WordPress For Small Agencies
I recently joined Newfangled to head up our new WordPress offering for small agencies. Here's a little more about what brought me here and why WordPress may be right for you...
It’s Just a Link
Years ago, we had a running joke at Newfangled that some bit of functionality was just a link. The punchline was that something which was assumed to be simple, perhaps linking off-site, was in fact indicative of some unforeseen and complex area of functionality that needed to be built. This morning, on my way to work, I was reminded of that old joke — and the danger of not thinking through the implications of even the seemingly insignificant decisions when planning a website.
Experiment Like an Expert
When was the last time you said “I don't know” in a meeting? Better yet, when was the last time you said it confidently, knowing that this admission was in no way in conflict with your expertise? Probably never...
A Discussion with Taan Worldwide’s Peter Gerritsen: Part 1
I recently joined Peter Gerritsen, president of Taan Worldwide, for a video chat on a range of issues related to the work we at Newfangled do building marketing-driven web platforms for marketing agencies and their clients. We covered some pretty interesting topics, so I thought I’d share the transcript of our discussion here, broken out into three parts (or, if you prefer, you can catch the full video here). In this first post, Peter and I talk about some of the most common issues we see with agency websites today.
On Becoming Pragmatic
Three years ago today, I joined Newfangled. Dave handed me a stack of materials, and among the first-day standards was my very own copy of The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master, by Andy Hunt and David Thomas. Among the practical, software-development-centric tips sprinkled throughout the book are wonderful philosophical gems that are helpful no matter what your job title is. Some resonated louder than others; many felt directed at me specifically. Here are a few of the tips I’ve taken to heart.
Advice for New (Website) Parents
I know it’s only April, but 2014 has already been a pretty momentous year. The Internet turned 25; my wife, Eliza, and I had our first baby; and I had my one-year anniversary as a project manager at Newfangled. Over the last year, Eliza and I received an abundance of baby clothes, homemade meals, and child-rearing advice — both solicited and unsolicited. Interestingly, one piece of parenting advice I received from a friend makes a lot of sense for our clients, who are sort of like parents to their sites.
Designer Biases and Usability Testing
We’re all biased. This process is biased. In fact, all usability testing is biased because it tries to synthesize the experience of a user — it’s amazing how difficult it is to reproduce something as trivial as using a webpage in a way that actually helps us make that experience better! So, we’re not going to avoid biases entirely. But it does help to understand some of the core biases...
We Have Marketing Automation…Now What?
You've taken the plunge and made the investment in purchasing marketing automation software. Now you have all of these tools at your disposal but are unsure where to begin. The good news is that if you keep a few key principles in mind to focus your efforts in the right places, then you should see success in no time!
The Webinar Webinar
A List of Things Designers Think That Are Wrong
A list of things we think that are wrong...