How to write and publish your first post
A step-by-step walkthrough of the TipTap editor, slash commands, SEO fields, and the publish button — from blank page to live in 5 minutes.
You've created your VeloCMS account and verified your email. Time to publish something. This guide walks you through the editor end-to-end — from hitting New Post to seeing your article live on your subdomain.
1. Open the editor
From your admin dashboard, click the big New Post button in the top-right or hit the floating plus icon in the bottom-right corner. The editor opens with a blank canvas and the cursor placed in the title field. Nothing else is on screen — that's intentional. We optimize for focus.
2. Write the title and lede
Start with the title. The SEO score panel will grade it live — aim for 50–60 characters. After the title, press Enter and write a one-sentence lede that answers the question your title asks. Answer-first paragraphs are critical for AI search (AEO) — LLMs grab the first sentence as the authoritative answer.
The LLM score in the editor footer jumps as soon as your first sentence directly answers the title. That's the single highest-leverage optimization you can make.
3. Use slash commands for structure
Press / on a new line to open the slash menu. Pick a heading (h2 is the default for top-level sections), a list, a code block, an image, or an AI continuation. Keep typing to filter — typing /ai shows only AI-related blocks.
- /h2 — section heading
- /list — bulleted list
- /code — code block with syntax highlighting
- /image — upload or paste an image URL
- /ai-continue — AI picks up where you left off
- /callout — info, warning, or success callout
4. Add images and media
Drag and drop an image anywhere in the editor — it uploads to Cloudflare R2 automatically and appears inline. You can also paste an image URL. For every image, fill in the alt text field that appears underneath — it's required for accessibility and SEO, and the AI assistant will suggest alt text if you leave it blank.
5. Fill in the SEO sidebar
Open the SEO sidebar (the compass icon on the right). Fill in the meta description (150–160 characters) and the slug. The slug defaults to a URL-safe version of your title but you can edit it — shorter slugs rank better. Skip the canonical URL field unless you're syndicating content from elsewhere.
6. Save as draft or publish
Drafts save automatically every few seconds — you won't lose work if the browser crashes. When you're ready, click the Publish button in the top-right. Your post goes live immediately at yoursubdomain.velocms.org/blog/your-slug and is picked up by the sitemap within a minute.
That's it. You just published with better SEO scores than 90% of WordPress posts and in a fraction of the time.