You’ve created a new Docker container and pushed it to ECR. The container is then deployed via ECS to your environment, but you see a ‘502 Bad Gateway’ error in your browser. One reason could be the container. Here are a few commands to run and test your container locally to debug the issue. Before […]
Category Archives: Development
WordPress, Docker, Terraform, Packer and AWS using ECS
In this post, I’ll explain how I containerised WordPress with custom themes and additional plugins as a Docker application and then deploy to AWS and ECS. In this example, I’ve migrated the National Archives’ blog to Amazon Web Services. WordPress is the blogging platform, which is made stateless using Docker. Docker is a software platform […]
The National Archives’ Design Frontend Toolkit
There was a need from both designers and developers for a single source of The National Archives’ design patterns. The one tool that makes collaborative design easier is the design pattern library.
Jenkins AWS Terraform Module – Continuous integration
At the National Archives we are in the process of migrating our digital services to the cloud. We are investigating Jenkins, an automation server, as part of our continuous integration with AWS. Jenkins is a distributed automation server, generally associated with Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD). I’ve created a Jenkins Terraform Module to […]
Peter Quill the Twitter Chatbot
I’m currently experimenting with NLTK’s chat package and Tweepy to build a Twitter Chatbot. I used the examples outlined in NLTK as a starting point and I extended the app to reply to tweets. Peter is a very basic chatbot, which I hope next to incorporate sentiment analysis and machine learning to make his responses […]
Hypothesis driven design: workshop part 1
Hypothesis driven design is a way of applying user research and experimentation to validate design choices. We, as a matter of course, user test all our digital products, but do we really know what we are testing and measuring? The approach helps teams focus on finding solutions that are meaningful to users and to take calculated risks to move a product forward. Making sure design solutions deliver the outcomes we think they will using performance data to measure success or failure. And failure is fine, because we learn.
Why writing a well structured first paragraph or excerpt is important for SEO
We invest a huge amount of effort into writing content, because we know it’s important to our users. But what’s the point of all that hard work if hardly anybody actually finds your content? If your content is written and structured well, your chance to rank well in Google will be higher. Here are a […]
User testing prototypes checklist
Define goals Define your goals and research questions clearly. Ask yourself; What am I trying to prove or validate? Do I want to validate design choices? Do I want to validate layout? Does the language make sense? Does the functionality assist the user? It helps to break down testing goals into categories (eg functional, editorial and […]
Simple Eventbrite List beta – WordPress plugin
Simple Eventbrite List plugin displays a list of events in a post or page using the [simple-eventbrite] shortcode.
Flex cards
A simply little Flex grid system with cards. The CSS layout is responsive with one breakpoint and offers equal heights with Flex (js fallback for IE9 and older). Works for: Chrome FireFox Safari 6 and above IE9 and above Download from Github: https://github.com/domingobishop/flex-cards
Nested Multisite WordPress setup on a local machine with MAMP Pro
Create host for WordPress in MAMP Pro Assuming you have MAMP Pro installed, under the ‘Hosts‘ tab create a new server, give it a name and within MAMP/htdocs/ create a directory that reflects the name of the server. Having done this click ‘Save‘. 1-click WordPress install in MAMP Pro At this point we need make […]
How to improve your Google ranking
Here are a few pointers to help improve your website’s Google ranking when developing your site and web content. Optimize your page loading times. Fast sites make users happy and improve the overall quality of the web. Design your site for all device types and sizes, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Google watches social signals […]