Helping the UK’s Drive to Net Zero by Enabling National Grid’s Multi-Site Strategy
Transforming National Grid's Digital Foundation: A Complete Website Rebuild for Enhanced User Experience and Operational Efficiency
National Grid, a leading energy infrastructure company, faced the challenge of modernising their digital presence to create a user-centric, personalised web ecosystem. With multiple legacy systems creating inefficiencies and an outdated user experience, National Grid needed a comprehensive solution that would streamline operations while laying the groundwork for future digital transformation initiatives.
The Challenge
National Grid's digital infrastructure had become fragmented and inefficient. The company was operating four separate Content Management Systems (CMS) across several different business units, creating operational complexity and inconsistent user experiences. The existing nationalgrid.com suffered from poor mobile navigation, contained over 250 outdated pages, and lacked the flexibility needed for rapid content creation and updates.
The challenge was to consolidate these systems while improving website usability, reducing development costs, and creating a solid foundation for personalisation, all without disrupting ongoing business operations. The project also needed to prepare the infrastructure for migrating nationalgridus.com to the same platform within the fiscal year.
Our Approach
To address National Grid's complex requirements, we implemented a complete rebuild using Acquia's Site Studio, a low-code visual site builder designed for the Drupal platform. Here's how we tackled the transformation:
1. Strategic Platform Consolidation
We made the strategic decision to rebuild the site entirely rather than implement changes on the existing version. This approach eliminated technical and design debt while enabling us to streamline from four CMS platforms down to one, consolidating the ET and Group systems for improved efficiency.
2. Enhanced User Experience Focus
We prioritised immediate user experience improvements, including:
Completely redesigned mobile navigation to eliminate overlapping navigation issues
Comprehensive content audit and removal of 250+ outdated pages
Implementation of design consistency and UX standards across the platform
3. Low-Code Development Implementation
Site Studio's visual interface was leveraged to enable:
Rapid page creation and editing capabilities
Reduced reliance on development resources
Enhanced editorial experience allowing content teams to build complex layouts independently
Streamlined component architecture with reusable design patterns
4. Performance and Technical Optimization
We implemented comprehensive improvements including:
Enhanced site performance, accessibility, and SEO metrics
Optimised Solr-powered search functionality for improved accuracy and responsiveness
New visual components including improved gallery and dedicated video components
Consolidated platform architecture supporting both Group and ET websites
The Outcome
The nationalgrid.com relaunch delivered immediate operational benefits while establishing a scalable foundation for future growth. Key achievements include:
Streamlined Operations: Consolidated four CMS platforms into one efficient system
Enhanced User Experience: Improved mobile navigation and removed 250+ outdated pages
Development Efficiency: Faster page building and editing through visual interface tools
Editorial Independence: Content teams can now manage complex layouts without development support
Performance Improvements: Measurable enhancements in site speed, accessibility, and SEO
Future-Ready Architecture: Low-code foundation enabling rapid iteration and scaling
The project establishes a robust foundation for continuous improvement, with priority roadmap features including mega menu navigation, SEO and accessibility automation tools, and AI-powered search and chat functionality to enhance customer engagement.
"This has been a huge cross-functional team effort that has transformed our digital foundation.
The new platform provides us with the agility and scalability we need to continuously improve our user experience while significantly reducing our operational complexity.
We now have a modern, future-proof foundation that enables us to focus on innovation rather than maintenance."
National Grid Digital Team
In Summary
This transformation demonstrates the power of strategic platform consolidation and low-code development in creating scalable digital solutions. The cross-functional collaboration between Corporate Affairs, IT teams, and Coherence showcased how diverse expertise can deliver rapid, comprehensive digital transformation while maintaining operational continuity and setting the stage for future innovation.
Technologies used in this project
