A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 68, John Rogerson returns to the podcast to share more tips on efficient ExpressionEngine development.

Episode #68

In DRY Techniques with EE, John explains the DRY principle and how it relates to ExpressionEngine development. Basically the goal is to have efficient templates, not only in terms of how you develop but also how they are processed by EE.

John details how he build his templates, separating data controllers (channel queries) from views (HTML), and then using only one embed per template. If you'd like to visualize the approach he discusses, he posted an example on GitHub.

As John mentions in the episode, he's the sole EE developer working on the sites for Sewanee: The University of the South. As an independent developer myself, I know how important good workflows and efficient techniques are for easier maintenance and faster development, so I'm considering his DRY template example for my next project.

Have a listen yourself!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, we were going to talk about my least favorite (as in most confusing) aspect of working with web sites: .htaccess and regular expressions. However, with this week's release of EE v2.5, a few folks from EllisLab are joining us to talk about the update!

Check out our schedule to see when the .htaccess topic will be re-scheduled, as well as the other topics we've lined up.

And be sure you don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
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Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Don't Repeat Yourself, DRY, EE, EE Podcast, efficiency, embeds, ExpressionEngine, John Rogerson, optimization, podcasts, templates, templating

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

Since going freelance full-time (almost two full years ago, oh my!), my professional life has been a series of learning experiences. Of course, I'm picking up new techniques and attempting to master new technologies. But the most important lessons, I've discovered, have more to do with who I am (and how I handle myself) as a person and a professional.

When I worked as part of a team for my former employers, the success (or failure) of a project was distributed. Additionally, as the lowest person on the totem pole, my opinions rarely counted which pretty much led to me not voicing opinions. As such, I never really took the time to evaluate myself much outside of what I produced.

Now that I'm wholly responsible for my success, I'm starting to discover that I can make my projects better and my clients happier with more than excellent web design and dev. It isn't just the work I produce, but how I go about producing.

Ego, for instance, can be a major roadblock to any endeavor. Which is why I chose it as the topic for my April contribution to The Pastry Box Project.

Hard-Learned Lessons

As I detail in my Pastry Box contribution, ego can often be confused with passion and commitment. But, unlike passion and commitment, ego will hamper progress and even destroy a project.

I suspect I knew this early in my career, but youth and my ego itself rarely let me see a situation for what it was. Looking back, I can clearly see those times where my ego had to be right, and good communication and collaboration suffered as a result.

I also see it, sometimes, in the people I've worked with. And I see the havoc it creates not only within a group of colleagues, but in the project itself. The end result is almost always not what the group had hoped for in the beginning.

These days, I rarely need to rely on hindsight to see this. Past mistakes resonate with me, serving as guidepost whenever I start a new project or working relationship. That doesn't mean I don't struggle with my own ego at times … I do. But I finally have the awareness (and ability) to do something about it. This has made all the difference, not only in my professional life, but my personal life too.

Have a read yourself!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: business, ego, Emily Lewis, freelancing, humanity, relationships, shameless self promotion, The Pastry Box Project, writing

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 67, Lea and I talked with EllisLab CEO Leslie Camacho, who gave us the lowdown on running EllisLab as a virtual company.

Episode #67

In Remote Teams, Les talks to us about the differences between being a (relatively) independent remote worker and being part of a remote team. He shared some of the “growing pains” EllisLab experienced as it moved from 4 to 6 employees, and then again from 6 to 12. Les emphasized the importance of constant evaluation and adjustment of how the company is working, communicating and collaborating.

In particular, Les explained how EllisLab adopted a Scrum methodology and how it completely changed internal processes for the better, especially as EllisLab doubled in size. He also shared key applications and tools the team uses to stay in touch, as well as some of the legal and tax issues that a distributed company has to contend with.

If you've never had a chance to talk with Leslie or hear him speak, this is a don't-miss episode. Les is not only one of the nicest people I've ever met, he's sincere and genuine. And this comes across so well in our interview with him.

He truly wants to share knowledge for the better of the entire web (not just EE) community. I'm not overstating things to say that the kind of leadership he brings to and encourages within EllisLab makes me feel extremely confident about using EE as a foundation for my own business.

Have a listen yourself!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, John Rogerson will join us to talk about DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) techniques in EE.

Check out our schedule for even more great topics we've lined up, and be sure you don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes.

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: business, distributed companies, EE, EE Podcast, ExpressionEngine, Leslie Camacho, podcasts, remote teams, virtual companies

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 66, we discuss managing galleries natively with ExpressionEngine, as well as add-on options and front-end considerations.

Episode #66

In Gallery Options, Lea and I gathered a bunch of great information and resources for creating and managing image galleries. Of course, we discuss EE's native options, including what to do if you have a site using EE 1.x's Photo Gallery module, which is no longer part of ExpressionEngine.

We also talk about image galleries hosted and managed by a third-party service, like Flickr, and different add-ons available for this approach. Finally, we discuss some front-end concerns and our favorite tools for displaying images galleries on a site.

Have a listen yourself!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, the folks from EllisLab are joining us again with news and updates about EE.

Check out our schedule for even more great topics we've lined up, and be sure you don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes.

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: add-ons, EE, EE Podcast, ExpressionEngine, image galleries, images, podcasts, tips

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

I recently came across the following quote from sociologist and Harvard professor Charles Willie:

“By idolizing those whom we honor we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves. … We fail to recognize the fact that we could go and do likewise.”

This quote was the inspiration for my March contribution to The Pastry Box Project, which is now available for your reading pleasure!

Get Rid of the Pedestals

When I first read the quote from Dr. Willie, I immediately connected with the idea because I know it's true. Idolizing or idealizing someone else, while doubting and not challenging myself was the reality early in my career. I think it is for anyone new to our field … or any field, for that matter.

It's easy to see the great work and never the real person. It's easy to assume that the great work came without struggle. And it's easy to believe that the people behind the great work are somehow different and special.

But though it's easy, it's a terrible mindset to have and it can be a roadblock to important connections. So for my March Pastry Box, I discuss how idealizing our colleagues not only hurts us, it hurts them.

Go read it!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: colleagues, cut people some slack, Emily Lewis, humanity, idols, quotes, relationships, shameless self promotion, The Pastry Box Project, writing

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

Script Junkie, the tutorial site I've been writing for since 2010, has been fairly quiet lately. That's because they've been making a move to MSDN Magazine.

Now the move is (mostly) complete (aside from a few URL redirects they are still addressing), and tutorials should return to a regular publishing schedule. I've seen some of the topics lined up, and they are not to be missed!

Speaking of not to be missed, I wrote an article for Script Junkie in the midst of their move and it's finally live! Flexibility: A Foundation for Responsive Design covers the process I followed for creating a flexible layout for the EE Podcast site.

Setting the Stage for Responsive Design

Like many web designers/developers, I'm interested in the responsive design trend. When I first heard of it, I thought it was primarily about media queries. In fact, I gave media queries a try on my freelance site. But, as I wrote about the experience, I didn't quite reach my goal of a truly responsive site. And what I did accomplish was far from efficient.

After reading Ethan Marcotte's Responsive Web Design and hearing him speak about the process, I had my lightbulb moment. Responsive design isn't just about media queries. It also involves having a flexible layout (among many other aspects).

So, when it came time to develop the new EE Podcast site last June, I decided I wanted to build the layout with flexible methods. Flexibility: A Foundation for Responsive Design details my process, which included not only making my structure (widths, padding, margins) flexible, but also my fonts.

If you listen to the EE Podcast, you may have already heard me talking about this process in episode 52. If you haven't, I recommend listening to it and then follow up with my Script Junkie article to get a more concrete perspective.

Go read it!

P.S. As I mentioned, the MSDN Magazine is still working on Script Junkie URL redirects. In my article, I reference a previous SJ article and the URL is (currently) broken. Here's the correct link: Respond to Different Devices With CSS3 Media Queries.

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Emily Lewis, flexible design, fluid design, layout, media queries, MSDN Magazine, responsive web design, Script Junkie, shameless self promotion, writing

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 65, Lea and I share some time-saving techniques to help make your ExpressionEngine workflows more efficient.

Episode #65

In Time-Saving Tips & Techniques, we talk about ways we've learned to work faster with EE, including speeding up the update process, as well as the role of pre-development planning. We also share time-saving tips from listeners about navigation and installs.

Interestingly, the theme seemed to be you have to spend time to save time. At least half of our suggestions require some initial time investment, which is absolutely worth it for the long-term time savings.

Have a listen yourself!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, Lea and I will be talking about building image galleries in ExpressionEngine.

Check out our schedule for even more great topics we've lined up, and be sure you don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes.

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: EE, EE Podcast, efficiency, ExpressionEngine, podcasts, time-saving tips

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure! And this one is already in my Top 10!

For episode 64, we talk about selling ExpressionEngine with EllisLab's Marcus Neto and Brad Parscale of Parscale Media and DevDemon.

Episode #64

In one of my favorite episodes so far, Marcus and Brad return to the podcast for Selling EE. But more than just ExpressionEngine, the guys shared so much information about selling web services, in general.

Lea and I talk with Brad about the over 400 EE web sites his agency has delivered, as well as how he's managed sales as his agency has evolved with bigger clients. Brad offered a wealth of specific tips and recommendations that were immediately relevant to me as a full-time freelancer.

We then talked with Marcus about his new role evangelizing EE for EllisLab. Marcus describes the demos and outreach he's doing to spread the word about EE, which invariably helps those of us who sell ExpressionEngine to our clients. Before his time with EllisLab, Marcus also ran his own agency and he shared some of his own experiences selling EE from that perspective.

Such incredibly useful information in this one! Don't miss it!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, Lea and I will be sharing tips and tricks for efficient ExpressionEngine development.

Check out our schedule for even more great topics we've lined up, and be sure you don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes.

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Brad Parscale, business, EE Podcast, EE podcasts, ExpressionEngine, freelancing, Marcus Neto, sales, selling

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

There's a new podcast in town, The Non-Breaking Space Show!

Hosted by Christopher Schmitt and Dave McFarland — with the editing and production talent of Chris Enns — the show features interviews with “best and brightest on the web.”

Already the show has talked with such great and talented guests as Ethan Marcotte, Paul Irish and Chris Coyier. And the third episode is an interview with me!

A Well-Rounded Discussion

It was a complete pleasure talking with Dave and Chris, who also happen to be some of the best and brightest on the web themselves. We had a great discussion that went from microformats to freelancing, with a lot of info and laughs in between.

We first talked about structured data and the differences between microdata, microformats and RDFa. We also discussed schema.org and my personal opinions about its impact on microformats, search and semantic data.

The discussion then shifted to my current adventure freelancing. I talked about some of the challenges I've had getting started, what I've learned in (almost) two years and several of my favorite resources for managing my business.

Have a listen!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Emily Lewis, freelancing, microdata, microformats, podcasts, schema.org, semantic markup, semantics, shameless self promotion, The Non-Breaking Space Show

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 63, we talk with Aaron Gustafson about progressive enhancement and his book Adaptive Web Design.

Episode #63

In Progressive Enhancement, Aaron joins us to discuss a layered approach to front-end development that focuses on the user and accessibility (using the broadest definition of the term).

Lea and I first talk with Aaron about his book — available in print and digital — which we both read prior to the interview (great incentive!). Aaron then clarified the difference between progressive enhancement and graceful degradation (a confusing point for me, for years). Aaron also detailed the process of developing with progressive enhancement, as well as some approaches he has taken using ExpressionEngine. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Have a listen yourself.

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, Marcus Neto is joining us again (and everyone rejoiced)! This time, Marcus will be discussing selling EE with Brad Parscale of DevDemon.

Check out our schedule for even more great topics we've lined up, and be sure you don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes.

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Aaron Gustafson, Adaptive Web Design, EE, EE Podcast, ExpressionEngine, podcasts, progressive enhancement

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!