feat: add guide on effective commmit messaging

This commit introduces a comprehensive guide on crafting effective commit messages,
aiming to enhance our projects' collaboration efforts. It includes a case study on the
benefits of using Conventional Commits, with references to actual project histories.

public/_sidebar.md

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 * [Pull Request Manual](/guides/PULL_REQUEST_GUIDE.md)
 * [Code of Conduct Guidelines](/guides/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_GUIDE.md)
 * [Security policy Guidelines](/guides/SECURITY_GUIDE.md)
+* [Effective Commit Messaging](/guides/COMMIT_MESSAGE_GUIDE.md)
 
 **SDKs and Libraries**
 

public/guides/COMMIT_MESSAGE_GUIDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# Effective Commit Messaging
+
+Clear and informative commit messages contribute significantly to a project's success. This guide
+outlines the importance of well-structured commit messages and descriptions.
+
+## Basic commit message structure
+
+A well-crafted commit message is structured to convey concise and actionable information about the
+changes made. It typically consists of a single-line summary and an optional extended description.
+
+### Summary line
+
+A good summary line is:
+
+- **Directive**: start with a concise imperative verb to indicate the action,
+  e.g.: `add`, `fix`, `update`.
+- **Specific**: it answers the question: What was done in this commit?
+- **Concise**: Keep it short and focused.
+
+Example: `add authentication integration`.
+
+### Description
+
+You can and should extend the commit message with a description. In the description you can
+reference issues, provide more detail and motivate your changes. Use bullet points for readability.
+
+Following the previous example:
+
+```
+Resolves #123 by securing access through authentication.
+
+- Implemented OAuth2 for secure user login
+- Implemented a custom login screen
+- Updated database schema to store user credentials securely
+```
+
+Here are some benefits of using commits descriptions:
+
+- **Motivate Choices**: Helps collaborators understand the reasoning behind specific decisions.
+- **Ease PR Creation**: Pre-populated the description of a pull request with the commit description.
+- **Archival Information**: Provides insight as a historical record when using inspection tools.
+- **Better collaboration**: A clean history makes it easier to understand and build upon previous
+  work.
+- **Traceability**: Tracing back changes allows developers to easily identify the introduction of
+  bugs or issues.
+
+## A case for conventional commits
+
+The [Conventional Commits specification][conventional-commits] provides a set of rules to simplify
+creating a clear commit history, making it easier to build automated tools on top of it. Some
+of the benefits of this approach:
+
+- **Automated Version Bumping**: Enable automated version bumping.
+- **Automated Release Notes**: Generate consistent release notes based on commit messages.
+- **Granular Filtering**: Facilitate filtering and navigation through commits based on their type.
+- **Enforceable**: Ensure adherence to the convention through a pre-commit hook.
+
+### Case of study
+
+Explore the commit histories of [pillarbox-web][pillarbox-web-history]
+and [pillarbox-web-demo][pillarbox-web-demo-history]. Both projects diligently adhere to the
+guidelines outlined in this article, incorporating conventional commits. A pre-commit hook is
+implemented in both cases to enforce adherence to the conventional commit format.
+
+For the former project, automated processes generate release notes and versions using semantic
+versioning. See the outcome for the [1.1.0 release of pillarbox-web][semver-release-example].
+
+## Conclusion
+
+Incorporating the practices outlined in this guide ensures that your commit messages and
+descriptions contribute positively to your project's development lifecycle. A well-documented commit
+history is a powerful collaboration tool.
+
+[conventional-commits]: https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/
+
+[pillarbox-web-history]: https://github.com/SRGSSR/pillarbox-web/commits/main/
+
+[pillarbox-web-demo-history]: https://github.com/SRGSSR/pillarbox-web-demo/commits/main/
+
+[semver-release-example]: https://github.com/SRGSSR/pillarbox-web/releases/tag/v1.1.0