We increased digital inclusion in rural communities
Wessex Internet is passionate about upgrading the countryside. Their aim is to connect communities across Dorset, Wiltshire and South Somerset to fast, reliable broadband. By thinking outside the box and building full fibre networks, all supported by government investment, they are able to deliver superfast, affordable broadband to places other companies are unable, or unwilling, to go.
Their mission is to make sure rural communities are not left behind forever.
Challenge
After recognising that the existing website was no longer performing to its full potential, Wessex Internet had an exciting opportunity to rebrand and redesign the entire online offering. The ultimate challenge for the human tech agency was to transform Wessex Internet’s digital offering, position the brand as the leading business in the sector and ultimately help achieve their vision of 10x growth in 7-10 years.
What we did
Working in partnership with the Managing Director, Marketing Director and Technical Lead at Wessex Internet, we started the project during the covid-19 pandemic by hosting a remote discovery session, using Zoom and Microsoft Miro.
The purpose of the discovery session was to understand and also uncover any challenges, become embedded within the company's mission and values, gather all strategic and technical requirements for the new website, discuss the target audience and finally understand what success looks like. From here, we started an extensive user research process.
On completion of our research which involved analysis of current trends, conversion data and user drop off, we started the design and development phase of the project. We created hi-fidelity wireframes with two distinct creative options for Wessex Internet to provide feedback on before designing the remainder of the website pages.
We chose to use Umbraco as the Content Management System for the website for three key reasons:
Umbraco is an expert at providing mobile-platform specific sites with a single set of content meaning the site can be delivered to iPhone, Android and Windows phones seamlessly while Wessex Internet maintain only one set of content
Umbraco is intuitive to use meaning Wessex Internet wouldn’t need to rely on us to update content and make new pages.
Umbraco can integrate seamlessly with Salesforce whilst also delivering eCommerce capabilities through GoCardless.
We broke each stage of the project into interactions and adopted a bespoke agile / waterfall methodology to delivery.
To ensure the user journey from initial interest in the services to purchasing Broadband was entirely frictionless, we created simplistic information architecture as well as built custom APIs for Salesforce.
Finally we thoroughly tested the new website not just for browser functionality but user acceptance before launching in April 2021. Before handing over fully to the client, we delivered CMS training and created an in-depth, step-by-step Umbraco user guide.
Result
Early feedback from the client has all been positive, with users commenting on the great new look and feel and easy navigation of the website.
Next up, the human tech agency has been tasked with taking on a phase 2 sprint for the website. Here, we will take on any learnings from the phase 1 design and will see how this can be improved ready for the next update.
The customer account portal is also next on the agenda for a refresh. The “My Account” portal is for end users who have already set up an account and need to track payments and keep up to date with any changes to their local connection. We will look to update the design to be in line with the new site and improve the functionality overall.