Case Study
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GO-Live Date
March 24, 2026
Trusted Web Experts
Charlie Stanley
Web Solutions Architect
Stacey Horton
Project Manager
Nikki Vanderkooi
Content Strategy & Integration
Tabi Kashif
Content Integration
Emma Walsh
Layout Design & UX
Mehran Aziz
Web Development
Zeeshan Aziz
Web Development
Heather Clark
Quality Assurance
Annie Watson
CMS Training
Beth Leffel
Website Launch
Leanna Thesken
Design Intake & Marketing
Jakob Scheetz
Content Inventory & Audit
Deanna Frimann
Resource Allocation
Goals
Overview
Moving Forward with Intention
Wells Rural Electric Company (WREC) serves northeastern Nevada with a strong commitment to reliable service and community connection. As a not-for-profit cooperative, their work reflects a broader mission to support the people and places they serve.
Having partnered with Powerful on their previous website, WREC returned with a clear goal in mind: evolve their online experience to match how they’ve grown. With a renewed focus on modern presentation, intuitive navigation, accessibility, and community visibility, the redesign offered a natural next step. The result is a website that supports daily needs while giving visitors a clear picture of WREC’s purpose and impact.
A Fresh Direction for a Forward-Thinking Co-op
As WREC’s communication priorities grew, there was a clear opportunity to present their services and programs in a way that felt more current and aligned with how visitors engage online today. Their previous site provided a strong, task-focused experience, helping visitors quickly complete essential actions. Over time, however, WREC saw the value in expanding beyond tasks alone to highlight the broader story of who they are and what they offer.
To support this shift, WREC and Powerful transitioned to the Halsey blueprint, a promotional layout designed to balance function with storytelling. While still maintaining quick access to key actions, the homepage now introduces visitors to WREC’s priorities in a more dynamic way. A prominent section encourages the use of SmartHub for online account management, making it easy for visitors to take advantage of convenient, self-service tools. This placement reinforces WREC’s commitment to modern solutions while helping reduce friction for everyday account needs.
The homepage also brings greater visibility to Youth Programs, an important reflection of WREC’s role in supporting future leaders. By elevating this content, WREC reinforces its connection to cooperative principles and its investment in the communities it serves. These features are not buried within the site. They are intentionally placed where visitors can easily discover them.
This transition from a task-oriented to a promotional structure allows WREC to communicate in a well-rounded way. Visitors can still accomplish what they came to do, while also gaining a clearer understanding of WREC’s impact, values, and forward momentum.
Turning Key Topics Into Engaging Experiences
WREC identified several areas where deeper storytelling could strengthen visitor understanding. Topics like their cooperative structure, youth opportunities, and hydropower efforts are central to who they are, yet these subjects can be difficult to fully communicate through dense text alone. The goal was to present this information in a way that feels approachable, engaging, and easy to navigate.
To achieve this, Powerful developed a series of visualized pages, including Who We Are, Youth Programs, and Benefits of Hydropower. Each page is intentionally structured to guide visitors through content in a clear and engaging format. On the Who We Are page, key metrics such as members served and miles of line are highlighted with animated counters that draw attention without overwhelming the experience. Supporting sections like the Board of Directors and cooperative principles are organized into clean, digestible blocks, making it easier for visitors to explore at their own pace.
The Youth Programs page brings energy and clarity to opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed. Instead of lengthy explanations, the page uses imagery, icons, and concise content blocks to showcase leadership development, cultural experiences, and pathways like the Youth Tour. A dedicated call-to-action makes it simple for visitors to take the next step, turning awareness into participation.
Similarly, the Benefits of Hydropower page breaks down a complex topic into a structured, step-by-step experience. Visitors can follow how hydropower works through numbered sections, supported by visuals and quick facts. Additional highlights, such as hydropower statistics and advantages, are presented in a format that encourages exploration rather than passive reading.
These visualized pages play a key role in WREC’s goal of intuitive design. By replacing long stretches of text with organized, interactive content, the site becomes easier to navigate and more engaging to explore. Visitors are guided through information naturally, helping them better understand WREC’s services, values, and impact without needing to search for it.
Challenges
WREC plays an active role in the communities it serves across northeastern Nevada. As a not-for-profit cooperative, their work is tied to local industries, regional history, and the people who rely on them every day. While their website supported communication well, there was an opportunity to better reflect that connection. The goal was to make the site feel more representative of the area, rather than just a place to find information.WREC wanted visitors to recognize themselves and their surroundings in the site. That meant going beyond standard imagery and finding a way to incorporate elements that are specific to their service territory, while still keeping the design clean and cohesive.
Solutions
Powerful introduced a custom illustrated footer that brings together several well-known elements from WREC’s region. Chimney Rock, Wendover Will, and the town of Carlin are all included, along with references to mining and agriculture. These are not random choices. Each element reflects something familiar to the communities WREC serves, whether it’s a recognizable landmark or a major part of the local economy. Details such as transmission lines stretching across open land, rail lines tied to Carlin’s history, and agricultural fields help paint a fuller picture of daily life within WREC’s service area. Each piece works together to reflect both the landscape and the livelihoods that define the community.The illustration is placed consistently at the bottom of each page, making it a steady visual element throughout the site. It works alongside the site’s color palette, which pulls from similar tones to keep everything visually aligned. This helps the illustration feel like part of the design, not something added on top of it.
Since it appears across the entire site, the illustration helps create a sense of continuity from page to page. Whether a visitor is looking for account information, learning about programs, or browsing community content, that visual remains present. It quietly reinforces where WREC operates and who they serve without requiring extra explanation.
Results
The redeisgned site feels more connected to the region it represents. Visitors are met with visuals that reflect places and industries they recognize, which helps establish familiarity right away. This is especially important for a cooperative like WREC, where trust and local presence matter. The site supports that by showing, not just telling, who they are connected to.The illustration also helps balance the overall design. While the homepage and interior pages focus on content and actions, the footer adds a consistent visual layer that grounds the experience. It gives the site a clear sense of identity without taking attention away from key information.
Altogether, these details leave visitors with a clearer understanding of WREC’s role in the community. The site communicates reliability and local presence in a way that feels straightforward and intentional, uplifting WREC’s place within the region it serves. Visitors leave with a strong impression of WREC as a cooperative. It highlights connection, familiarity, and shared experience in a way that feels natural.
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Quotes
Team Comments
This being their third site with Powerful, Wells Rural Electric Company wanted an updated look and feel that more thoroughly represented the communities they served. By opting into an illustrated footer, they were able to bring together unique elements such as Chimney rock, mining haul trucks, and the railroad to pay tribute to the three towns in their service territory. Additionally, by visualizing their Hydro 101, Youth Tour and Who We Are pages, they could highlight their unique story and how they plan to continue supporting their members moving forward. As a Nevada-native myself, it was so fun to work on a project close to home and with such a great team!
Project Manager
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