diff --git a/.github/workflows/blog-check.yml b/.github/workflows/blog-check.yml
index 854c99a..76c879a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/blog-check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/blog-check.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 name: Blog check
 
-# Validates blog post frontmatter and runs a full build on PRs that touch blog
-# content or the website code, so broken MDX or missing fields are caught before merge.
+# Lints the code, validates blog post frontmatter, and runs a full build on PRs that
+# touch blog content or the website code, so lint errors, broken MDX, or missing
+# fields are caught before merge.
 on:
   pull_request:
     paths:
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ on:
       - 'pages/blog/**'
       - 'src/**'
       - 'package.json'
+      - 'eslint.config.mjs'
 
 jobs:
   build:
@@ -20,6 +22,8 @@ jobs:
           node-version: 20
           cache: npm
       - run: npm ci
+      - name: Lint
+        run: npm run lint
       - name: Validate frontmatter
         run: node scripts/validate-posts.mjs
       - name: Build
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index a17bba6..69274b4 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ layout, frontmatter, and assets.
 
 ## Before you open a pull request
 
-Run these locally; CI runs the last two on every pull request:
+Run these locally; CI runs them on every pull request:
 
 ```bash
 npm run lint
diff --git a/eslint.config.mjs b/eslint.config.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7356b1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eslint.config.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import nextVitals from "eslint-config-next/core-web-vitals";
+import nextTs from "eslint-config-next/typescript";
+
+export default [
+  ...nextVitals,
+  ...nextTs,
+  { ignores: [".next/**", "node_modules/**", "next-env.d.ts"] },
+];
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 6e9a485..bac626a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     "dev": "next dev",
     "build": "next build",
     "start": "next start",
-    "lint": "next lint",
+    "lint": "eslint .",
     "validate-posts": "node scripts/validate-posts.mjs",
     "capture-gif": "node scripts/capture-gif.mjs"
   },
diff --git a/pages/index.tsx b/pages/index.tsx
index 97a2ca8..b01a345 100644
--- a/pages/index.tsx
+++ b/pages/index.tsx
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ export default function Home() {
   return (
     <>
       <Seo url={SITE_URL} />
-      <Nav />
+      <Nav hero />
       <Hero />
       <hr className="divider" />
       <Partners />
diff --git a/src/components/Footer.tsx b/src/components/Footer.tsx
index c52482a..cfe6327 100644
--- a/src/components/Footer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Footer.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import Link from 'next/link'
 import SocialIcons from '@/components/SocialIcons'
 
 export default function Footer() {
@@ -6,9 +7,9 @@ export default function Footer() {
       <div className="wrap">
         <div className="footer-inner">
           <div className="footer-left">
-            <a href="/" className="footer-logo">
+            <Link href="/" className="footer-logo">
               <img src="/icon-color.svg" alt="Modelplane" height={32} />
-            </a>
+            </Link>
             <span className="footer-tagline">Open source control plane for AI models</span>
             <p className="footer-legal">
               © 2026 The Modelplane Authors. Modelplane™ is a trademark.
@@ -16,8 +17,8 @@ export default function Footer() {
           </div>
           <div className="footer-right">
             <a href="https://docs.modelplane.ai">Docs</a>
-            <a href="/blog">Blog</a>
-            <a href="/privacy">Privacy</a>
+            <Link href="/blog">Blog</Link>
+            <Link href="/privacy">Privacy</Link>
             <SocialIcons />
           </div>
         </div>
diff --git a/src/components/Nav.tsx b/src/components/Nav.tsx
index cabc91e..e34ea96 100644
--- a/src/components/Nav.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Nav.tsx
@@ -1,17 +1,23 @@
 import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'
+import Link from 'next/link'
 import GithubIcon from '@/components/GithubIcon'
 
 const GITHUB_URL = 'https://github.com/modelplaneai/modelplane'
 const SLACK_URL = 'https://slack.modelplane.ai'
 
-export default function Nav() {
+interface NavProps {
+  // Set on pages that render the hero (the homepage).
+  hero?: boolean
+}
+
+export default function Nav({ hero = false }: NavProps) {
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false)
   // On the homepage the hero shows its own large wordmark, so we hide the nav
   // logo while the hero is in view (avoids two logos). Once the hero scrolls
   // away, the nav slides in with the logo and stays sticky. Pages without a
   // hero just show the logo normally.
-  const [past, setPast] = useState(false)
-  const [heroPage, setHeroPage] = useState(false)
+  const [heroInView, setHeroInView] = useState(true)
+  const past = !hero || !heroInView
 
   // Close menu on route/hash change
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -21,36 +27,33 @@ export default function Nav() {
   }, [])
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    const hero = document.querySelector('.herox')
-    if (!hero) {
-      setPast(true) // no hero on this page → show the logo normally
-      return
-    }
-    setHeroPage(true)
+    if (!hero) return
+    const heroEl = document.querySelector('.herox')
+    if (!heroEl) return
     const obs = new IntersectionObserver(
-      ([entry]) => setPast(!entry.isIntersecting),
+      ([entry]) => setHeroInView(entry.isIntersecting),
       { rootMargin: '-64px 0px 0px 0px', threshold: 0 }
     )
-    obs.observe(hero)
+    obs.observe(heroEl)
     return () => obs.disconnect()
-  }, [])
+  }, [hero])
 
   const navClass = [
     !past ? 'nav--top' : '',
-    past && heroPage ? 'nav--reveal' : '',
+    past && hero ? 'nav--reveal' : '',
   ].filter(Boolean).join(' ')
 
   return (
     <nav className={navClass}>
       <div className="wrap">
-        <a href="/" className="nav-logo">
+        <Link href="/" className="nav-logo">
           <img src="/icon-color.svg" alt="Modelplane" height={32} />
-        </a>
+        </Link>
 
         <ul className="nav-links">
           <li><a href="https://docs.modelplane.ai">Docs</a></li>
-          <li><a href="/blog">Blog</a></li>
-          <li><a href="/manifesto">Manifesto</a></li>
+          <li><Link href="/blog">Blog</Link></li>
+          <li><Link href="/manifesto">Manifesto</Link></li>
           <li><a href={SLACK_URL} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slack</a></li>
           <li><a href={GITHUB_URL} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="GitHub"><GithubIcon /></a></li>
           <li><a href={GITHUB_URL} className="nav-cta-ghost" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">★ Star the Project</a></li>
@@ -69,8 +72,8 @@ export default function Nav() {
       {open && (
         <div className="nav-dropdown">
           <a href="https://docs.modelplane.ai" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>Docs</a>
-          <a href="/blog" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>Blog</a>
-          <a href="/manifesto" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>Manifesto</a>
+          <Link href="/blog" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>Blog</Link>
+          <Link href="/manifesto" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>Manifesto</Link>
           <a href={SLACK_URL} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>Slack</a>
           <a href={GITHUB_URL} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="GitHub" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}><GithubIcon /></a>
           <a href={GITHUB_URL} className="nav-cta-mobile" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onClick={() => setOpen(false)}>★ Star the Project</a>
diff --git a/src/components/blog/BlogSidebar.tsx b/src/components/blog/BlogSidebar.tsx
index c5f5fe9..b551d78 100644
--- a/src/components/blog/BlogSidebar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/blog/BlogSidebar.tsx
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ export default function BlogSidebar({ recent, tagCounts }: BlogSidebarProps) {
 
       <div className="sidebar-widget">
         <h2 className="sidebar-title">Subscribe</h2>
+        {/* A plain link: the feed is XML, not a page Link can navigate to. */}
+        {/* eslint-disable-next-line @next/next/no-html-link-for-pages */}
         <a className="sidebar-rss" href="/feed.xml">
           <svg className="rss-icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="16" height="16" aria-hidden="true">
             <path
diff --git a/src/components/blog/PostList.tsx b/src/components/blog/PostList.tsx
index bc3294a..8024864 100644
--- a/src/components/blog/PostList.tsx
+++ b/src/components/blog/PostList.tsx
@@ -12,12 +12,14 @@ interface PostListProps {
 // Renders a grid of post cards, revealing more as the reader scrolls (infinite scroll).
 export default function PostList({ posts }: PostListProps) {
   const [visible, setVisible] = useState(INITIAL)
+  const [shownPosts, setShownPosts] = useState(posts)
   const sentinelRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null)
 
   // Restart from the top whenever the underlying list changes (e.g. a new search).
-  useEffect(() => {
+  if (posts !== shownPosts) {
+    setShownPosts(posts)
     setVisible(INITIAL)
-  }, [posts])
+  }
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (visible >= posts.length) return