Reduced Complexity, Enhanced User Experience and Sales Structure: The New EWE Website

Background and Challenge

EWE faced a significant digital challenge: their existing website no longer met modern market standards and could not optimally support the energy company's ambitious sales objectives. After years of fragmented optimizations, the platform had become complex and confusing, negatively impacting the user experience.

The core problems centered around three critical areas: The website lacked intuitive user guidance, increasing bounce risk and jeopardizing potential conversions. At the same time, there was no clear integration of the "Zuhause-Strategie" ("Home Strategy"), through which EWE wanted to position itself as an approachable full-service provider for all energy and telecommunications requirements for the home. Additionally, the overall competitiveness of the web presence still had a lot of potential for optimization – a critical point in a fiercely competitive energy market.

The digital sales channel played an increasingly important role for EWE, but the existing structure was unable to fully exploit cross-selling potential and create sustainable customer loyalty. The advancing digitalization intensified these challenges daily.

Approach and Realization

The modernization process followed a structured four-phase approach, with the "Home Strategy" serving as a consistent guiding principle throughout.

Phase 1: Comprehensive Status Analysis

Our team conducted detailed UX and content analysis, identified navigation weaknesses, and evaluated SEO performance. Simultaneously, benchmark analyses were created comparing the most important competitors. Team workshops and expert interviews rounded out the analysis phase, providing valuable insights for further development.

Phase 2: Strategic Concept Development

Building on the analysis results, our team developed a completely new sitemap structure and defined ten central use cases – from electricity tariff ordering to heat pump consultation. Functional modules such as tariff calculators, interactive home modules, and intuitive ordering processes were designed to optimize the user journey.

Phase 3: Design and Prototyping

Wireframes formed the foundation for modern, mobile-first layouts across all product areas – from electricity and gas to solar and heating, through to internet and mobile services. Figma prototypes enabled early testing and optimization of user guidance. Special focus was placed on sticky navigation and prominent placement of the modular tariff calculator.

Phase 4: Technical Foundation

A systematic CMS evaluation process compared Sitecore, Magnolia, and Drupal based on features, infrastructure compatibility, security, SEO capabilities, and costs. The evaluation matrix provided data-driven decision-making foundations for the platform's technical future.

Results

The modernization project delivered a comprehensive blueprint for EWE's digital future with measurable improvements across all critical areas.

User Experience and Conversion Optimization

The new sticky navigation and intuitive information architecture significantly reduced scrolling effort and improved orientation. The modular tariff calculator now enabled quick entry points into all product areas, while emotional imagery and clear call-to-actions boosted conversion rates. Usability tests confirmed: "The website proved to be extremely user-friendly, with attractive symbols that provide comprehensive information."

Strategic Brand Positioning

The interactive home module made the complete provider strategy tangible and created natural cross-selling opportunities. EWE was now consistently positioned as an approachable partner for all home-related needs – from energy through internet to sustainable solutions like solar and heat pumps.

Technical Excellence and Future-Readiness

The CMS evaluation yielded clear recommendations: Magnolia leads with 641 points ahead of Sitecore (614 points), offering the best balance of functionality, cost-efficiency, and future security. The modular architecture enabled flexible content adaptations and rapid responses to market changes.

SEO and Performance Enhancement

Optimized URL structures, integrated FAQ sections, and improved content hierarchies strengthened organic visibility. The mobile-first strategy and reduced loading times supported better SEO rankings and more effectively reach younger target audiences.

The project created the foundation for significant increases in online conversion rates, cross-selling, and Net Promoter Score. EWE now had a future-ready digital presence that enabled growth and sustainably strengthens market position.