Blend has upgraded from Gold to Platinum Partnership with Umbraco! Read the full press release.
Thoughts from Blend Interactive
One of Blend’s core values is a dedication to advocacy and progress — to expand upon and give back to the community that fuels us. This is where those thoughts live.
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Episode 24: Maintain and Improve (w/ David Hobbs) Off-site link
Corey and Deane discuss the people and rules that help run a website after launch. Then, David Hobbs, author of Website Product Management: Keeping Focused During Change, joins to talk about transferring a site from a project to a product — what that means to keep the site going after launch, where it most often fails, and how to streamline requests and set reasonable expectations for the future of the site.
A Vision for a Pain-Free Migration
Migrations don’t have to be a pain — Blend has a process and vision going forward of how to make the migration process simpler.
Optimizely Release Notes — July-August 2023
The following release notes highlight major or interesting changes in Optimizely's products from July and August 2023.
Keeping Your Website Fresh: 10 Post-Launch Web Tasks
A website's success doesn't hinge on what happens on launch day — it's an ongoing balance of maintenance and improvement after your site has already launched.
Episode 22: Test and Launch the Site (w/ Bob Davidson) Off-site link
Corey and Deane talk about the concept of the “Nails List.” Then, Bob Davidson, Director of Development at Blend Interactive, joins to talk about how to get your site ready for launch, what makes a good QA practitioner, the role of quality assurance and testing in the development process, and how to prep the site so it doesn’t fall over when exposed to the real world. We also spend a lot of time talking up Jenna Bonn, Blend’s QA Practice Manager.
Journaling as a Management Tool
In management, your team depends on you to help follow up on solving pain points and barriers. But, for the mind of an engineer with a spotty memory, managing this workload can be difficult. Blend's Director of Development Bob Davidson explains how he supplements his workflow with a mix of technology, process, and habit through daily journaling.
Optimizely Release Notes — May-June 2023
The following release notes highlight major or interesting changes in Optimizely's products from May and June 2023.
Umbraco Releases Version 12
An overview of Umbraco's newest release, Umbraco 12, highlighting the anticipated changes it brings to the user experience.
Episode 20: Implement the Back-end Functionality (w/ David Knipe) Off-site link
Corey and Deane discuss a high-level philosophy of back-end development. Then, David Knipe, Vice President of Product at Optimizely, joins to discuss back-end development — how developers and project stakeholders work together to make decisions, the difference (and balance) between technical perfection and audience needs, and the reasons why AI will help, but not take over, back-end development. Deane also equates developers to lumberjacks.
Optimizely Release Notes — March-April 2023
The following release notes highlight major or interesting changes in Optimizely's products from March and April 2023.
Beyond Blend.
Blend doesn’t just write here: we also write books, create videos, and dive deep into our individual disciplines. Check out some of our external sources of knowledge.
The Web Project Guide
A phase-by-phase look at the web design and development process, providing context to each step.
Coding with Bob
A YouTube series by our director of development, focusing on .NET coding and Optimizely development.
Eating Elephant
A blog about content strategy, information architecture, and understanding user needs.