All entries filed under “CTRL+CLICK CAST”
Mobile design. It’s complex. From the open nature of the web to the walled gardens of native apps, there is no one “right” way to design for small screens. In the latest CTRL+CLICK, designer Wren Lanier helps us navigate the nuances of mobile design, from the context of her experience designing the Highrise CRM product, originally created by 37Signals. Wren details the differences between native and web mobile design, and shares tips for deciding when a native app is the best fit vs. when responsive web makes sense. We also discuss the unique challenges of both native and web mobile design, and the overlaps between the two. Tune in now!
Thanks to Craft for sponsoring this episode!
Flat file CMS = small sites? Not always! In this week’s CTRL+CLICK Daniel Fowler makes the case for using Statamic at a larger scale for the University of Georgia College of Education! We talk about the technical benefits and limitations of Statamic at such a scale, and how he overcame some challenges and current issues he still faces. We also dive into the realities of managing a large project, juggling priorities and his team, and the interesting organizational aspects of large sites.
Tune in now! Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring!
While all ecommerce projects have some commonalities, they tend to span a wide range of needs … from different types of “saleables” to different checkout workflows to different content management requirements. Further complicating things, developers (and clients) have even more options than ever for their ecommerce needs.
To help us navigate this complex ecommerce landscape, Pixel & Tonic’s Luke Holder joins the show to talk about the forthcoming first-party Craft plugin, Commerce. But first, we talk about ecommerce in general: commonalities, challenges, gateways, shipping and taxes (oh my!). We then turn to Craft Commerce, discussing why Luke joined P&T and how the process of building Commerce has been. Luke shares what makes the Commerce plugin unique (flexibility and an elegant UX, to name a few) and the types of commerce it supports. Tune in now!
Thanks to Craft for sponsoring this episode!
In this week’s episode, front-end developer Megan Zlock and art director Owen Shifflett talk about how to make designer-developer work more harmonious. Long story short: empathy. Long story long: tune in to hear how to make conversations more productive, how to collaborate, common issues between designers and developers—and how to fix!—while emphasizing the need for empathy not just for the project and client, but with each other.
Tune in now! Thanks to EllisLab for sponsoring!
Traditional wireframes can be an important part of the UX process, but they lack one key ingredient essential for a website: they aren’t interactive. Enter Live Wires, a framework for web-based wireframes that introduce the interactive experience sooner in process.
For the latest CTRL+CLICK CAST, we talk with Travis Gertz, creator of Live Wires. Travis shares how Live Wires came about, and we all share the benefits we’ve experienced using them. We also discuss the pros and cons of frameworks in general, and why Live Wires is so powerful because it is intentionally flexible and non-prescriptive. And we have a broader conversation about the “sameness” we see in the industry, and how we all can push our creative boundaries. Tune in now!
Thanks to Craft for sponsoring this episode!
In this week’s episode, CodeIgniter vet turned Perch convert Phil Smith joins the show to discuss why he chooses to almost exclusively develop CMS projects in Perch. We talk about the types of sites Perch basic is best for, when to move to the more robust Perch Runway, and discuss an actual client project where Phil uses the upcoming Shop ecommerce plugin. We also discuss what we, as developers, generally look for in a CMS.
Tune in now! Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring!
In this week’s CTRL+CLICK, we tackle professionalism in the web industry with creative director and SuperFriendly founder Dan Mall. We talk about definitions and standards, how employee professionalism is different compared to an owner’s, as well as communication styles based on context and purpose. We all share anecdotes of where we’ve failed to behave professionally, how we behave now and what we consider important as professionals. We also share resources that help raise the the bar of professionalism for our web industry. Tune in now!
Thanks to Craft for sponsoring!
An accessible website is one that benefits everyone! In this week’s episode, accessibility advocate and developer Greg Tarnoff educates us on the benefits of accessibility for developers, designers and project leads … not to mention users! We discuss scenarios and examples where accessibility is needed, along with myths regarding accessibility practices. Greg also shares resources that will help you make your site available to a larger swath of people!
Tune in now! Thanks to EllisLab for sponsoring!
Knowing what your CMS is capable of is essential for not only choosing the right CMS for your projects, but building the right solutions within that CMS. For the latest CTRL+CLICK CAST, we take a deeper look at Twig, the templating language for Craft CMS with special guest Andrew Welch. We discuss some of the features that developers should consider for faster, more efficient development … namely filters and macros. Andrew shares real-world cases for using both, including localization and logic for complex looping. And while Craft/Twig is the focus, we also talk about best practices for any developer: working through a solution in advance of building it, documentation (then more documentation), and taking time to practice. Tune in now!
Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring this episode!
As web developers, we often love to dive straight into planning and implementing the structure of a website. But all of that is meaningless without the right content to bolster user experience and further business goals.
In this week’s episode, content strategist and expert Steph Hay drives home the importance of content-first design. She gives real-world examples of questions and conversations that have you understand the client or customer’s language better, and how content-first design ultimately makes us get our work done faster, while simultaneously communicating more effectively.
Tune in now! Thanks to Craft for sponsoring!
Performance and site speed is important for many client sites, especially as they grow, but knowing where to begin optimizing can be a bit of a mystery. In this week’s episode, ExpressionEngine vet Anna Brown stops by the show to explain her experience diagnosing EE site issues using the New Relic service. Anna explains how New Relic’s graphs and transaction data can reveal exact site and database issues in order for you to tweak site performance for a faster site. We also talk about client budgets, practicalities when doing performance diagnostics, and even front-end considerations when optimizing an site.
Tune in now! Thanks to EllisLab for sponsoring!
The state of web education dictates the state of our industry, in terms of developing and finding talent. Does our current education system prepare students for the realities of working in the web industry and being good professionals and employees?
In this week’s episode, UX expert and Center Centre co-founder Dr. Leslie Jensen-Inman talks about the state of UX web education (past and present), and share resources to help you on your user experience journey — both as a teacher and as a student. We discuss details on what the real-world industry needs in terms of talent and what Center Centre is trying to do to fill that need, as well as ideas on what makes a good teacher and student. Also, she urges our peers to help others know more about the path to a UX career.
Tune in now! Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring!
From DRY techniques to the new hotness, atomic design, there’s no question that web development is becoming increasingly modular. And web components are part of that evolution towards modularity, but many devs remain uncertain about why, when and how to use them.
ExpressionEngine veteran and front-end expert John Rogerson returns to the show to help de-mystify web components. We get into basic definitions and use cases, and John offers great analogies to web dev approaches we are all already familiar with. We discuss the pros of web components (modularity, extensibility) and the cons (new spec, undefined standards, accessibility). And John shares his favorite resources for understanding and getting started with web components. Tune in now!
Thanks to EllisLab for sponsoring this episode!
In this week’s episode, long-time EE community member Angie Herrera stops by the show to discuss—gasp!— WordPress! She discusses why her firm, Block 81, has decided to add it back into their arsenal, while comparing it to the other CMSs in their toolkit. We chat about the best scenarios WordPress is suited for, as well as the times it’s the wrong fit and when it’s time to look at solutions beyond WP like EE, Craft and Statamic.
Tune in now! Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring!
No matter who you are or whether you realize it, diversity (or lack of) affects you. Just look at the news from Silicon Valley any day of the week, and it is clear our web/tech industry struggles with diversity. Which is why we need to talk about it.
For the latest CTRL+CLICK CAST, diversity advocates Ashe Dryden and Faruk Ateş join the show to offer their perspectives on ways to improve diversity in tech. We discuss the difference between diversity and inclusion, why both remain a challenge for tech companies and the tech community, and things we can each do to affect change for the better. Ashe offers suggestions for companies and the community as a whole to become more empathetic and aware. Faruk talks about ways to make tech events and conferences more diverse, from an organizer, speaker and attendee perspective. And our entire conversation draws parallels with the challenges of embracing accessibility in design and development.
Tune in now! Thanks to EllisLab for sponsoring this episode!
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