When running your own blog, thoughts like "I want to write this kind of article" or "I want to present content this way" gradually accumulate.
Recently, I added two features.
The first is a mechanism to restrict the latter half of articles.
The second is a gallery page displaying blog cover images like an art exhibition.
Neither came from simple "that would be nice" ideas, but took shape through accumulated design decisions.
This article documents that decision-making process.
About Lovable
Lovable is a tool for freely building websites while using LLMs. This blog is also built with Lovable. If you're interested, you can start with this invitation link:
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Restricted Content Design: Gradual Article Disclosure
Decision ①: Lock the Latter Half Within the Same Article, Not Separate Articles
My initial thought was a format like note's "first half free, latter half restricted."
I considered splitting it into separate articles, but that would fragment SEO and divide the reader experience.
Locking partway through with "from here, content is restricted" within the same article seemed more aligned both philosophically and technically, so I chose this approach.
Three reasons:
- SEO-rational: The first half alone can rank in search; the latter half can be excluded from indexing
- Natural reader experience: The flow of "I want to know more" becomes a natural funnel
- Easy operation: Splitting articles increases management costs
Decision ②: No User Management Design
Next, I considered how to manage "who can access."
Typically, you'd need user registration and login mechanisms.
However, I personally felt some discomfort with managing users on a blog.
Since this blog is built on the premise that "people who want to read, read," requiring user registration seemed to change that premise.
I chose unlocking through post-payment redirect.
Specifically:
- Payment via Stripe Checkout
- After payment completion, redirect to success_url
- That URL contains a signature that unlocks content
- Using session information, re-access is possible for a certain period
This way, the blog doesn't need to hold user information.
Content becomes readable the moment payment completes, no email sending required.
Actually, I struggled with this design.
"How do we authenticate without user management?"
However, shifting to the idea of "trusting Stripe" and "embedding authorization in URLs" led to a simple implementation.
Image Gallery Design: Not a Stock Site, But an Art Exhibition
Challenge: Utilizing Blog Cover Images
Blog articles use cover images created with Lovable.
Since I'd made these images anyway, I thought "Could I display these as a gallery?"
However, I didn't want it to feel like a mere "stock image site."
Decision ①: Creating an Exhibition Atmosphere
Rather than simply arranging images, I positioned it as displaying like an exhibition where you can also take images away.
Specifically:
- Attach article titles to each image
- Treat them like artwork titles
- Of course, link to articles
This creates an experience of "appreciating artwork and taking it if you like," rather than "searching for materials."
Decision ②: Prompting with "Today's Image"
Another refinement was a "Today's Image" section.
Rather than immediately showing titles, I randomly display one image from the library and place a prompt.
"What does this image convey?"
"What scene do you imagine?"
This way, people might contemplate and feel, similar to appreciating paintings.
In subsequent sections, I arranged images with ample margins.
A layout like touring an exhibition.
Background: Points of You and Art Thinking
This idea emerged because I hold a Points of You facilitation certification.
Points of You is a dialogue tool using photographs.
Drawing a card and asking "What do you feel from this photo?" deepens reflection and dialogue.
Having also studied art thinking, the experience design of "viewing images and prompting" came naturally.
[📦 商品リンク: moshimo-card-TdLaX]
It wasn't a random thought—previous learning had become embodied.
What Lies Behind Design Decisions
Looking back at these two feature additions, what's common is an attitude of "choosing technology while protecting philosophy."
- For restricted content, I chose Stripe and redirect authentication to protect the philosophy of "no user management"
- For the image gallery, I chose the exhibition positioning to protect the philosophy of "not a stock site"
In both cases, "what I wanted to do" came first, and technology was chosen to realize that.
Not starting from technology, but from philosophy.
Technology is a means, I believe.
What matters is what you want to protect and communicate.
If that doesn't waver, implementation naturally follows.
From here is restricted content.
I'll write about deeper development aspects.
I'm explaining what lies further behind why I created these features.