https://theopenngroup.com/journal Notes from The Openn Group on brand, design, technology and testing. en Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 https://theopenngroup.com/journal-choosing-a-host-for-your-business-website https://theopenngroup.com/journal-choosing-a-host-for-your-business-website Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Tech How to choose web hosting for a business website: speed, backups, email, SSL, support and renewal prices. Plus our Hostinger partner link and referral discount. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-positioning-is-choosing-what-you-will-not-be https://theopenngroup.com/journal-positioning-is-choosing-what-you-will-not-be Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Brand Brand positioning is a set of choices about who you serve and who you do not. How to write a positioning that guides design, copy and sales decisions. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-an-online-store-is-a-product-not-a-template https://theopenngroup.com/journal-an-online-store-is-a-product-not-a-template Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Tech A Shopify theme gets a store live, not selling. How to plan product pages, checkout, speed and operations so an online store works for customers and your team. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-test-it-before-your-customers-do https://theopenngroup.com/journal-test-it-before-your-customers-do Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 QA & Testing A website is not finished when it looks right on one laptop. What proper QA covers before launch, from forms and devices to speed, access and tracking. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-testing-an-app-means-testing-a-thousand-phones https://theopenngroup.com/journal-testing-an-app-means-testing-a-thousand-phones Sat, 12 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 QA & Testing Mobile apps run on devices, networks and OS versions you do not control. How to test apps for crashes, interruptions, permissions and store review. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-a-logo-is-not-a-brand-system https://theopenngroup.com/journal-a-logo-is-not-a-brand-system Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Brand design The mark gets the attention; the system lets a brand survive real content, people and deadlines. What a brand system contains and how to test it for real. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-automate-the-checks-keep-the-judgement https://theopenngroup.com/journal-automate-the-checks-keep-the-judgement Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 QA & Testing Automated tests catch regressions; people catch what feels wrong. How to split website and app testing between scripts and humans without wasting either. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-build-it-so-your-team-can-run-it https://theopenngroup.com/journal-build-it-so-your-team-can-run-it Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Tech A website that needs its agency for every change is a dependency, not a launch. How we choose platforms, own accounts and hand over sites teams can run. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-accessibility-is-a-test-not-a-promise https://theopenngroup.com/journal-accessibility-is-a-test-not-a-promise Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 QA & Testing Saying a site is accessible means nothing until it is tested. How we check websites and apps with keyboards, screen readers, zoom and contrast against WCAG. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-fix-the-journey-before-the-screens https://theopenngroup.com/journal-fix-the-journey-before-the-screens Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Design Good screens cannot rescue a broken user journey. How UX strategy maps the whole path, from first visit to repeat use, before any interface is designed. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-your-brand-is-read-by-machines-first https://theopenngroup.com/journal-your-brand-is-read-by-machines-first Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 AI More people now meet a company through an AI summary before its website. Why a brand’s words now carry the first impression, and what to change in them. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-speed-is-part-of-the-design https://theopenngroup.com/journal-speed-is-part-of-the-design Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Tech A beautiful page that loads slowly has already lost most of its audience. How we design and test websites for speed using Core Web Vitals as the benchmark. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-naming-a-company-you-can-actually-own https://theopenngroup.com/journal-naming-a-company-you-can-actually-own Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Trademark A name you love is worth little if someone else already owns it. How to choose a brand name that can be trademarked, registered and defended as you grow. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-motion-is-part-of-the-identity https://theopenngroup.com/journal-motion-is-part-of-the-identity Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Motion Brands now live on screens, where everything moves. Why motion belongs in the identity system, with its own rules for timing, easing and character. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-when-to-rebrand-and-when-not-to https://theopenngroup.com/journal-when-to-rebrand-and-when-not-to Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Brand A rebrand is expensive, slow and sometimes unnecessary. The signs that a company has genuinely outgrown its brand, and the cases where a refresh does the job. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-a-design-system-is-a-set-of-decisions https://theopenngroup.com/journal-a-design-system-is-a-set-of-decisions Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Design A design system is not a component library in Figma. It is the product decisions written down, so teams stop solving the same problems twice. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-prototype-before-you-argue https://theopenngroup.com/journal-prototype-before-you-argue Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Design Teams lose weeks debating designs that nobody has tried. Why a quick prototype, tested with real people, settles product decisions faster than any meeting. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-where-ai-belongs-in-your-product https://theopenngroup.com/journal-where-ai-belongs-in-your-product Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 AI Adding AI because competitors have is not a product strategy. How to find the features where AI genuinely helps users, and how to test them before launch. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-write-the-words-before-the-layout https://theopenngroup.com/journal-write-the-words-before-the-layout Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Content Designing pages around placeholder text produces sites that break when real words arrive. Why we write content first, and how it improves design and SEO. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-in-performance-marketing-creative-is-the-targeting https://theopenngroup.com/journal-in-performance-marketing-creative-is-the-targeting Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Growth As ad platforms automate audiences, the creative decides who responds. How to plan, produce and test ad creative as a system rather than one-off assets. https://theopenngroup.com/journal-plan-the-shoot-for-every-place-it-will-be-used https://theopenngroup.com/journal-plan-the-shoot-for-every-place-it-will-be-used Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Content One well-planned shoot can supply a website, social, ads and print for months. How to plan photo and video production around every channel before the camera rolls.