Thoughts and Articles from Blend Interactive

Corey and Deane talk about the idea of a web operations framework. Then, Meghan Casey, content strategist and author of The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right, joins to talk about content governance and ongoing maintenance — how humans are nearly always the problem (but not the humans you might think), the things you can do to plan for post-launch content, and how to deromanticize the bit launch in favor of content maintenance.

Content and IA  |  Digital Optimization  |  Project Management

Much like the early days of social media, digital experimentation is a rapidly expanding practice that promises to make big waves in the marketing world.

Digital Optimization  |  Strategy

Starting a plan to enhance your digital optimization, means finding your right tool set. 

Digital Optimization  |  Strategy

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