Produce optimized assets, release records, and cross-route QA

[bmurphy-apescic]

Parent issue

Tracks #13.

Summary

Produce the optimized asset pack for the approved Gecko Guide theme, reconcile release metadata to v4.1.0b, regenerate derived output, and complete cross-route acceptance checks for the full redesign.

Scope

• Preserve the existing primary APES logo and create only required derived web, compact, monochrome, social, and mascot-compatible variants.
• Produce responsive WebP assets with PNG fallbacks where appropriate, explicit dimensions, metadata removal, and measured loading behaviour.
• Create mascot display sizes and any affected favicon, manifest, Open Graph, or social-sharing derivatives.
• Keep all browser-served assets under public/ and document their intended slots and fallbacks.
• Reconcile root/README v4.0.0b and stale public v2.9.7 records to v4.1.0b.
• Update README, root and public changelogs, root and public version files, Change Log Hub data/output, footer version, generated snapshots, and validation report.
• Complete cross-route, asset, accessibility, release, hosting, SEO, sitemap, footer, Newsroom, and error-page QA.

Non-scope

• Primary logo redesign.
• Route changes or content-policy rewrites.
• Installing a persistent production runtime.
• Deployment without separate explicit authorization.

Acceptance criteria

• Every new image/logo derivative has a documented use, correct dimensions, appropriate format/fallback, and no unnecessary metadata.
• Responsive image references resolve and no browser-served asset exists outside public/.
• Above-the-fold asset weight does not materially regress without an explicitly documented reason.
• README.md, both VERSION files, both changelogs, Change Log Hub source/output, footer version, generated output, and validation report agree on v4.1.0b.
• PHP lint, static export, repository validation, asset/reference checks, and release consistency checks pass.
• Representative routes pass desktop, tablet, mobile, light, dark, keyboard, zoom, reduced-motion, and forced-colours review.
• Footer links, APES Newsroom routing, SEO metadata, sitemap, and branded 403/404/500 behaviour remain correct.
• Cloudron LAMP and public/-root compatibility are documented and verified.
• No deployment occurs as part of this issue without separate authorization.

Validation

• Asset inventory, dimensions, transparency, format, reference, duplicate, and byte-size checks.
• PHP lint, static export, and scripts/validate-public-site.ps1.
• Release-record consistency and generated-output comparison.
• Local HTTP browser QA; retain the documented file:/// redirect limitation.
• Cloudron LAMP packaging/compatibility review without deployment.

Progress updates

Post updates after asset production, release reconciliation, automated validation, browser QA, blockers, and readiness for review. Include Files changed whenever repository files have changed.

[linear-code]

WEBDEV-40