Australian Energy Regulator (AER)

AER embarked on a transformation journey, where Morpht rolled out a rigorous approach that encompassed extensive discovery phases, detailed content modelling, and the migration of numerous data sources.

Overview

Drupal 10 | User experience | Migration | GovCMS PaaS | Web development

The website is the most important communications channel for the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), providing its varied stakeholders with relevant, transparent and timely information.

The old site was created more than ten years ago and was based on Drupal 7 which was nearing its end of life. Using the opportunity to go beyond just an update to Drupal, the AER commenced a rigorous discovery process designed to better understand business and user needs.

Partnering with Svelte Studios, AER enlisted Morpht as their development partner to spearhead the redevelopment of their main digital channel. The brief was to implement a complete revitalisation of the website: encompassing everything from design and architecture to content migration and user experience enhancement.

Visit the site

The challenge

The AER site was large and complex and had evolved over several years. The internals of the old site were quite strong with many cross-cutting relationships which categorised the content well. However, there were several areas where the structure could be simplified, improved and made a better fit for a new build into Drupal 9.

The content of the site included:

Content types

26997

Nodes

41815

Documents

The Solution

This project entailed a significant redevelopment of the site, encompassing extensive discovery phases, content modelling, migration, and the implementation of a modern, user-friendly interface. The solution was constructed using Drupal 9 on the GovCMS PaaS platform.

Discovery

There was an extensive program of user-driven discovery undertaken with a broad range of users, including both internal and external stakeholders. Insights gained from these discovery sessions were captured in a new Information Architecture (IA) as well as some (much needed) improvements to the UX and UI to better suit the evolving requirements of the broader AER communication goals.

Building the framework

Morpht created a comprehensive content model outlining the necessary content types, fields, taxonomies, and views essential for migrating existing content while integrating new content and meeting specific requirements. This process involved a realignment of many of the content types so that the number of types could be reduced. This simplification resulted in a clearer structure to support users in navigating and exploring the site.

Complex content migrations

Navigating intricate connections between legacy data and the new content model involved integrating new fields, content types, and site structure. Leveraging the Migrate module, Morpht seamlessly transferred legacy data, ensuring no loss occurred in the process. During this process, almost every URL was updated on the site. Morpht was able to update all of the internal links and map the redirects to ensure a minimum number of broken links and the retention of all 'Google juice' from the old site.

Enhanced user experience

Svelte Studios designed a fresh, intuitive interface, informed by insights gleaned during the discovery phases. Clear audience segmentation and enhanced content findability addressed long-standing usability issues.

Accessible for all

Given that the website serves as AER's primary communication platform, meeting WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards was imperative. Morpht incorporates accessibility best practices and conducts thorough testing in all our projects, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards is ingrained in our development process. AER also engaged an external accessibility auditor to work with us on complying with the standards.

The outcome

The substantial digital overhaul of the site proved to be a success, meeting deadlines and financial targets while ensuring seamless data migration. AER is excited about the launch of its revamped site on the GovCMS PaaS platform, powered by Drupal 10.

With its improved user experience and modern aesthetics, the site equips AER with the capabilities to further educate and instil trust in the information and services it offers.