What We're Reading This Month: UX Benchmarking, SEO, CSS, and More!
Katelyn Ahern Digital Project Manager#News & Culture

The WSOL team shares some valuable articles that we've read recently, including looks at benchmarking for UX, the future of SEO, and image loading techniques.
Here on the WSOL blog, we do our best to offer thought leadership in the areas of web design, inbound marketing, CMS strategy, UX, SEO, and more, but there's plenty of other great reading to be found across the web. Here's our latest roundup of the interesting articles and resources that our team members have found helpful:
Doug Miller:
I've been reading a lot about SLACK and similar group messaging tools as I've worked on my series of blogs on the subject, and I thought this was a good look at the criticisms that people have of SLACK and the reasons it is a great collaboration tool.
The Pragmatic Future of Search
This slide deck from Michael King's presentation at INBOUND 2016 is full of great insights about how the world of online search will change in coming years.
Dennis Kardys:
Benchmark Your UX at All Costs
These two articles are great resources on how to measure the usability of a website, with great information about tools to use and KPIs to track.
Joe Mayberry:
I liked this look at how Microsoft, which was once considered to be an evil technology monopoly, has become much more friendly to the tech industry in recent years.
Improving Perceived Performance with Multiple Background Images
This article offers a nice technique for using CSS to improve a site's UX for any photos which might load slowly.
Nick Melville:
How Medium Does Progressive Image Loading
This is a nice look at how to replicate the effect that Medium uses, in which images display as a blurry image and transition to the full image as they load.
I got a lot of value out of this book by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans which looks at how to apply the principles of good design in everything you do.
Allison Casey:
7 SEO Trends That Will Dominate 2017
This article is required reading for anyone who wants to be prepared for what the world of SEO has in store over the next year.
Matt Brady:
The 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Remote Work
I enjoyed this article that busts myths about people who work remotely. It's especially relevant to us at WSOL, since we have several team members who live in locations across the country, and we've been able to overcome the challenges of remote work and collaborate effectively through the use of technologies like Slack and GoToMeeting.
At WSOL, we're always on the lookout for more great reading, so if you have an article or blog that you think we should include in future roundups, please feel free to let us know in the comments below!
Have questions or comments about this post? We'd love to hear from you.
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