- ✅ TypeScript strict compilation passes (npx tsc --noEmit — 0 errors across all slices)
- ✅ Vite production build passes (npm run build — 50-51 modules, 0 errors across all slices)
- ✅ No cross-slice integration conflicts — slices touched overlapping files (App.css, Home.tsx, TopicsBrowse.tsx) but changes were additive/compatible

## Requirement Outcomes

All 13 requirements (R016–R028) transition from **active → validated**:

- **R016** (Card Hover & Stagger) → **validated** — S01 confirmed scale(1.02) hover on all 6 card types, stagger animation on 5 page components
- **R017** (Featured Technique Glow) → **validated** — S01 confirmed gradient border-image + double box-shadow glow on featured section
- **R018** (Random Technique) → **validated** — S01 confirmed GET /random endpoint + homepage button with loading/error states
- **R019** (Topics Collapsed) → **validated** — S02 confirmed collapsed init + CSS grid 300ms animation
- **R020** (Nav Search + Cmd+K) → **validated** — S03 confirmed nav-variant search on non-home pages with globalShortcut
- **R021** (Hamburger Menu) → **validated** — S03 confirmed <768px visibility, 44px targets, 3 auto-close mechanisms
- **R022** (Heading Hierarchy) → **validated** — S04 confirmed exactly 1 h1 per page, no heading skips
- **R023** (Skip Link) → **validated** — S04 confirmed skip-link first focusable, targets #main-content
- **R024** (Contrast AA) → **validated** — S04 confirmed #828291 achieves 5.05:1 on page bg, 4.56:1 on surface — both above 4.5:1
- **R025** (Page Titles) → **validated** — S04 confirmed useDocumentTitle in all 10 pages with async data support
- **R026** (Creator Stats Pills) → **validated** — S02 confirmed badge--cat-{slug} colored pills in CreatorDetail
- **R027** (Tag Overflow) → **validated** — S02 confirmed TagList component with max=4 and +N overflow across 5 sites
- **R028** (Empty Subtopics) → **validated** — S02 confirmed Coming soon pill badge on 0-technique subtopics

## Deviations

Minor deviations, all additive: SearchResultCard needed staggerIndex prop threaded through (not anticipated). TagList got a pillClass prop for Home.tsx backward compat. border-image strips border-radius on featured card (CSS limitation — glow box-shadow still provides visual distinction). SearchAutocomplete kept deprecated heroSize prop as backwards-compat fallback.

## Follow-ups

None.
