Thoughts and Articles from Blend Interactive

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.

Content and IA  |  Development

Blend's Director of Development Bob Davidson explains how he supplements his workflow with a mix of technology, process, and habit through daily journaling.

Development

Optimizing your website doesn't always require the budget of a Fortune 500 company. We're here to help guide small businesses toward enhancing their digital presence with the first in a three-part series: setting goals for web optimization.

Digital Optimization  |  Strategy

Corey and Deane discuss an old migration project. Then, Carrie Hane, Principal Digital Strategist at Sanity and co-author of Designing Connected Content, joins to talk about preparing content for site migration — how good content modeling helps set up a site for future success, the psychological side of migrations, and a few horror stories from Carrie and Deane. Carrie graciously insists this is not the most depressing episode yet.

Content and IA  |  Migration  |  Strategy

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.

Development  |  Optimizely  |  Umbraco

As Mental Health Awareness Month concludes, Karla Santi shares a few thoughts to help fight stigma, raise awareness, advocate for anyone on our team with mental health conditions, and honor her loved ones.

Corey and Deane talk about how front-end development has evolved past the early days. Then, Ethan Marcotte, author of Responsive Web Design and Partner at Autogram, joins to discuss front-end development and how the world has impacted how front-end design is treated and approached. We also joke about whether Deane actually “invented” responsive web design. (He didn’t.)

Accessibility  |  Design and Front-End  |  Development  |  Strategy

Much like we maintain our homes from season to season, our websites need periodic audits — to see what has changed and what has not. In this post, we focus on three specific types of audits: accessibility audits, performance audits, and design audits.

Accessibility  |  Digital Optimization  |  Strategy

Corey and Deane discuss what clients should look for when selecting an implementation partner. Then, Tony Byrne, co-author of The Right Way to Select Technology and President of Real Story Group, joins to talk through the implementation partner selection process, including common mistakes, the value of domain knowledge, and how most projects should focus on technology first.

Development  |  Optimizely  |  Project Management  |  Umbraco

Blend's CTO Joe Kepley discusses how to balance the need for better information, with a user's right to privacy, especially with existing HIPAA standards.

Development  |  Digital Optimization  |  Strategy