# Driving Student Sign-Ups with a Mobile-First Utility Platform

> Source: https://layers.studio/work/fused-bills

Revamping a student-focused utility platform with a mobile-first, modular site that simplifies billing, boosts sign-ups and builds trust.

**Year:** 2024

**Client:** Fused Bills

**Industry:** Utilities

**What We Delivered:** UI, UX, Web

## Introduction

Fused Bills, the student-facing arm of One Utility Bill, simplifies shared living by rolling energy, broadband, water, and TV bills into one monthly payment. With students as their core demographic, Fused needed a digital presence that reflected their fresh, student-first approach while supporting business growth.

Despite being a key part of the One Utility Bill brand, the existing Fused Bills website was outdated, underperforming, and failing to resonate with its intended audience. The user experience didn’t reflect the simplicity of the service, and mobile usability, which is critical for a student market, was lacking.

That’s where we came in.

## Challenge

Fused Bills approached Layers Studio to completely reimagine their digital presence. The goals were clear:

- Simplify the user journey, especially on mobile

- Build trust quickly with students unfamiliar with bill-splitting services

- Increase sign-ups by improving messaging clarity and visual hierarchy

- Create a flexible modular design system their team could manage internally

In technical terms, this meant overhauling site architecture, introducing reusable components, improving accessibility standards, and ensuring performance across all screen sizes — all while capturing the energy of the student audience.

## UX

We started by conducting comprehensive discovery workshops involving stakeholders to gain insights into the challenges faced by Fused. We recognised the importance of mobile accessibility for student users. Adopting a mobile-first approach to UX design, we ensured that the website's layout, navigation, and functionality were optimised for seamless mobile experiences. Through intuitive design and clear call-to-actions, our aim was to streamline the user journey and facilitate effortless bill management for students on the go.

## UI

In redesigning Fused Bill's website, we took a creative approach to UI design, infusing the brand's identity into every element of the user interface. Drawing inspiration from Fused's vibrant and youthful brand persona, we incorporated fun and dynamic images, along with cutout-style graphics, to create a visually engaging experience. These playful elements not only added personality to the website but also captured the attention of users, making their browsing experience more enjoyable. Furthermore, we introduced parallax animations and other interactive features to enhance user engagement and create a sense of depth and immersion. Through carefully curated iconography and custom illustrations, we visually communicated Fused's key offerings and USPs, making complex information easily digestible for users. By harmonising these design elements with Fused's brand guidelines, we ensured consistency and coherence throughout the website, reinforcing brand recognition and trust among visitors.

## Development

Developing the website in a HubSpot account responsible for multiple businesses posed the first challenge, but configuring multiple business units so that the different websites could easily be differentiated set forward an even playing field for development. Throughout the project, we put a focus on usability and content management without hindering the aesthetic appearance of the site. We rebuilt default HubSpot modules to extend their styling capabilities and bring a fresh feel to the built-in Drag and Drop builder which can sometimes be restrictive when it comes to advanced design elements.


Furthermore, we developed a library of custom modules that allows the client to quickly put together high-converting and on-brand landing pages for new advertising campaigns in a matter of minutes without the need to reach out for external support. We also made use of the HubSpots Database system HubL to allow easy management of Team Members and a variety of testimonials, integrated with our custom modules it allows full flexibility.


Not only has Fused upgraded its internal operations and capabilities when it comes to managing its website, but its inbound and outbound marketing has been fully integrated into its website allowing smooth transitions to their 3rd party app and allowing full analytical breakdowns to aid their future marketing capabilities.

## Result

We delivered a bold, mobile-first website designed to meet students where they are: on their phones. Every element from layout and navigation, to messaging and motion, was designed to feel clear, fast, and friendly.

We also built a flexible modular design system, giving the Fused team the power to create, update, and manage content without needing ongoing developer support. The site’s structure now scales with them, supporting marketing campaigns, seasonal offers, and evolving content needs.

Interactive touches and subtle animations were introduced to elevate engagement while reinforcing trust. The result is a site that doesn’t just look better, it converts better, too.

## Why It Matters

By rebuilding the Fused Bills site from the ground up, we removed friction in the user journey and made sign-ups faster and easier. The mobile-first design built trust with a student audience that expects clarity and speed. Behind the scenes, the modular setup gave their team full control to scale content and campaigns with ease. The result is a platform that not only looks better, but performs better, supporting growth now and into the future.

> “A great partner to work with - fantastic execution and generally a really good bunch of people. We're using Layers now for a second major web development project within HubSpot. James and the team are extremely knowledgeable about the platform and have gone to huge lengths to understand our business and audience. Both the design and dev teams have been excellent - the final product is a build that far outstrips what we could have hoped for.”

Oliver Rix, Head of Marketing