The Aten Blog

The Aten Blog

We have things to say about design, process, and code. Read about them here, subscribe to our feed, or follow us on twitter.

Express checkout with Drupal Commerce

Drupal Commerce is a robust, flexible e-commerce platform. Wading through its several pages of configuration options isn't always easy, though. That's why we've put together a cheat-sheet for configuring a clean, simple express checkout with Drupal Commerce.

QwertyTown: Keyboarding Lesson

QwertyTown is an online community that teaches kids to type. Our goal was to create an interactive experience that makes typing fun. The keyboarding lesson is a flash module where kids learn to type. The client gave us an outline with levels as main categories, then individual lessons for each level. Each lesson covers a specific key set the student needs to learn. We wrote the ActionScript and built the back-end architecture that makes the keyboarding lesson work.

Test-Driven Sitemap Design

We spend significant time and effort in the information architecture phase of projects, during which our principle goal is to create an effective sitemap. As with other steps in the process, we pitch an initial recommendation, solicit feedback, host discussions, make some changes, rinse and repeat. Also similar to other parts of the process, it is critical to establish metrics that define a particular final product as successful. With sitemaps, this has proven particularly important.

Hashbang and pushState

A while ago, Google made a suggestion for crawling websites that used AJAX for navigation. Soon after, Google implemented the idea in their search engine. Few paid attention to this until last September, when Twitter started using the technique.

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Usability

Enhancing Drupal Interfaces with Javascript & Flash

At DrupalCamp Colorado, Scott and I presented Enhancing Drupal Interfaces with Javascript & Flash. We covered why you should use Javascript or Flash, how best to use these technologies, and some examples from recent projects where we've improved the user experience.

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Doing Drupal Justice

By improving the user experience, admin_menu.module and admin.module help tell clients the real story about Drupal.

University of Baltimore Usability Testing Day 2

So we've wrapped up the first two days of Drupal 7 usability testing at the University of Baltimore, and we're all really excited about the information we've gotten so far.

Card Sorting: Getting the right results

Card-sorting and cluster analysis for information architecture.

Usability Testing at the University of Baltimore next month!

Continuing the Drupal usability research done by Becca Scollan and other graduate students last year.

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