What Are Your Google Core Web Vitals, and Why Should You Care?
Starting on May 21, 2021, Google will roll out its new Core Web Vitals initiative, leaving many website owners questioning, “What does this really mean for me and my site?” In short, Google makes fairly regular updates to their algorithms, some of which turn out to be more significant than others. But Core Web Vitals represents what could be an important change in the rules of engagement for SEO...
Drupal vs. Wordpress: Choosing Which CMS to Use
Our team works almost interchangeably in Drupal and WordPress, and we’re often tasked with making a CMS recommendation for our clients. Why Is It So Tricky to Determine Which One Is Right for You? There’s a lot of information about choosing Drupal vs. Wordpress, and most of it comes from a biased source that ultimately wants to promote their preferred platform. Both will sound like compelling...
Drupal to WordPress or Vice Versa: What to Do When It’s Time to Migrate
Does your website currently reside on a Drupal core that is nearing its end of life deadline or a WordPress platform that doesn’t feel quite like the right fit? If you’re under the impression that the grass would be greener on another CMS, here are a few issues to consider before making a move toward migration. Our team is well versed in working in both WordPress and Drupal, and we find both to...
Choosing a Content Management System: Is Proprietary or Open Source the Best Fit?
Choosing the right content management system (CMS) is arguably one of the most important decisions you’ll make in approaching a new website project or upgrade. You need to understand the long-term costs and the amount of effort it will take to manage — and you want to ensure that it ultimately provides the user experience you’re looking for. In recommending the right fit to our clients, we are...
10 Tenets All Web Developers Should Follow
In my time working with and managing teams of developers, I've continually added to a mental list of traits and behaviors that make someone a great teammate. I decided to write them down. Somewhat surprisingly, it has less to do with coding ability than you might think. Below is a list of 10 tenets that all of our new developers are introduced to on their first day at Eastern Standard. 1. The...
Making Uncertainty Your Secret Weapon: How to Get Ahead of the Curve
Flux . It’s a strange place for any business to operate, and Eastern Standard is no exception. Our teams have all transitioned to working remotely, and while we’re moving along pretty seamlessly in that area, the thing we miss most is the regular interactions with one another and with our clients. This is a deeply personal business, and removing all face-to-face interaction just feels so foreign...
A Guide to Web Accessibility for Designers, Content Managers, and Developers
There's a lot of web accessibility information online, but it's not always easy to get a concise overview of best practices for WCAG/ADA compliance for your team. As a result, I've created this brief handbook on web accessibility. Table of Contents Introduction Why Accessibility Matters What It Means to Have an Accessible Website How and When Designers Should Think About Accessibility How and...
Which Aria Attributes Should I Use? Accessibility and Aria Tags for Common UI Patterns
In this post, I've attempted to track down and document best practices recommendations for creating accessible versions of various UI components: Choose a UI component to see accessibility and aria attribute recommendations: Hamburger Menus / Push Menus Accordions Dropdown Menus Hamburger Menus / Push Menus The "hamburger" menu, where an icon or button triggers a flyout or "push menu" from the...
Rules for Implementing Top-Level Section Landing Pages
I have strong feelings about how top-level pages in your navigation should be a) designed and b) incorporated into the flow of a website. I think they’re often implemented in a sub-optimal way, so I’ve written my thoughts here. I’ll summarize these rules concisely for those of you just browsing, but I’ll unpack my thoughts a bit more below: Top-level pages should serve the exclusive purpose of...
Solving UX Challenges for Hospitals and Health Systems
The public website ecosystem for large healthcare organizations often comes with uniquely complex challenges. Multiple physical locations in an organization’s network often leads to a scattered array of websites with separate databases, siloed content organization, different visual experiences for patients, and distinct brand identities. All of this confusion fights against the goals of a...
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