Blog
Optimizely, .NET and architecture, with the odd post from the dojo.
How to Build Optimizely CMS 13 with Visual Builder in .NET
A code-first guide for .NET developers moving from Optimizely CMS 12 to 13: Visual Builder, ExperienceData, Sections, Elements and tag helpers.
7 Minute Read
Thu, 10th Sep 26
When to Choose a Lightweight Mediator
MicroMediator vs MediatR: real benchmark data across dispatch, memory, throughput, and cold start to help you choose the right tool for your workload.
5 Minute Read
Thu, 2nd Apr 26
Streaming Large Datasets with IAsyncEnumerable in MicroMediator
Streaming is not always faster. Learn when IAsyncEnumerable saves memory, when it costs you, and what early exit looks like at 1,000,000 items.
6 Minute Read
Thu, 19th Mar 26
Handler Lifetimes in MicroMediator: Why Your Choice Matters
MicroMediator makes handler lifetime explicit. Learn when to use Singleton, Scoped, or Transient and what the real performance difference looks like.
4 Minute Read
Thu, 5th Mar 26
Why C# Developers Should Embrace Node.js
Why C# developers should learn Node.js, especially with Optimizely's SaaS CMS on the horizon, and the new opportunities it can open up for you.
2 Minute Read
Wed, 3rd Apr 24
The Developer's Guide to Time Management: Mastering the "Four Ds" in a Digital Agency
The Four Ds of time management (Do, Delegate, Defer, Delete) for developers at every level in a digital agency, from junior coders to architects.
3 Minute Read
Tue, 13th Feb 24
Setting Up Optimizely on Aspire: A Developer's Walkthrough
A step-by-step guide to setting up Optimizely CMS on .NET Aspire, with a walkthrough of my Optimizely Aspire repository on GitHub.
2 Minute Read
Wed, 31st Jan 24
Unlocking Your Potential: My Tips on How Developers Can Become the Best They Can Be
My tips on how developers can be the best they can be: continuous improvement, learning new skills and understanding the infrastructure underneath.
4 Minute Read
Thu, 30th Mar 23
Why Martial Arts Can Make You a Better Software Developer
How martial arts training can make you a better software developer: fitness, focus, mental toughness, stress relief and a healthier work-life balance.
2 Minute Read
Fri, 10th Mar 23
Why every web developer should have k6 installed
Why every web developer should have k6 installed: the benefits of local load testing, and how k6 also works for regression and integration tests.
3 Minute Read
Thu, 18th Nov 21
Running Optimizely 12 on a Mac
Optimizely 12 runs on .NET 5, so it runs on a Mac too. A step-by-step guide to getting it up and running, handy for front-end developers.
1 Minute Read
Wed, 13th Oct 21
New site for Wife of a Geek
A new site for Wife of a Geek, rebuilt on Contentful and Azure Cognitive Search after a frustrating, flaky first version on WordPress.
1 Minute Read
Fri, 23rd Jul 21
How to open rich text links in a new tab in Contentful.net
Contentful rich text has no link target option, so here's how to open external links in a new tab in Contentful.net using an IContentRenderer.
4 Minute Read
Thu, 22nd Jul 21
Optimizely (Episerver) Content Cloud Exam - My Tips
After sitting the exam, I thought I would document some of the ways I prepared for the exam, and what I found most useful out of the material.
1 Minute Read
Mon, 28th Jun 21
Optimizely (Episerver) Content Cloud Certification
This week I passed my Optimizely (formerly Episerver) Content Cloud certification.
1 Minute Read
Thu, 24th Jun 21
Improving Contentful Search with Azure Cognitive Search
Contentful's built-in search is limited and awkward in .NET, so I used Contentful webhooks to index content into Azure Cognitive Search instead.
3 Minute Read
Tue, 15th Jun 21
Can you have emoji's in URLs?
Can emoji's be used in URLs, page titles and meta data? 🤔😂😂
1 Minute Read
Thu, 8th Apr 21
Generating testable content in Episerver
Using an Episerver InitializableModule with Bogus and Waffle to generate realistic test pages for QA and UAT teams during sign-off.
1 Minute Read
Mon, 4th Jan 21
My go-to nuget packages
A categorised list of nuget packages that I tend to use in most projects. Covers data access, business logic, and presentation packages.
3 Minute Read
Sat, 12th Dec 20
C# 9.0 - Blurring the lines between object oriented programming and functional programming
There are two basic types of programming languages, object-oriented and functional, what happens with these worlds collide?
3 Minute Read
Tue, 24th Nov 20