The Challenge

In 2023, Jurupa Community Services District (JCSD) sought to update its website to a more contemporary design that prioritized user experience and provided key functionality to meet the District’s technological needs. With those objectives in mind, the District selected Tripepi Smith to lead its website redesign process.

As Tripepi Smith partnered with JCSD, additional communications needs arose — paving the way for our team to facilitate a communications workshop for the District’s Board of Directors and launch an intranet redesign project. Tripepi Smith continues to support the District in engaging the local community as it provides essential services.

Our Approach

To kick off JCSD’s website redesign project, Tripepi Smith first identified website trends and best practices for the District to consider. We then hosted an introductory call to discuss the project timeline along with JCSD’s vision for the website and core needs. From there, Tripepi Smith’s web developers took the lead on a Website Specification Document (WSD) that outlined key design elements, site features, imagery, a site map and more. The WSD served as a foundation for the next steps: website design, coding, content migration, quality assurance and then website launch.

As Tripepi Smith worked on this website redesign, the District also enlisted our support on a communications workshop for its Board of Directors and key stakeholders. Tripepi Smith planned and hosted an interactive workshop that focused on best practices for external communications and social media — educating and empowering attendees in their roles with the District.

Results

In October 2023, Tripepi Smith hosted its communications workshop for the JCSD Board of Directors. Through hands-on exercises and interactive discussion, attendees gained practical knowledge on how to effectively represent the District. The session also contained an important summary of legal considerations and boundaries, ensuring Board members understand key policies, including the Brown Act and Public Records Act. The workshop empowered elected officials to help tell the District’s story while complying with relevant laws.

JCSD’s new website was launched in August 2024, featuring a fresh look and interactive interface to better serve ratepayers. The site leverages new features, including a live chatbot, to help users find what they’re looking for easily and quickly. The home page features a video that showcases District facilities and staff, shedding light on the often-invisible services that JCSD provides.

Over its first eight months, the new website drew 155,000 individual users — effectively reaching the District’s 140,000 customers and beyond. The average engagement time for each active user was one minute forty-eight seconds, which exceeds many public sector site benchmarks (including federal government averages). Over 60% of new users found the site through organic search, indicating strong search engine optimization (SEO).

Through this new website, the District has been able to showcase the important work it does and better engage its community.