EWEB selected Ingeniux in the end because it provided a strong demo that showed them what they could do with their website. Some of the key features that EWEB uses:
Flexible workflow: EWEB moved from one content manager to a team of content authors across the utility (many of whom had never worked on a website). EWEB needed a way to give the team the freedom to control their own content yet stay on strategy and maintain the consistent look and feel of the website. Ingeniux workflow combined the permissions and security that enabled this freedom.
Re-usable content: Many of the web pages are component-based; Chilton said it was great to get away from coding content in HTML, instead, entering content into a form and letting the CMS do the rest automatically.
Mobile first: The old website was not responsive. Ingeniux offered a great approach to responsive design that provided the mobile-first perspective the utility wanted.
Taxonomy: They use taxonomy to programmatically pull in content to different areas of the website, as well as different channels.
The Result: A Better User Experience, Increased Productivity
"We leverage our newsroom a lot. And we have taken advantage of the built-in open graph for populating our social media channels. We were pretty excited the first time our newsroom/social media strategy led to coverage by local media."
Chilton admitted that is was harder to do it all at once than the expected. Every page was brand new content they had to write and then enter into the CMS within the timeline. But the end result made it worth the planning and preparation process in the beginning stages.
Maria Wren was the project manager responsible for making certain the project was a coordinated effort. She said that they were constantly learning throughout the process. With Ingeniux's help, they were able to build something that was very flexible.
"Overall, the concept, architecture and vision that Rachael and the Ingeniux team brought supported the design of a website from the customer perspective and provides the flexibility to grow in the future."
Customer feedback has been positive; customers are getting to information faster and easier. Chilton said that within the first 90 days bounce rates reduced by 29%, especially on the home page (dropping to 20% from 66%), time spent on site increased and the number of pages viewed per session increased to 2.33 pages/session.
EWEB provides a number of customer services online. The website, originally a simple communications tool, also serves as the portal for other applications, including Bill Pay. With the website in place and working smoothly, EWEB is looking at ways to deliver a more personalized experience for individual customers leveraging a new Customer Information System, Ingeniux CMS and several other integrations.
