The Web Project Guide

Corey and Deane discuss the four major parts of a content model — pages, blocks, aggregations, and integrations.

Then, Greg Dunlap, Director of Strategy at Lullabot, joins us to define a web integration, discuss the finer details of development risks and runtime risks — as well as real-time vs scheduled data — and praise the efficiency of using Google Docs as a workflow tool. Corey and Greg give Deane a music lesson, too.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations.

Show Notes:

• Greg Dunlap (@gregddunlap)
• Lullabot
• "Making Things Real" — Confab 2017
• Drupal 8's configuration management system
• Web Content Delivery Systems
• This Must Be the Place — A podcast about communities and the people who build, support, and live in them
• You Should Write a Book — Katel LeDû & Lisa Maria Marquis
• Black Marks on Wood Pulp — Corey's music newsletter

Corey asks Deane about his ideal web design, and Deane talks about how CSS ruined the web. (He's kidding, mostly.)

Then, Sam Otis, lead designer at Blend Interactive and designer of The Web Project Guide, joins us to talk about his history in design — from Flash to responsive web design, what young designers need to know about the web, and what he wishes clients would stop doing.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design.

Show Notes:

• Sam Otis (@sam_otis)
• verysamish
• Instagram — @verysamish
• "Responsive Web Design" — Eathan Marcotte, A List Apart

Corey and Deane talk briefly about how hard it is to run a conference.

Then, Sarah Winters, founder of Content Design London and author of Content Design, joins to discuss the difference between content design and content strategy, writing and designing for accessibility, and the work it takes to turn a big ship toward lasting content change.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 12: Write for People and Machines.

Show Notes:

• Sarah Winters (@escmum)
• Content Design London (Twitter: @ContentDesignLN)
• Content Design, by Sarah Winters
• "Always Bet on Text," by graydon2
• Microsoft — Inclusive Design
• Lisa Moore
• GOV.UK
• "Alpha is for learning, beta is for doing," by Hinrich von Haaren
• Dive Into Accessibilty (PDF), by Mark Pilgrim

Corey and Deane chat about the first time they realized they really liked content modeling, and how modeling is the hidden language of content.

Then, Jeff Eaton, partner at Autogram, joins to define content modeling, the concept of content reuse (and its many issues), and the balance between philosophical modeling and actually doing the work in spreadsheets.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 11: Model Your Content.

Show Notes:

• Jeff Eaton (@eaton)
• Eaton.fyi
• Autogram
• Planning Beyond the Page," a short talk for Digital Services Georgia
• The Battle for the Body Field," A List Apart
• Grady Booch
• Unified Modeling Language
• Structured Writing, by Mark Baker
• Brindlewood Bay

Corey and Deane chat about Information Architecture for the World Wide Web — "The Polar Bear Book" — and then our experiences with information organization in real life.

Then, Lisa Maria Marquis, author of Everyday Information Architecture and You Should Write a Book, joins to discuss how to frame information architecture for those who aren't web people, the hidden biases in organizing content, and a bit about why you should write your own book. (We also take a critical look at Lisa Maria's bookshelf.)

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 10: Organize Your Content.

Show Notes and Further Discussion:

• Lisa Maria Marquis (@redsesame)
• Everyday Information Architecture
• You Should Write a Book
• The Future Is Like Pie
• A Book Apart
• Information Architecture for the Web and Beyond, by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, and Jorge Arango
• A Perfect Mess, by David H. Freedman and Eric Abrahamson

Corey and Deane talk a little about that time Kristina Halvorson (founder of Brain Traffic, co-author of Content Strategy for the Web, and executive producer of Confab and Button) visited Sioux Falls.

Then, Kristina chats with us about content strategy — defining content strategy vs. content design, what tasks are often overlooked, and some basics on spinning up an internal web content team — including a bit of conference talk about the upcoming Button Conference.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 9: Develop a Strategy for Your Content.

Show Notes:

• Kristina Halvorson (@halvorson)
• Brain Traffic
• Confab
• Button
• Content Strategy for the Web — Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach
• The Content Strategy Toolkit — Meghan Casey
• Brain Traffic's content strategy quad
• Managing Chaos — Lisa Welchman
• Top Tasks: A How-to Guide — Gerry McGovern
• Content Maturity Model — Rahel Anne Bailie
• Leading Content Design — Rachel McConnell

Then, Jon Crowley, Senior Vice President of Strategy at Diamond Marketing Group, talks to us about the balance between data and insights — how to focus on questions rather than raw numbers, how to look for answers rather than "trying to be correct," and a when we can take data at face value. (He also gives us a tour of his shoe collection.)

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 8: Gather Insights From Your Metrics.

Show Notes:

• Jon Crowley (@joncrowley)
• Diamond Marketing
• "Your Funnel Isn't a Journey: Data vs. Insights" — Design/Content 2016
• A Benign Conspiracy

Corey and Deane talk about Blend CEO Karla Santi's recent selection as Small Business Person of the Year for South Dakota.

Then, Paula Ladenburg Land, author of The Content Inventory and Audit Handbook and principal at Strategic Content LLC, joins the podcast to talk about content inventories and content audits, including what separates the two, when and how to worry about auditing, and her first ever content inventory, which arrived as a spreadsheet on one-and-a-half inches of printed paper.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 7: Know Your Content.

Show Notes:

• Paula Land (@plland)
• Strategic Content, LLC
• The Content Inventory and Audit Handbook from XML Press
• The Content Strategy Term of the Week: "Content Inventory" from The Language of Content Strategy
• "Blend's Karla Santi Named South Dakota's Small Business Person of the Year" from Blend Interactive

Then, C. David Gammel, author of Online and On Mission, joins the podcast to talk about how to prioritize outcomes when stakeholders all have their own interests, understanding the expectations of those who use your website, and how to best introduce domain knowledge.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 6: Identify Outcomes and Expectations.

Show Notes:

• David Gammel (@davidgammel)
• McKinley Advisors
• McKinley Advisors posts by C. David Gammel
• Online and On Mission: Practical Web Strategy for Breakthrough Results — C. David Gammel
• Maximum Engagement — C. David Gammel
• "Domain Knowledge: What You Need – Or Don't Need – To Know" — Eating Elephant

Corey and Deane talk about Bleachers, music producers, and how understanding your audience increases sales (and helps create a website that fulfills the users' expectations).

Then, Erika Hall, author of Just Enough Research, joins the podcast to talk about research and interviewing the people who will visit your site — how to frame your interviews, how to incentivize your interviewees, and the difference between researching assumptions versus learning about user behaviors.

The Web Project Guide (webproject.guide) podcast is sponsored by Blend Interactive, a web strategy, design, and development firm dedicated to guiding teams through complicated web and content problems, from content strategy and design to CMS implementation and support.

Read Chapter 5: Identify Your Audiences.

Show Notes:

• Erika Hall (@mulegirl)
• Mule Design
• Just Enough Research — Erika Hall
• Conversational Design — Erika Hall
• Availability Bias
• "Hello, and Thanks for All the Fish" — Mule Design on Medium
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — Douglas Adams
• Publication Bias