Blog

Web Words Explained: Content Management System

tabathap — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The meaning is supposed to be simple. The omniscient information source known as Wikipedia currently defines a content management system, or CMS, as "a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment"... Say what!?

Of course, this isn't the first time LevelTen has explained the meaning of a content management system and why you need one. The thing is, we can break this definition down a little further.

Is Your Site Design 2012 Compliant?

gretchenv — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:11:00 +0000

I recently heard someone on TV say, “I’m a woman of the tens .…” Ha, I had never thought about it but I guess what else would you call this decade?

I am starting off my third year of the tens with a bang, as the new web designer for Level Ten Interactive. As I settle in with my brand new colleagues in this brand new year, I’ve been reflecting on my goals for my client work at Level Ten. I’ve decided one of my top priorities is to make our clients’ sites look “of the tens.” But what does it mean to be “of the tens?”

Web Words Explained: Open Source Software

tabathap — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

I’ll let you in on a secret. Like many of you, I’m new to Drupal. Despite having a strong background in content management, Drupal is unexplored territory. I remember what it was like in the beginning as I learned to develop new sites. We all remember a point when we were baffled by basic applications like posting blogs, and terms like “CMS”, or “open source” seemed foreign.

Socialize your Drupal site in 5 Easy Steps

Tom — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:10:07 +0000

A modern day web presence is not just your website. To be successful you have to expand your digital footprint to include social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube. You need to enable your site visitors to Tweet, Like, +1 and share your content on the likes of StumbleUpon and Reddit.

To create a rich connected user experience, you need to do more than just link to social media. You need to integrate familiar social engagement directly into your website.

Release of Drupal 7 Content Analysis & Optimizer modules

Tom — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:38:06 +0000

During 2011 the list of requests to port the Drupal SEO Tools suite had grown quite long. After a few months of brushing up on the new D7 changes, I finally got a chance to sit down and do some programming over the holidays. So for all of you who have been encouraging the D7 ports, I give you the Drupal 7 release of Content Analysis and Content Optimizer.

If you are not familiar with what these modules do, let's review.

Drupal Mega Menus Made Simple

Mark Carver — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:15:50 +0000

Have you ever made a Drupal site where the design called for implementing one or more mega-menus? Have you spent countless hours downloading module after module and hacking your theme's template file to get the code to insert at just the right place?

LevelTen Interactive introduces: Menu Views

How to Write a Headline for Your Blog That Will Knock People Out With Its Sheer Amazingness

Sumeeta Kumar — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:37:41 +0000

Your headline is the equivalent of your physical appearance in the web world. It’s the short skirt that captures that cute guy’s eye. It’s that sexy hairstyle and ivy league degree that makes that gal look twice. Because people are surfing the web at rapid intervals, and everyone has developed acute ADHD as a result, it is imperative to grab your audience’s attention in 2 seconds or less, and to rope them into giving your blog or article a read. The Huffington Post is great at this. Celeb rags are great at this.

The Decline of Greeting Cards

Brent — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:18:04 +0000

The decline of personalized greeting cards has left my refrigerator bare this year. Usually wrapped with family pictures, season greetings and magnets, it now stands naked; shivering in the cold winter nights that have approached. What about the cards of years past? Will they not have an opportunity to welcome new comers to their shoebox home? It seems Gmail and Facebook have become their new resting place. This hardly seems fair.

How to Create Great Content for the Web

Sumeeta Kumar — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:23:14 +0000

Content is king. In our modern day, people are bombarded with blogs, videos, articles and photos every single time they turn their computer on. Essentially, people are being shouted at all day long, and so their natural inclination is to tune marketers out. You must EARN their attention. The thing that will allow your company to stand out among the clutter is the quality of content that you churn out. Create remarkable content to connect online with your buyers, and it will bring you back both tangible and intangible rewards.

Responsible Responsive Drupal Themes

Mark Carver — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:06:21 +0000

After being introduced to the concept of responsive web theming, I took to it like a duck in water. I was pleased with the well documented contributed Drupal base theme, Omega based on the 960.gs grid. This amazing framework provides a plethora amount of configurable options, scalability and an overall sense of structure. I will not be covering any technical space-talk or how to configure Omega in this blog. If you would like to learn more about Omega, please visit the following site for more information: http://omega.developmentgeeks.com.

Nobody Wants a Website

Randall Knutson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:36:25 +0000

Why do you want a website? Because everyone else has one? That's a really terrible reason. Websites are really tools to accomplish a goal. Too many companies set out to build a website without fully thinking this through.

Let me give you an example.

Widget herding made simple - Introducing the Widgets module

Tom — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:31:52 +0000

Have you ever needed to put Service links or ShareThis into block? How about AddToAny in a node link? Want to have different share buttons per content type? Want a simple way to add the latest widgets from Twitter, Facebook or Google to your site. Want to enable admins to customize widgets without having to dig into the API docs? It's time to start wrangling in all those widgets.

Checkup: Drupal coming to the Healthcare & Medical Industry

Chris — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:27:49 +0000

Healthcare, love it or hate it, it's not going away and in fact the healthcare industry is booming and continues to grow. Almost daily we hear about some revolutionary break through in medicine that will help us to lead longer healthier lives. The web has made sharing knowledge and information easier and easier and the emergence of smart phones allows anyone to access years of historical data at their fingertips.

Tutr.tv: Top Videos of the Week

Sumeeta Kumar — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:57:46 +0000

Apps: Drupal Simplified
by: Dallas Drupal User Group

How to Motivate Your Employees

Sumeeta Kumar — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:48:11 +0000

As a company, it is imperative to have the very best team you possibly can. A strong team is one that stands by its leader, advocates for its company brand on and off the clock, and that genuinely wants the best for its company. The disputes between American Airlines' executives and its employees, and the company’s subsequent bankruptcy,

What are social media widgets? Oooh, give me.

Tom — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:25:22 +0000

The web has gone crazy for social media widgets. What's not to love? Magic little boxes that connect our sites to the social power of the web in convenient little code snippets. They are all the rage with the hip, in-the-know online pundits.

5 Basic Principles For Creating a Strong Brand

Brent — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:15:37 +0000

LevelTen’s team recently had a brand discussion over lunch regarding our website. Questions like - does out website positively promote our brand? What is our message? Do we communicate to potential customers in a way that is easily understandable? I can’t say I was very surprised when the overwhelming consensus was that it needed significant improvement.

Unleashing the Power of Drupal on Your Theme

Mark Carver — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:30:13 +0000

People love changing things around. Wouldn't it be nice if people could easily swap out images on their home page or even change the background of the theme. Granted, I usually advise against the latter scenario as many people think they know what looks good, but don't realize that their camping escapade isn't always enjoyable by all. However, it can be done! What I think is more important is that it can be done intuitively.

Apps: Making Drupal Distributions Work

Tom — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:58:12 +0000

It is amazing in three short years how much more powerful and easy to use Drupal distributions have come. Three years ago I spent the holidays converting our base Drupal installation into a distribution. Friday, we launched the fourth generation of the OpenEnterprise distribution, built in Drupal 7 leveraging Apps. Distros have come a long way baby!

Social Media 201

Sumeeta Kumar — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:23:35 +0000

Social media is defined as “a new way of marketing where a company has a two-way conversation about itself.”

Here are some interesting statistics to consider when implementing this crucial business mechanism:

Only 14% of people actually believe what you say about yourself (advertising and marketing messages) therefore instead of focusing on company motives, commercials should serve as mini-movies that entertain people so they will associate that feeling with your brand. Here's a great example.