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WordPress 5.5 Released, Block For Apple Maps Included In Block Library

Jeff Paul on August 18, 2020 • 1 Comment

Block for Apple Maps in the Block Directory

WordPress 5.5 was released last week, featuring automatic updates for plugins and themes, lazy-loading images, extensible XML sitemaps, improvements to the block editor, and as always, supplemental under the hood security, performance, and developer improvements. As always, many 10uppers contributed to this release.

This latest release introduces a number of improvements to the block content editor. Highlights include inline image editing that lets you crop, rotate, and zoom photos within image blocks; device previews that show how content will appear to visitors with different screen sizes; and a Block Directory that lets you find, install, and insert third-party blocks in the editor, without ever leaving the page.

GNI Ad Revenue Lab Presents Free Workshop Series For Local News Publishers

Mike Bal on August 12, 2020

Tomorrow, August 13, 2020, 10up kicks off a free, four-part workshop series covering lessons and tactics used in the GNI Ad Revenue Lab to accelerate participating publishers’ advertising revenue.

The GNI Ad Revenue Lab, which kicked off in September 2019, is a Google News Initiative project conducted in partnership with LION Publishers and 10up to establish a web-based revenue optimization blueprint local news publishers can use as a reference point for website improvements.

As part of the Ad Revenue Lab, we have been working with seven hyperlocal U.S. publishers, like Long Beach Post, to provide and measure reader revenue-focused digital strategies, often testing new tactics. From ad viewability and fill rate optimization to article markup and sitemaps to Google AMP and the optimization of ads, images, and page speed, we’ve documented our findings and are now sharing them more widely.

ClassifAI Named A WordPress VIP Technology Partner

Jeff Paul on August 10, 2020

ClassifAI WordPress VIP Technology Partner

As a leading contributor to WordPress and one of WordPress VIP’s longest-tenured Gold Agency Partners, 10up understands the carefully-crafted architectures and strategies that drive success on the VIP platform.

Today we are delighted to share that ClassifAI has been named a WordPress VIP technology partner. ClassifAI is our free plugin that leverages leading cloud-based services, like IBM Watson and Microsoft Azure AI, to augment WordPress-powered websites with artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.

WordPress VIP technology partners support enterprise customers using WordPress at scale by forging significant technology integrations for personalization, business intelligence, digital asset management, and, with the addition of ClassifAI, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Gain Project Alignment with 10up’s Design Spectrum Exercise

Lea Alcantara on August 5, 2020

Design Spectrum Exercise

Effectively articulating a brand’s design aesthetic can be challenging for even the most savvy marketers. How do we take statements like “make it pop” and turn them into a more specific, shared design vision without frustrating revisions?

In my recent article, A Design Spectrum Exercise for Navigating ‘Make it Pop’ Client Requests, published on the Adobe XD Ideas blog, I share a tool — the Design Spectrum exercise — we use at 10up with government, higher-ed, and Fortune 500 teams to gain creative alignment, build trust, reduce revision requests, and earn faster design approvals.

A Design Spectrum exercise shapes intangible concepts in an approachable way that cuts through ambiguity and identifies client design preferences and taste. This creates a framework of shared understanding that establishes the foundation for a smooth design process.

If you’d like your next design and UX project driven by a creative team that prioritizes collaboration, clear communication, and caring client services, get in touch.

Bolstering Higher Education and WordPress at WPCampus 2020

John Eckman on July 29, 2020

WPCampus 2020

With a growing portfolio of clients and partnerships in higher education, we are once again thrilled to sponsor and participate in WPCampus, furthering the confluence of WordPress in academia. This year’s two-day remote conference kicks-off today, July 29, 2020; registration is free.

Presentations

On the schedule, you’ll find two 10uppers delivering presentations:

End to End Accessibility Testing

Traditionally, testing interaction has been a largely manual process because out-of-the-box automation testing tools can’t open menus, check ARIA states, click around, or test general UI and movement. Because of this, as sites age, they can quickly fall out of compliance and become slowly inaccessible.

In this session, Tim Wright, Director of Front End Engineering will discuss end to end accessibility testing. Learn how to create a long term accessibility roadmap and turn manual testing processes into lightweight automated scripts that can keep an eye on your project for years to come.

AI 101: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Educators Publish More, Faster, And Better

Artificial intelligence isn’t just for self-driving cars and science fiction. Learn how easy-to-integrate solutions can help educators publish more effective content, promote accessibility, and keep visitors engaged. In this special sponsor presentation, Phil Crumm, Vice President, New Client Strategy, will help educators, technical leaders, content creators, and marketers understand how machine learning and artificial intelligence can simplify content creation, accelerate authorship, and eliminate painful manual tasks.

Block for Apple Maps: Our Latest Free, Open-Source WordPress Plugin

Jeff Paul on June 26, 2020

Apple Maps Gutenberg Block

Block for Apple Maps is our latest free WordPress plugin that enables site owners to easily create, configure, and display embedded Apple Maps on web pages and posts. The plugin adds a new Apple Maps block to the WordPress block editor, also known as Gutenberg.

We’ve been tinkering with embedded Apple Maps since Apple announced the MapKit JS API in 2018. Following some major improvements to their Maps service, and with some clients interested in evaluating alternatives to other popular solutions (for reasons ranging from API pricing to privacy policies), we thought we’d use Apple’s annual WWDC conference this week as an excuse to finish up our work and bring our Block for Apple Maps plugin to life.

With Block for Apple Maps, site owners can embed a responsive Apple Maps component on any page or post that uses the WordPress block editor.

The block offers several customization options, including:

Changing the map’s center point by looking up a location
Adding markers to annotate specific point of interests
Selecting the satellite, hybrid, standard, or muted standard map type
Showing or hiding controls, including the compass, zoom, and rotation
Setting the map height

Tim Hoang on June 23, 2020

Recently, Director of Client Delivery for 10up Europe, Lily Bonney, and I co-hosted a webinar on recruiting, onboarding, and maintaining company culture at a distance with Onezeero, a UK-based tech recruitment partner. As organizations increasingly recognize the benefits of working from home, many are asking, “How do we still maintain our ‘essence’ at a distance?” From transparency during hiring to clear systems, processes, and company values, we’ve learned how to attract, onboard, and grow remote talent. Lily and I shared how 10up fosters meaningful connections and cultivates a vibrant team culture.

10up at WP Engine Summit/2020

John Eckman on June 8, 2020

WP Engine Summit 2020

In two days, 10up is taking an active role in WP Engine Summit/2020. The Summit, taking place on June 10 from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm CDT, will feature a keynote by Robert Herjavec from SharkTank and break down open source trends, technologies, research, and campaigns that accelerate digital breakthroughs. This year, it will be held online through a combination of live and on-demand virtual content and creative networking. Registration is free.

10up Statement on Racial Injustice

John Eckman on June 5, 2020 • 1 Comment

George Floyd Mural

George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods at Chicago Ave and E 38th St in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mural by Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain, assisted by Niko Alexander and Pablo Hernandez. Photo by Lorie Shaull under CC BY-SA license.

Last week saw yet another incident in a long and tragic history of police and other violence against Black Americans in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. This comes on the heels of a series of similarly senseless and devastating deaths across the country — Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, among a painfully longer list of names. In the aftermath, we’ve seen an outpouring of support and outrage, through worldwide, large-scale protests.

We are heartbroken, witnessing both the continued legacy of racial and structural inequality and the ensuing violence and property destruction that further hurts communities already reeling from the pandemic.

As a company, we want to be clear that we are opposed to police brutality and violence. Further, we are opposed to discrimination in all its forms. This specifically includes discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, but also gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, and age.

Catch 10up’s President and CEO in make|SHIFT, A Documentary Highlighting How Creative Technology Transformed Advertising

Christine Garrison on May 27, 2020

make|SHIFT

make|SHIFT explores the history of modern advertising and the role that creative technology played in its evolution.

The full-length documentary, produced by WP Engine, highlights the makers, agencies, and brands who had the courage to harness new technology, test new business models, and question the status quo. It professes to “feature more than 40 of the top marketing and tech minds in the industry, from developers and designers to creative directors to founders at some of the most innovative agencies in the world” — including 10up.

Our president and founder Jake Goldman and CEO John Eckman are both featured in the film, which will be released on Thursday, May 28 during Ad Age’s Publisher’s Panel and streamed live at makeshift.film.