An organization’s website is critical for meaningful and efficient digital engagement with customers. Enhancing the user experience, accessibility, findability, and front-end technology of a website can’t be done unless gaps in the current process are identified. Organizations often don’t know what they don’t know, costing them more than they think. Moreover, time and resources may prevent a thorough excavation of a website. A WayPath Digital Audit is a complimentary service that identifies gaps in a current process and shows an organization the next steps to enhancing and investing in a website, all without credentials. A Digital Audit is a small engagement using commercial and open-source tools along with an expert analysis that will uncover big challenges and even bigger opportunities.
Austin Energy is one company whose website received a thorough analysis and specific set of recommendations from a WayPath Digital Audit. Austin Energy provides electrical power to the city of Austin, Texas, as well as Travis County and a small portion of Williamson County. Established in 1895, Austin Energy is the United States’ seventh largest public utility and services over 500,000 customers and more than one million residents.
As Austin Energy prepared to replatform their main website, the company also sought to understand what other opportunities might exist to enhance the user experience, accessibility, findability, and front-end technology of the website.
In July 2021, WayPath performed a Digital Audit of https://austinenergy.com/ae/. This occurred over the course of one week, using commercial and open-source tools along with manual analysis of the website. Publicly accessible portions of the site were evaluated against industry best practices as well as general usability guidelines and WayPath’s in-depth knowledge of the energy and utilities sector. WayPath did not have access to content authoring capabilities, the logged in experience, or any analytics or proprietary data that Austin Energy may have.
Analysis was performed on the website with the following four dimensions in mind: Accessibility, Search Engine Optimization, Usability & Industry Best Practices, and Technology & Security.
Based on the assessment performed, WayPath recommended that Austin Energy consider the following next steps:
Valuable deliverables such as documentation of accessibility concerns, documentation of SEO techniques, identification of gaps in Usability & Industry Best Practices, and a Technology & Security overview allowed our client to become aware of gaps in efficiency and the customer experience. As evidenced from WayPath’s findings, this “outside looking in” approach can take an organization’s website to the next level.
ABOUT WAYPATH:
WayPath Consulting is your go-to software implementation specialist for all your digital marketing and compliance requirements. Founded in 1997, WayPath is a digital consulting agency that focuses on implementation scalable platform-based solutions that help you stay connected to and engaged with your customers. WayPath integrates software that is focused on improving customer communications and experiences with consistent branding, improved retention rates, and decreased regulatory exposure.
There has been a growing necessity to implement integrated communication systems such as Content Management Systems, Customer Communication Management, and Customer Relationship Management. These consolidated systems help brands reach out to their customers, notice changes in customer behaviors, keep track of sales and customer interactions, and so much more!