Replace homepage text content with large welcome banner image

[Copilot]

This PR transforms the McPherson Group homepage from text-heavy content to a visually appealing welcome banner, addressing the request to have a large placeholder welcoming image instead of words.

Changes Made

Visual Transformation

• Removed all text content from the homepage including research focus sections, news updates, and contact information
• Created a custom welcome banner (welcome-banner.png) featuring:
  • Professional 1200x400px dimensions optimized for web display
  • Gradient background matching the site's existing color palette (#f5f6fa to #e3f2fd)
  • Clear typography with "Welcome to the McPherson Group" headline
  • Descriptive subtitle: "Advancing knowledge through innovative research"
  • Navy blue text (#003366) consistent with site branding

Technical Implementation

• Updated index.qmd: Simplified from 24 lines of content to a single image reference
• Enhanced styles.css: Added responsive styling for the welcome banner including:
  • Full-width display with proper aspect ratio
  • Rounded corners and subtle box shadow for visual appeal
  • Responsive behavior across different screen sizes

Result

The homepage now provides an immediate visual impact with a clean, professional appearance that effectively communicates the group's identity and mission. The banner serves as an engaging entry point while maintaining the site's existing design language.

The new design creates a strong first impression for visitors while keeping the implementation lightweight (22KB image) for fast loading times.

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[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR replaces the text-heavy McPherson Group homepage with a large welcome banner image, transforming it from detailed content sections to a single visual element that welcomes visitors.

• Removed all existing text content including research focus, news updates, and contact information
• Added a custom welcome banner image with responsive CSS styling
• Simplified the homepage to focus on visual impact rather than informational content

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File	Description
index.qmd	Replaced 20+ lines of text content with a single welcome banner image reference
styles.css	Added responsive styling for the welcome banner with rounded corners and shadow effects

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[Copilot]

The CSS selector .quarto-title + p img is fragile and relies on specific HTML structure generated by Quarto. Consider using a more semantic class-based selector like .welcome-banner on the image element to make the styling more maintainable and less dependent on the generated DOM structure.

Suggested change

	.quarto-title + p img {
	.welcome-banner {

[Copilot]

The alt text 'Welcome to the McPherson Group' is too generic for a welcome banner image. Consider more descriptive alt text that conveys the image content and context, such as 'McPherson Group welcome banner with gradient background and research mission statement'.

Suggested change