Developing a Website for Home Energy Scotland

I recently had the chance to speak with Jenn Hood, an award-winning digital designer and strategist who has been working with Third Sector Lab for nearly five years now. 

As part of her role, Jenn has been instrumental in the development of many projects. I sat down with her to discuss the development and maintenance of Home Energy Scotland’s website. Since 2020, Jenn has worked closely with their team to understand the client’s goals and to develop and support a website that meets their needs.

Meet the Client: Home Energy Scotland

Prior to Jenn’s involvement, Home Energy Scotland was a subsection  of the Energy Saving Trust’s website. The project involved taking content from various subsections of the Energy Saving Trust’s website and creating a standalone website for Home Energy Scotland. This provided Home Energy Scotland with an opportunity to develop their online presence without the constraints of the larger site. 

Additionally, Jenn implemented a new content management system based on existing site structure and brand guidelines. This made it easier for the client to make updates and add new features to their website.

Although Jenn has offered continued technical support, it is important that clients can make use of their website without the help of external parties. Since she equipped them with a useful content management system, Home Energy Scotland has been largely self-sufficient and hasn’t needed to rely on her input for simple changes. 

Continued Technical Support

The website launched in mid-2020, and since then, Jenn has been involved in various updates and added new functionalities, including a recent rebranding in early 2023. The rebrand updated the site’s appearance in accordance with updated brand guidelines. This was achieved by making changes to the icons, header font, typography, and other elements. The new look made a significant difference in the site’s appearance and its functionality for both staff and external users.

“The sites we build aren’t just for the benefit of end users. It’s just as important that those who manage the site can do so easily, even if they’re not web experts. Reducing administrative load also helps our clients focus on the great work they do.”

Jenn was able to form a good working relationship with Home Energy Scotland and was proud to have contributed to something that was well-publicised, even appearing in TV adverts. Jenn described seeing one of these adverts as a “pinch me moment” where she felt proud to have played a role in the project.

Overall, my conversation with Jenn provided an exciting glimpse into the process of building a website for a high profile client. It’s clear that Jenn took great care in creating a site that would serve Home Energy Scotland well and help them to develop their online presence. This is just one of the many projects that Jenn and Third Sector Lab have been involved in over the years. 

If you’d like to find out more, Jenn can be contacted at jennifer@thirdsectorlab.co.uk. More information about our services can be found at Third Sector Lab.