Last week, WP Engine employees from all over the U.S. came together at our Austin headquarters for the first biannual All-Hands event of 2019. All Hands is a two-day event in which employees from other offices and teams around the country get the chance to collaborate and strategize with one another. This year’s theme was “Boldly Go” in honor of the famous sci-fi saga Star Trek. This event agenda was full of events to help nurture growth at both the individual level as well as company-wide. Not to mention, we got to have some fun!
Events on the agenda included team lunches, information sessions, inspirational speeches, a Hackathon, advice panels, trivia, and...
Every year it can feel like the holidays sneak up on us. We assemble, we strategize, and we take the necessary precautions yet we frequently feel like we are scrambling. For ecommerce businesses, this time of year is crucial not only for generating revenue but for generating recurrent relationships
It comes then as no surprise that Gartner forecasts worldwide enterprise security spending to total $96.3 billion in 2018. Organizations are spending more on security as a result of these incidents, increased regulations, shifting buyer mindsets, awareness of emerging threats and higher levels of
Sifting through the thousands of themes in existence today is a daunting task, and finding the right one for your website is just part of the challenge. No one wants to trust their portfolio, online magazine, or e-commerce site to just any formulaic theme. Making sure it’s well designed, well
Crypto Micropayments: An Exciting Future of Blockchain Transactions
There are plenty of transactions that occur which could benefit from the security and speed of blockchain, from making secure in-store purchases and the buying of tickets to events like sports matches and concerts. Blockchain also gives us a much-needed layer of confidence in keeping age-restricted
The Future of Blockchain: Technology Partnerships with AI, Bots, and IoT
Then, certain combinations of technology provide a more universal benefit like when you combine AI, chatbots, and blockchain. And, more businesses and consumers are becoming accustomed to the idea of interacting with a chatbot. According to Chatbots Magazine, “Chatbots that operate in various
IoT solution to supply chain management
Smart supply chain is seen to be the ultimate solution for the existing problems. It makes the asset traceable, identifiable and interactive. In addition, it reduces costs and brings visibility to the processes in SCM. Internet of Things (IoT) is the underlying technology that enables this
UX Mapping Methods Compared: A Cheat Sheet
Think of service blueprints as a part two to customer journey maps. Similar to customer journey maps, blueprints are instrumental in complex scenarios spanning many service-related offerings. Blueprinting is an ideal approach to experiences that are omnichannel, involve multiple touchpoints, or
wp engine all hands spring 2019: us
The Four Dimensions of Tone of Voice
A quick Google search for “tone-of-voice words” will surface lists of hundreds of words used to describe literary tones. (Most of them come from websites for undergraduate English courses). You’ll quickly notice that most of those words have very specific meanings and connotations (e.g
‘Our Users Are Everyone’: Designing Mass-Market Products for Large User Audiences
One big problem with failing to define your users occurs when you evaluate the design. If you plan a research study with no restrictions on who can participate, you could easily end up with all your participants being quite similar to each other. This is no problem if your system is only intended
Direct Manipulation: Definition
Because the objects of interest and the potential actions in the system are visually represented, users can use recognition instead of recall to see what they could do and select an operation most likely to fulfill their goal. They don’t have to learn and remember complex syntax. Thus, although
Top 10 Intranet Trends of 2016
Because mega menus don’t work in a phone UI, designers often use a mega menu for desktop navigation, and an accordion or some other option for mobile navigation. Some teams opt for menu UIs that translate easily from desktop to mobile. One such pattern popular this year is the vertical navigation
7 Tips for Successful Customization
Users often won’t bother to customize the site, even if the system is clear and simple to use. Because of this, don’t depend on customization to make a good experience. Generic site experiences, with no customization, should be strong enough to support users. You do not want a user staring at
The User Experience of Customer-Service Chat: 20 Guidelines
Chat is a popular means for contacting customer service. To be effective, it needs to be easy to find and supply prompt, clear, and detailed responses. Companies should be upfront about using bots to help users calibrate their language and their expectations. They should also avoid empty or
wp engine all hands spring 2019: us
Contextual Menus: Delivering Relevant Tools for Tasks
Though there are many ways to trigger and present contextual menus, at their core, these UI elements aim to provide users with the most important commands and relevant tools they need to complete tasks easily within their given context. For more on designing effective contextual menus, take our
Optimizing for Context in the Omnichannel User Experience
Geico’s mobile-application experience was optimized for the mobile-device capabilities and the mobile users’ needs. For example, the app allowed fingerprint authentication with iOS Touch ID and emphasized information and tools that may be needed while traveling (e.g., roadside assistance
Sliders, Knobs, and Matrices: Balancing Exploration and Precision
In a recent usability study, a user working with Adobe Photoshop on a PC ran into difficulties when using the Transparency slider in combination with the keyboard command to zoom in (ALT+Scroll wheel): since the keyboard focus moved to the fine-input control, an error beep was played each time he
Exhaustive Review or "I Can't Believe It's Not There" Phenomenon
On the Kohler site, participants’ eyes gravitated towards the upper left area containing the KOHLER Worldwide icon and dropdown, and the BATHROOM menu. Some alternated looking at each of these items a few times (also an example of exhaustive review), before eventually moving their gazes to
Expandable Menus: Pull-Down, Square, or Pie?
Note that the time it takes to reach the first element in the menu is shorter than the time it takes to reach any other element in the menu — simply because the distance to that first element is shorter than the distance to the second element, which is shorter than the distance to the third
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
Finally, Hathaway sees this as a unique opportunity for the United States to work with countries around the world, and with organizations on an extremely local level. “We cannot succeed if our government works in isolation,” she added. It requires “leading from the top” from
Quick Streaming from Anywhere: 10 Best VPNs for IPTV
Moreover, Surfshark provides its users with a free trial for seven days. It has a money-back policy allowing you to get your money back within 30 days or to discontinue use for any reason. Choosing this VPN service provides a highly cost-effective two-year plan. Subscribing for two years gives you
3 Tips to Convert a Data Science Internship into a Job
Transitioning from an internship into a high-paying career is hard. In the data science world, the competition for employment is intense. While there still are a lot of unfilled roles out there, most of them require something slightly more than just a textbook education. The best way to make the
Elements to Help You Develop Emotional Intelligence
You took some time off work to get some extra chores done around your home. You need a break and decide that a 15-minute break is what you want to take. During your break you became lost in your thoughts and you’re in a quasi-hypnotic state. You glance over at the clock only to notice that it
wp engine all hands spring 2019: us
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
She explained that the original design of the Internet was driven more by considerations of interoperability rather than security, and as a result we are now faced with almost insurmountable issues. Some examples include online criminals who steal our information, mass bandits who have the ability
Focusing On Debt Consolidation Helps Startups To Be More Organized
You will lose focus and fail in organizing and running your business correctly having to continually concentrate on how you will pay your creditors every month. Slowly, these debts will grow up in volume, and a point will come when these will claim more critical than your primary business
WP Engine All Hands Spring 2019: US | Website Logo Placement for Maximum Brand Recall
Website Logo Placement for Maximum Brand Recall
In a word, no. There were no statistically significant differences (according to a two-sample t-test) in how people rated the hotels with traditional left-aligned logos, compared to the ‘unconventional’ right-aligned logos. In fact, in most cases, the left-aligned logos were rated slightly more
"Get Started" Stops Users
We asked one study participant to find a cell-phone plan from a carrier different than his own. He immediately visited the T-Mobile website and remarked that he had friends and family using its service. He was looking specifically for a service plan that would allow him to keep his current device
Web Page Footers 101: Design Patterns and When to Use Each
Like the physical mat at people’s homes, a doormat navigation is the first thing you see when you arrive and the last thing you see when you leave — that is, it is included both at the top and the bottom of the page. Thus, a footer can include the global navigation. This component is beneficial
