Using audits to drive change, Mechanics Bank launched with a new CMS and an improved design that follows web best practices. Find out how. 

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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Chapter 12: Write for People and Machines Off-site link

So, we need a new website? The easy question is, “Now what?” The harder question is, “How did we get here?” Gain buy-in on the reasons behind a new project, define the problem in a way that gains traction, and avoid some early red flags along the way.

October 16, 2019 | The Web Project Guide

Chapter 11: Model Your Content Off-site link

Content takes many shapes and connects in many ways. How these shapes and connections manifest – both in how they relate to the editorial and design model and in how they are converted into data that a content management system can manage – has considerable impact on every subsequent stage of the project.

October 15, 2019 | The Web Project Guide

Chapter 10: Organize Your Content Off-site link

Your site won’t just magically arrange itself. Instead, you must provide organization in a way that speaks to those who visit your site. What labels do they expect? How do they get from one section to another? How do they hone in on an information scent?

September 16, 2019 | The Web Project Guide

Chapter 9: Develop a Strategy for Your Content Off-site link

Content drives business goals, which means content drives your site. For content that needs to be changed, content that does not yet exist, and even content that will stay the same, we need a strategic plan that provides both high-level direction and a more detailed review of messaging and function.

September 15, 2019 | The Web Project Guide

Chapter 7: Know Your Content Off-site link

One of the challenges in rebuilding any website is figuring out what to do with the existing content. But before you can make any decisions, you simply need to know what it all is. And once it’s unearthed and exposed, then you need to decide what information is relevant and worth recording, determine a method to store this information, and decide how (or if ) you want to keep it updated over time.

August 15, 2019 | The Web Project Guide

Understanding Customers: Data, Journeys and Insights

In advance of Now What? Workshops, we’re featuring short interviews with our smart and wonderful workshop speakers. This week, we talk to Jon Crowley about analytics and metrics — and how to use metrics to make better content decisions.

February 27, 2018 | Jon Crowley

Web Accessibility: A Primer

Web accessibility has become a legal hot topic, but it’s also integral to creating a useful and usable web presence. This primer is designed to help you get a high-level view of what web accessibility is, how it affects your customers, and a little bit about what can be done to make sure our sites are accessible for everyone.

February 21, 2018

Build Your Digital Writing Toolbox

In advance of Now What? Workshops, we’re featuring short interviews with our smart and wonderful workshop speakers. This week, we talk to Scott Kubie about the idea of a digital writing toolbox — and what a toolbox does to help writers get better footing and facilitate collaboration.

January 30, 2018 | Scott Kubie

Content Structure: An Editor’s Perspective

In advance of Now What? Workshops, we’re featuring short interviews with our smart and wonderful workshop speakers. This week, we talk to Laura Creekmore about the basics of content structure, editorial structure, and how it helps both streamline and standardize the content we create for our site users.

January 12, 2018 | Laura Creekmore

Editorial Triggers: A GatherContent Advent Calendar Video Off-site link

Blend's Corey Vilhauer was invited to submit a video for GatherContent's 2017 Advent Calendar. He spoke about editorial triggers - a small but important addition to an organization's content calendar.

December 18, 2017 | Eating Elephant

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.