Umwelttechnik BW GmbH, Landesagentur für Umwelttechnik und Ressourceneffizienz Baden-Württemberg (UTBW), is the state agency for environmental technology and resource efficiency in Baden-Württemberg. The state agency commissioned 1xINTERNET to develop a multisite solution as a platform for their state wide digital network. The result is a successful and mutually advantageous resource for the agency. The implementation of a comprehensive search and filter function greatly improved the user experience.
Who is Umwelttechnik BW GmbH?
Since 2011, a state agency has existed in Baden-Würtemberg with the aim of bringing together all relevant information, activities and professionals in the field of environmental technology and resource efficiency. At a regional level, it brings together stakeholders from business, science and politics, with the aim of enabling strategic project development as well as advising and supporting companies.
Umwelttechnik BW GmbH focuses in particular on small and medium-sized enterprises. With professionally focused events, national and international location-based marketing, established working groups and operational support for funding programs, it helps companies in the state on their way to a more environmentally compatible future.
Structure of the digital products of the state agency
Corporate website and portal of all players
Umwelttechnik-BW, the portal for environmental technology and resource efficiency in Baden-Württemberg, sees itself as a common information and action space for all stakeholders.
The new website uses a comprehensive search with numerous key terms that link to all of the information offered, and also to companies from CompA-RE as well as to events, displaying the matching results clearly.
Special topic pages provide an overview of UTBW's multi-layered offerings and guide interested parties through the extensive range of information, events, consulting and funding opportunities in a targeted manner.
Company Profiles
CompA-RE is a site for manufacturers of environmental technology. Companies from Baden-Württemberg can register, create a company profile and thus draw attention to themselves.
An interactive map facilitates the visualisation of the company location.
The company profiles are automatically translated into four other languages by an integrated translation tool and are therefore available to the international market.
Events
The state agency offers different events, which vary considerably in duration and structure.
The event platform makes it possible to list events of varying complexity - from simple information events to multi-day events with complex agendas. The booking of events can be processed via the system which allows for different booking procedures.
What problem was the client facing?
The challenge was to digitally map the network of all relevant information, activities and players from business, science and politics, and to ensure greater safety and compliance.
When the state agency approached 1xINTERNET, the company's online presences were running on different content management systems (CMS) as well as static websites. There were inconsistencies between the web presences and there was no data exchange between the platforms. Each CMS had a separate search function that could only access its own content and all existing platforms had their own design. It was not possible to exploit the connections between pages because each CMS required separate security updates and maintenance.
How could we help?
1xINTERNET developed a concept that included a Drupal upgrade and a complete relaunch of Umwelttechnik BW GmbH's online presence.
A consistent CMS based on Drupal was created and existing functionalities and content were transferred to a new modular architecture and numerous microsites were linked. A global filter and search function were set up to access all content on the state agency's pages.
From the client
"For us, the new website was a revolutionary step towards the digital linking of all services offered by our state agency as well as the stakeholders involved, thanks to the networking of all content and the intelligent search with suggestions for keywords. At last, users can not only find the information they are looking for, but also see additional, relevant content. The project has been a great success so far and we look forward to further collaboration!"
Katja Berg, Project Manager Digital Media at UTBW
Main features of the project
Uniform basis
1xINTERNET created a uniform base for all sites with the 1xDXP Multisite Management System. This allows enough room to keep the individuality of each site and at the same time makes it possible to create high-quality, relevant and well-prepared content accessible on all sites.
Uniform design
A design system was created to align the design of each platform in a consistent way. The design of each site was broken down to see how they could be reflected within the design system. The design system was then created with all the required components that could then be shared across all platforms.
CMS & Hosting
1xINTERNET created a powerful 1xCMS to operate sustainably. A set of modules were created for the editors of the state agency with a view to future projects, in order to be able to create medium projects as efficiently as possible and integrate them into the digital landscape. A Drupal-based backend technology was implemented, hosted by 1xINTERNET.
Filter & search
Thanks to the unified code base, the use of a distributed, multi-tenant full-text search engine became possible. Users can now access all content, offers and partners from a single search box (via the Elastic Search Engine).
The filter function, which works with key terms, illustrates comprehensive information on companies, funding programs, projects, awards, news and case studies across several levels.
Integrated security, maintenance & support
Thanks to the uniform code base, security, maintenance and support were integrated and consolidated across platforms.
Optimised tracking & accessibility
The new site is barrier-free and was created in a way that it can be optimised for tracking and SEO.
1xDXP products used in the project
Why was Drupal a good fit for this project?
The state agency was running on Drupal 7 & 8 and they were familiar and satisfied with Drupal. Networking was achieved through a uniform Drupal 9 code base. A crucial feature of the project was that whilst all pages were networked the individuality of each page was maintained. The multisite solution combines effort meaning that recurring expenses for maintenance and support are reduced.
