Hi friends ππ» In between client projects, I'm still working β incrementally β on the refresh of the Blue Hills Digital website that I started talking about in May. I started pushing some updates live last week, and decided to keep a public changelog of these updates, to keep me moving forward, and to give you some insight into all the steps it takes to overhaul an existing website. This is part of a series in which I'm writing about the process of refreshing the Blue Hills Digital website.I...
8 days agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week, a super-helpful new resource to help you understand website accessibility guidelines. Useful if you're a website manager interacting with a developer or agency, AND if you're developing content for a website and need to understand your responsibilities even if you're not touching the code. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Making WCAG easier to understand If you're a website owner (or designer/developer),...
15 days agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hi friends ππ» Yesterday I wrote up a project scope for a (likely) client to tackle a WordPress website they couldn't access π€ͺ Read on to hear how this happened, how unfortunately common this is, and how to avoid it happening to you. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Why having a website you can't access is more common than you might think. If you're lucky enough to work in a well-resourced setting and have your ducks in a row, you...
22 days agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi friends ππ» Picture this: You manage your organization's website It's summer, and your co-workers with the urgent deadlines are all out on vacation ποΈ You remember how busy work got as soon as September hit last year Is that you? Keep reading ... Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page If you are the person I described above, this is a great timeβand perhaps the only timeβfor you to take a step back and evaluate what needs the most...
30 days agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hi friends ππ» Two weeks ago I wrote an email about creating custom content types on a website. It generated some responses and questions, so I'm following up with an example I'm working on right now where we realized we need a "Story" content type. If you want to go back and read that original email it's here:β‘οΈ "When "pages" and "posts" aren't enough" Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page This "blog" is really a mix of two content...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hi friends ππ» A quick, thought-provoker this week, based on a recent client success! What role does your website play as your organization tries to secure new funding or major gifts? Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page "Our Letter of Inquiry was limited to 1,500 characters!" A client recently got the opportunity to write a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) to a major foundation here in the US β the first step in potentially being awarded a...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week's topic: content types, and when it makes sense to branch out beyond just pages and posts on your website. This is part of a series in which I'm writing about the process of refreshing the Blue Hills Digital website.I introduced the project in my Digital Landscape email on May 20. If you missed it, read that email here! Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page What do I mean by content types? Websites are...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 4 min read
Hi friends ππ» If you're entire website suddenly goes offline and visitors see an error message, you would want to know, right? This happened to a big chunk of the internet last week, and I have some advice to share! Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page How do you find out when your website goes down? When your website goes offline, how would you rather find out? When someone texts you or posts on social media to complain that they...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week's topic: font selection, and how to make sure you're balancing beautiful typography with website performance! This is part of a series in which I'm writing about the process of refreshing the Blue Hills Digital website.I introduced the project in my Digital Landscape email on May 20. If you missed it, read that email here! Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Your font selection shows up everywhere. First,...
2 months agoΒ β’Β 5 min read