Crafting Impactful Websites for Utility Companies: Key Insights

Stay in front of everything.

That was my mantra as a co-op communicator. (Well, I had several mantras, but that’s a good one!) Being responsive is good, but being proactive is the goal. And the most powerful tool you have at your disposal is your website. Your website houses the information and tools to anticipate the needs of your consumers, but only if the site is built intentionally.

So, here are my five key insights to make sure your website is a reliable ally:

#1 – Your Website Is Not a Junk Drawer

Utility websites should be curated, organized, and searchable spaces. In my early days as a web designer, I was eager to pack in as much content as possible. When I dove into the analytics, I realized that much of it was never accessed and it buried the truly important stuff. Make sure everything is searchable and placed where site visitors will look – put yourself in their shoes or even ask someone else on your team to show you where they would look. Just be intentional.

#2 – Remember That People Are Relying on You

Are there tasks that people need to come in to complete? Or call during business hours? Could your website be handling those tasks? Here’s a quick thought experiment: Try to estimate how many customers your utility meets in the field each day? Whatever that number is, multiply it by about 100 and you start to realize the impact your website has. Intentional web design for power companies builds trust and elevates mundane encounters into satisfying experiences.

#3 – Imagine Each Site Visitor as a Real & Unique Person

Take some time to create some fictional site visitors on paper (I’m serious) and ask what they want to accomplish? Ask what their limitations are. Click these examples to stir your imagination:

• Do they live far away from your office?
• Do they work during your normal business hours?
• Do they have a limited reading ability?
• Do they have reliable income?

Once the personas are made, start looking at each “person” and ask yourself if you are delivering on your utility’s promise for each of them.

The relationship between a utility and its consumers is built on reliance. Your consumers are the heroes of their own story and they need you at their convenience. They need to know you’re ‘always on’ without hesitation. Leverage the tools at your disposal (job postings, FAQs, news releases) so they can take care of business any time. If you aren’t sure how to use some of the tools, reach out to us for help. We can teach you or we can just do it for you. The important thing is that your website remains a useful tool.

#4 – Anticipate the Tasks They’re Trying To Complete

Most visitors come to perform a task like setting up an account, paying their bill, or checking on an outage. Streamline those functions with intuitive design, clear interfaces, simple titles, & searchable content. Remember, jpg titles are not searchable and PDFs are generally not searchable either.

During emergencies, customers rely on your website for accurate and timely updates. Build your response plan and learn how to deploy the tools your website has to offer: (alert banners, push notifications, web submission forms).

A thoughtfully designed website is like answering the phone before it even rings!

#5 – Embrace a Long-Term Vision

A continuous improvement mindset helps you stay in front of expectations. Deploy new tools as needed and continue to create fresh content.

There’s no such thing as a finished website.

When you walk into a bakery, you get an immediate sense of how fresh their food is. That freshness is both imperceptible and obvious at the same time. Your utility website is the same! When someone arrives on your site, they should sense something current. That helps them trust that you are present on the other side.

These five essential elements of utility company web design will help to keep you in front of everything that comes your way.