Thoughts

Thoughts and Articles from Blend Interactive

Joe Kepley  |  September 25, 2023

Improving Your Professional Association Site: Tips for Driving Engagement

Laptop surrounded by icons, including an alert icon, a heart, an eye, and a Blend logo.

Blend's CTO Joe Kepley has tips for how to increase website traffic and engagement for professional associations.  

Associations  |  Strategy

Taylor Lopour  |  September 15, 2023

Getting Started with Web Experimentation 

Two computer screens by each other, one labeled with an A and one labeled with a B.

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

Joe Kepley  |  August 21, 2023

DXP and Optimization — Part 2: Choosing Your Tools

Website model with different elements broken out.

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

Digital Optimization  |  Strategy

Joe Kepley  |  July 25, 2023

DXP and Optimization — Part 1: Setting Goals

Website model with different elements broken out.

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

July 18, 2023  |  The Web Project Guide Podcast

Episode 21: Migrate and Populate the Content (w/ Carrie Hane)

A man watching a flock of migrating birds.

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

May 16, 2023  |  The Web Project Guide Podcast

Episode 19: Implement the Design (w/ Ethan Marcotte)

A rocket ship being built.

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

Corey Vilhauer  |  April 18, 2023

How Audits Improve Your Site: Accessibility, Performance, and Design Audits

A laptop showing a graphic with the word "Audit" in the middle.

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

Joe Kepley  |  March 23, 2023

Web Analytics and HIPAA: How to Protect Your Site — and Your Users — From HIPAA Violations

The HIPPA logo on a styled background.

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

Joe Kepley  |  March 20, 2023

What is DXP Really Going to Do For You?

A stylized photo of a construction site.

So ... what IS DXP? And how do you navigate the different forms and add-ons available within a digital experience platform (DXP)? Blend CTO Joe Kepley discusses the ins and outs of DXP, including how to prioritize the rollout of new features.

Development  |  Digital Optimization  |  Strategy

Joe Kepley  |  February 28, 2023

When is Headless the Right Solution: A Guide to Going Headless

 A flowchart showing a server connecting to a computer monitor with the word A P I in between.

If you’ve looked into building or upgrading a website in the last few years, you may have heard about “headless” content management systems (CMS). But what is a "headless" system? And, more importantly, when is it the right solution?

Development  |  Strategy