# LivingDubai.net — Editorial & Product Operating Manual

**Status:** Working baseline (v1.1)
**Last updated:** 23 September 2026
**Owner:** LivingDubai.net  
**Purpose:** Source-of-truth navigation for product, editorial, design, data, growth and publishing decisions.

LivingDubai is a Dubai information product, not a generic travel blog. Its promise is to help visitors, residents and prospective residents understand the city through practical guidance, deep explanations, official data and real-world context.

> **Internal editorial philosophy:** Dubai, Explained.

## Non-negotiable principles

1. **Facts are ingredients, not articles.** A fact that an AI assistant can answer completely in one or two sentences belongs in a richer page, fact box or FAQ—not its own URL.
2. **One page serves one distinct information need.** Keyword variations do not justify duplicate pages.
3. **The article is the product; data is the evidence.** We do not dump databases or publish thin combinations of fields.
4. **Primary evidence comes first.** Government, regulators, operators and original technical sources outrank summaries and SEO sites.
5. **Answer first, then explain.** Every suitable page gives a concise Short Answer before depth, nuance and evidence.
6. **Public navigation is not the knowledge graph.** Users see 7–8 clear sections; editors manage roughly 45–50 interconnected entity/topic clusters beneath them.
7. **Quality determines cadence.** Publishing volume is never a substitute for original value, verification or useful presentation.
8. **High-risk content keeps a human gate.** Legal, visa, medical, financial and safety guidance is never autonomously published.

## Manual map

| Document | Purpose | Review trigger |
|---|---|---|
| [Governance and decisions](docs/00-governance-and-decisions.md) | How this manual is maintained; decision states, owners and change control | Any strategic decision |
| [Product and brand](docs/01-product-and-brand.md) | Positioning, audiences, promise, voice and content engines | Brand or audience change |
| [Editorial standards](docs/02-editorial-standards.md) | Qualification, AI-answerability, sourcing, verification and QA rules | Editorial incident or policy change |
| [Information architecture](docs/03-information-architecture.md) | Navigation, taxonomy, sitemap, URLs and neighbourhood architecture | New section or content type |
| [Knowledge Map](docs/04-knowledge-map.md) | Initial 50 entities/themes, tiers, relationships and commissioning fields | Quarterly planning |
| [Data strategy and sources](docs/05-data-strategy-and-sources.md) | Data-to-story method, official source hierarchy, provenance and data QA | New dataset or data story |
| [UX, visual system and templates](docs/06-ux-visual-and-templates.md) | Design direction, components and page templates | Design-system change |
| [SEO, international and AI search](docs/07-seo-international-and-ai-search.md) | Discoverability, internal links, structured data and country intent | Search-policy or market change |
| [Monetisation](docs/08-monetisation.md) | Revenue architecture and editorial safeguards | New commercial model |
| [Build, publishing and automation](docs/09-build-publishing-and-automation.md) | GitHub workflow, pipeline, autonomy phases and cadence | Stack or workflow change |
| [Measurement and roadmap](docs/10-measurement-and-roadmap.md) | KPIs, launch stages, review rhythm and next decisions | Monthly/quarterly review |
| [Keyword demand and AI-citation research](docs/11-keyword-demand-and-ai-citation-research.md) | DataForSEO workflow, query clustering and AI-citation opportunity records | New priority entity or market study |
| [Burj Khalifa keyword cluster map](docs/12-burj-khalifa-keyword-cluster-map.md) | First entity-level demand map, canonical page decisions and commissioning briefs | Burj Khalifa content planning or material demand change |
| [Answer, depth and visual integrity process](docs/13-answer-depth-and-visual-integrity-process.md) | Page-writing sequence, answer proximity, content-depth guidance, visual labels and publication completeness gate | Every commissioned page and every template change |
| [Launch page and linking plan](docs/14-launch-page-and-linking-plan.md) | Approved 42-page map, routes, 12-page pilot, internal-link contract and official-data intake sequence | Launch commissioning or material route change |
| [Content production and publication QA](docs/15-content-production-and-publication-qa.md) | Mandatory brief, drafting, editorial-fingerprint review, evidence, internal-link and human-approval gates | Every commissioned page and every production release |
| [Structured data standard](docs/16-structured-data-standard.md) | Page-type schema matrix, entity rules, validation and search-feature expectations | Every new template, schema or eligible content type |

## Working decisions at a glance

- **Recommended public navigation:** Explore Dubai; Live in Dubai; Eat & Drink; Getting Around; Dubai Explained; Dubai by Numbers; Rules & Practicalities; What’s Changing.
- **Signature products:** Dubai Explained and Dubai by Numbers.
- **Four editorial engines:** Dubai Explained; Living in Dubai; Dubai Through Data; Understanding Dubai.
- **Priority content:** AI-answerability Levels 3–5—deep explanation, synthesis and original analysis.
- **Priority moat:** neighbourhood intelligence combining property, mobility, amenities and lived practicality.
- **Launch shape:** an approved 42-page network built in a 12-page pilot followed by two evidence-gated waves; cadence remains quality-led.
- **Initial automation:** research → source verification → brief → draft → editorial-fingerprint review → factual/SEO/schema QA → pull request → human approval → publish.
- **Publication authority:** a successful build is not publication approval. Only content carrying the required evidence and recorded human sign-off may enter production.

## How to use this manual

- Start here before proposing a feature, category, article or automation.
- Treat **Locked** decisions as binding until formally changed.
- Treat **Proposed** decisions as the current default, open to validation.
- Record material changes in the governance document and update every affected file in the same pull request.
- Keep operational detail in the relevant supporting document; keep this page short and navigable.

## Current status

This v1.1 set converts the founding discussion into an enforceable operating baseline. The eight navigation labels and 42-page working launch map are approved for implementation. Content production, editorial-fingerprint review, structured-data selection and human publication approval are now mandatory gates. Dataset permissions, field fitness, final article titles, production technology choices and revenue partners still require validation. The next execution gate is the official-source feasibility audit for the 12-page vertical pilot.