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The 12 Utility Websites of Christmas

In time for Christmas, a recap of 12 of our team’s favorite web design projects that were launched in 2022

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Nation, not a utility was stirring, without any indication
The websites were created by Powerful’s team with care, in the hopes that new technologies soon would be there
Communicators were antsy browsing the web, while visions of websites danced in their heads.

On the first day of Christmas, Powerful crafted the Oklahoma Living website

Oklahoma Living Magazine evokes the warm Christmas spirit by uplifting its co-op roots and rural American charm. To create a seamless transformation from a print to online publication, Oklahoma Living has evolved into an interactive, colorful and diverse publication. Their new online presence offers a compelling experience for site visitors. The online publication features interactive articles on recipes, gardening, health, local stores, and more.

The homepage of the Oklahoma Living Magazine website as shown on an iPad Pro

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Design and Content Strategist, Anna Stopa, said, “The most rewarding part of the process was seeing the various custom solutions come to life on the website after months of collaborating and strategizing.” As the largest publication in Oklahoma with over 350,000 readers, The Powerful web team was challenged to create an interface that is both accessible and appealing to a large audience. “It pushed our team to think outside of the box and we are proud of the elegant results we achieved!” said Anna.

The hard work certainly paid off. As the greatest gift, Oklahoma Magazine’s website won the Willie Award for Best Digital Communication from the Statewide Editors Association.

Charlie Stanley and Kenneth Kimbrell from the Powerful web team showcase the Oklahoma Living Magazine and the Willie Award that was awarded to the Oklahoma Living team by the Statewide Editors Association

On the second day of Christmas, we crafted the Why Electrify website for Hoosier Energy

Just like a classic Christmas tale, Why Electrify tells a captivating story. Through an engaging storytelling format, website visitors are able to scroll through the homepage and uncover a unique background, purpose, and goals.

The custom design features visualized pages that tells a story in a unique way. The visualized pages break down walls of words by utilizing bold numbers, icons, and visual hierarchy. As a result, website visitors spend a significantly longer amount of time engaging with the content.

The Why Electrify website by Hoosier Energy, showcases data visualization pages, this one focuses on the Cooperative Difference.

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When first opening the website, the aesthetics of the homepage are comparable to the surprises in opening gifts. As website visitors enter the website, the video on the homepage offers a pleasant surprise—one that draws the website visitor in. The video offers a special look into the work behind Why Electrify.

On the third day of Christmas, Powerful Web crafted the Jasper County REMC website

What’s better than one present? Two! Jasper County REMC’s website features both of its Electric and Internet services in one convenient location. Website visitors can simply toggle between both services. This feature provides a frictionless web experience for Jasper County REMC’s audience.

Members or customers can easily toggle back and forth between the two with tabs for a seamless transition. It’s easy to manage with only one CMS login. Check out Jasper County REMC’s website with their Connect Internet by Jasper County REMC homepage.

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The department headers give unique identities for Jasper County REMC’s internet and electric services. Website visitors greatly benefit from having one central location to access a variety of important information.

On the fourth day of Christmas, the elves at Powerful crafted the website for Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas

We’ve all asked the world-famous question—How does Santa Claus deliver presents to every household in one night?

While creating aecc.com, the Powerful team asked a similar question—How can one website deliver relevant information for more than 500,000 homes, farms, and businesses across Arkansas?

While the world may never know Santa’s secret, Powerful’s team of trusted web experts unlocked a creative solution to provide over 60 percent of Arkansas residents with effective communication. The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas’ new website represents the individuality of all 17 different member-owners. The cutting-edge website pushes boundaries through a versatile, yet cohesive branding of the large service territory.

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas partnered with Powerful to bring a vision to life that blended two separate organizations, the statewide association and the generation and transmission cooperative. The site features both organizations and their combined services as well as their Balance of Power campaign.

Some may call it modern and progressive. Others may call it Christmas magic.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Powerful worked to thoughtfully craft a new website for Four County EMC in North Carolina

There is something special about a homemade gift. The intention, thought, and care behind it make it truly memorable. Powerful’s team handcrafted a custom footer illustration as a warm, welcoming addition to Four County EMC’s website.

An iPad Pro showcasing the custom designed footer illustration on the Four County EMC website.

When creating an illustrated footer, the team of trusted web experts behind Powerful ensured the “digital mural” fully connected back to the electric cooperative it represents. Four County EMC’s illustrated footer highlights their unique quirks—like the home of the world’s largest frying pan and the North Carolina Blueberry Festival. This personalized imagery provides a subtle nod and reminder that Four County EMC represents the local communities they serve.

“Four County EMC’s illustrated footer feels right at home,” said Powerful Project Manager, Caleigh Pickard.

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For Caleigh, “The most rewarding part about this project was revealing the final product to the team at Four County EMC. Their excitement showed that we hit the jackpot for what they were hoping for. I always enjoy seeing client’s visions come to life!”

On the sixth day of Christmas, our Powerful team went to work for Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) spread joy to their community with the gift of a useful online communication platform. SMECO’s new website features a mega menu that offers a comprehensive web experience. The mega menu ensures all pages of the website are included within the navigation menu. As a result, SMECO’s website visitors will have easy access to every page on the website, helping them quickly find exactly what they want.

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative enabled the use of megamenus within their global navigation to provide a full bird’s eye view of all content during their web design process.

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The joys of the new website have certainly benefitted SMECO’s community.

“We have been very pleased with the results,” said Corporate Communications Managing Director, Terry Ressler. “The process was smooth, and Powerful supported our go-live with training and follow-up. We are looking forward to a successful partnership for years to come.”

On the seventh day of Christmas, brought the project of building a new podcast website for Public Power Underground

As the holiday cheer is shared through the jingle jangle of Christmas carols, Public Power Underground entertains its community through the sounds of their Podcast. Their new website features a simple, yet effective landing page.

According to Senior Web Developer, Kenneth Kimbrell, “A clean design effortlessly delivers important messaging to website visitors.” Public Power Underground’s podcasts, merchandise, and cooperative information are easily accessible from the homepage.

The Public Power Underground website features links to the podcast on popular platforms as well as a single page scrolling layout with anchors to help the site visitor remain focused on their area of interest. A sticky navigation menu ensures the menu is always visible, no matter how far down the site visitor scrolls.

“By taking our time to listen to the client and understand the pain points of their current digital presence, we planned, designed and developed a website based on their needs,” said Kenneth. “For Public Power Underground, the podcast was an extremely important aspect, so we developed a section that automatically populates new podcasts into the website.”

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Just like the ease of listening to your favorite holiday tunes, Public Power’s audience can now listen to their podcast with one simple click of a button.

On the eighth day of Christmas, Springfield Utility Board launched a new recognizably powerful website

‘Tis the season to be shopping! Springfield Utility Board utilizes the Laurelhurst Promotional Blueprint as their primary billboard. This blueprint gives Springfield Utility Board the capability to promote lots of information. The homepage features a hero image and customized message. This focal point draws the website visitor in to learn more about Springfield Utility Board.

Holding a tablet that showcases the website for Springfield Utility Board with top tasks featured as quick call to action buttons across the bottom of the screen.
Here, Springfield Utility Board (SUB) utilizes Powerful’s Laurelhurst blueprint to communicate their services clearly and concisely. Site visitors can easily recognize SUB as a reliable utility.

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Beyond the homepage, Springfield Utility Board features additional promotional sections throughout their website. The Laurelhurst Promotional Blueprint offers lots of opportunity for engagement, benefiting both Springfield Utility Board and their audience.

On the ninth day of Christmas, collaborated began with Hoosier Energy to bring a new website to Clark County REMC

Clark County REMC brought tidings of comfort and joy to their members with an easy-to-use website. The new website gives members a new and improved web experience with the help of Powerful’s Hoosier Blueprint, created in partnership with Hoosier Energy.

Powerful’s senior web development engineer shows off the new Clark County REMC homepage on an Apple iPad Pro.

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Clark County REMC’s homepage integrates a quick login for account management with SmartHub. Members’ top tasks are displayed at the front and center of the homepage, proactively anticipating members’ needs.

On the tenth day of Christmas, we discovered the sweet fun of getting creative with the new web design for Northwestern Water and Sewer District

Northwestern Water and Sewer District decked the halls with lots of valuable content. Content Integration Specialist, Michael Confalone, carefully strategized all of the information within the website. The website now contains fresh, relevant content that is easy to find and understand.

Northwestern Water and Sewer District in Bowling Green, Ohio utilized the Laurelhurst blueprint from the Powerful design gallery to showcase popular programs and services to their utility customers and website visitors.

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As a result of content strategy, the new website is now incredibly easy to navigate. Website visitors can find what they’re looking for without any hassle.

“It is so rewarding to know that our hard work has improved the lives of others,” said Michael.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Powerful brought joy to Kitsap Public Utility District

Kitsap PUD’s team were merry and bright throughout their website redesign process. Team members were extremely intentional and collaborative throughout the project.

“The more Kitsap PUD’s team engaged with the Powerful team with thorough communication, the more the Powerful team was able to get creative while growing our own skill sets,” said Powerful Project Manager, Caleigh Pickard. “It was a win for Kitsap PUD and a win for Powerful!”

Deanna Frimann and Caleigh Pickard of the Powerful web team proudly showcase the beautiful and bold photography on the new homepage for Kitsap PUD.

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A crucial piece in the redesign process is understanding the backend of the website.

“Empowering our clients to feel confident in their content management system is one of my favorite things to do,” said Caleigh. “Kitsap PUD’s team was a joy to train. Their pure excitement in seeing the simplicity of Powerful’s content management system was contagious. They left the training session empowered and excited to manage their content.”

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Santa partnered with Powerful to bring Grays Harbor PUD a new web design

Grays Harbor Public Utility District continues to make spirits bright through their improved process of online forms. Now, Grays Harbor PUD customers can easily submit forms online without the hassle of paper or PDFs. By converting PDF forms and applications into online forms, the process is now streamlined for both Grays Harbor PUD customers and staff members.

Grays Harbor PUD utilizes the Events & Calendar Web App to keep customers informed of upcoming commissioner meetings.

Ian Cope, Communications and Government Relations Director at Grays Harbor PUD said “Better customer access to information and services was the main motivator behind the new Grays Harbor PUD website and we achieved that goal. At a time when people can do so much business from their phone or computer, having a site that allows them to do that is very important. Whether it be filling out forms, learning more about their energy usage, or applying for energy rebates, the PUD’s new site makes it easier for customers to handle their PUD business. In addition, PUD staff continue to quickly get newly entered information into the utility system and get the lights on for customers or handle any other service requests. Overall, it’s just a great service for our utility to offer.”

A bonus stocking stuffer was left for Rayburn Electric Cooperative this Christmas

Rayburn Electric Cooperative keeps up the holiday cheer with a one-page single dashboard website. The short and simple website tells Rayburn Electric Cooperative’s story by the numbers quickly and easily.

Texas-based G&T, Rayburn Electric Cooperative chose to launch a single page dashboard at rayburn.coop to reflect the accomplishments by the numbers of the organization’s growth and road ahead.

Powerful Gifts for Years to Come

Want to give your audience a recognizably powerful gift?

Powerful’s team of trusted web experts work as hard as Santa’s elves to create memorable online experiences.

Connect with the Powerful web team to learn more.