<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
  ============================================================================
  sitemap-pages.xml — Core Portfolio Pages
  ============================================================================
  Domain     : https://ajitdev.com
  Scope      : All top-level, evergreen portfolio pages
  Updated    : 2026-02-17

  Priority hierarchy rationale:
    1.0  Homepage        — primary brand + recruiter landing point
    0.9  Projects index  — highest conversion intent page
    0.85 Skills          — keyword-rich, expertise demonstration
    0.8  About           — E-E-A-T author authority signal
    0.7  Blog index      — topical authority hub
    0.6  Contact         — low crawl priority; low content value
    0.5  Privacy/Legal   — required but suppressed from primary budget

  changefreq guidance (Google treats this as a hint, not a directive):
    weekly   → dynamic / frequently updated content
    monthly  → semi-stable content updated on demand
    yearly   → static / rarely touched pages

  NOTE: All URLs use trailing-slash-normalized canonical form consistent
  with Next.js default routing. Align with canonical <link> tags in <head>.
  ============================================================================
-->
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9
          https://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9/sitemap.xsd">

  <!-- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
       TIER 1 — Brand & conversion-critical pages
       ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ -->

  <!-- Homepage — primary recruiter/employer entry point -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>1.0</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- Projects index — highest-intent page; core portfolio showcase -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/projects</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.9</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
       TIER 2 — Expertise & authority pages
       ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ -->

  <!-- Skills — keyword-rich expertise demonstration; targets "Cloud DevOps developer" queries -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/skills</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.85</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- About — E-E-A-T author authority signal; Person schema anchor page -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/about</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- Blog / Articles index — topical authority hub; Cloud, DevOps, Security -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/blog</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- Certifications — trust signal; targets "[name] AWS certified" branded queries -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/certifications</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.75</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
       TIER 3 — Supporting pages (lower crawl budget allocation)
       ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ -->

  <!-- Contact — low content density; low crawl priority -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/contact</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- Resume/CV — high recruiter value; separate indexable page if applicable -->
  <!-- Remove if resume is a PDF download only (non-indexable) -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/resume</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.65</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
       TIER 4 — Legal / utility pages
       Included for completeness; minimal crawl budget consumed.
       These pages should carry <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> OR
       be included here — not both. Choose one strategy; sitemap inclusion
       signals indexability intent.
       ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ -->

  <!-- Privacy Policy — required for AdSense, analytics, and trust signals -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://ajitdev.com/privacy</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-02-17</lastmod>
    <changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.3</priority>
  </url>

</urlset>