The Top Five Interface Problems on Credit Union Websites
Not to toot our own horns, but we build a lot of credit union websites (toot, toot). And so we see a lot of interface problems on old websites we need to solve with the new websites.
Here are the top five problems we see specifically related to interfaces on credit union websites, and some of the ways we fix them – and keep them from coming back. We define interface as the ways users understand and interact with a website; it’s mostly about usability, but it’s also about what the interface communicates about your credit union’s brand.
The flea market
The home page “flea market” is the most common issue we see on old CU websites. Over time, “just one more thing” from every department turns into a mess of conflicting priorities vying for attention. We’ve got bright colors! Things moving! Things blinking! An urgent notice about fraud! Another urgent notice about a different kind of fraud! Seven different banners in a carousel! More cowbell!
When everything’s important, nothing is important. The main issue here is focus; when most members visit your home page, you only have time for one message – what’s that going to be? What are your members looking for most often, and how do you help them find it quickly?
One ongoing piece of the solution is site governance; you need consensus on website ownership and a clear, strong strategy for website content with regular review, or else you’ll soon be “one-more-thinged” right back into the clown car look.
And of course, a clear, versatile site structure and CMS (Content Management System) is important too — the new site has to be built for clear communication and flexibility in future messaging. Extras like personalization and targeting tools can also help make sure specific messages have a place and are targeted to their audience without cluttering up the interface with multiple messages.
Words, words, and more words
The more words, the less communication, and the more chances for miscommunication and errors. Online writing must be concise, precise, free of “market-speak” and hype, and broken down into easy to digest chunks, with a structure tailored to help people understand and prioritize the information. Link text needs to be as clear, as short as possible, and organized around your members’ “mental maps”, not your org chart.
That might sound like a huge task, but here’s the good news: on every credit union website we’ve seen, the top ten pages account for well over 99.9% of the pageviews. So a very effective way to efficiently address the wordiness issue is to focus on editing and organizing the ten pages with the most traffic and value. And of course you need to remove or update outdated content so that it doesn’t confuse members (or visiting AI agents.)
Reducing word count also has big benefits in usability, effectiveness of the content, and even in SEO. Not to mention your brand and products look a lot cleaner and easier to understand, and a lot more credible without all the clutter, fine print, and hype.
Mobile mayhem
Most websites work OK on mobile these days, but are they really optimized for mobile? On average, over 50% of credit union website pageviews are on mobile devices (sometimes even more). So optimizing the mobile experience is just as important (or more) than what you see on a computer screen, and this goes a lot deeper than making sure basic site functions work.
Are you using the limited space wisely, without overstuffing (see “Flea market” above)?
Are you accounting for the differing needs of mobile users? For example, we often add a mobile-only toolbar with the things mobile users might need most – a button to call, a button to text, and a button to locate a branch. We’ve also found that a natural-language internal search engine is also very important; mobile users often use search rather than navigation once they discover that it works well.
And in the long term, it’s important to have tools in your CMS for easily managing the mobile experience. You might want to use different images for mobile vs. desktop, use condensed versions of content for mobile users, or even target Android and iOS devices with different content.
Accessibility angst
Most people know by now that images need ALT text, but taking Accessibility to the next level goes a lot deeper than the basics, and it benefits everyone.
For example, your site needs to work for people using the keyboard to navigate instead of a mouse, and navigation shouldn’t require precise hand movements. Links in text should be descriptive, rather than using “Click here” or “learn more”. Reading level is an important, but often overlooked, part of Accessibility as well.
Solving Accessibility issues, and heading off future issues, comes down to building the site interface and structure correctly from the start, then setting up tools and processes to make it easy to maintain. For example, we set up default type, headline, and link styling for each site to help make sure only color combinations with good contrast are used. When you upload images in our CMS, it’s easy to add descriptive ALT text. And we build navigation that works via keyboard, and doesn’t require a lot of pointing precision.
Good Accessibility also makes your website more useful for everyone, and more understandable to search engines. Plus, regular reviews or audits for Accessibility (and general site quality) are an important way to make sure issues don’t creep in, and to make continuous improvements.
Brand in a bad haircut
Besides the nuts and bolts and functionality, what does your interface say about your brand?
Are you user-friendly, with simple, easy choices and a calm, competent attitude? Or are you a brand with lots and lots of options for everyone, and an eager, almost old-fashioned emphasis on personal service? Both of these could be shown very differently in the use of space and content priorities.
However, a chaotic interface stuffed with every last option and sprinkled with broken links might say “overstuffed antique shop”, and that’s probably not a brand personality that works for a credit union. A quirky, nonstandard interface that takes some study and several clicks to figure out where the rates are might say “edgy and cool” but it also says “annoying” and “obscure”.
Fundamentally, credit union websites are tools (members and potential members are there to do or find something), not destinations or entertainment. “Cool” and “high-tech” is great, but you can’t let it get in the way of “usable” and “efficient”.
Keeping things a little simpler and a little more standard also makes the site much easier to maintain in the long term. Of course, leaning on established best practices and interface standards doesn’t mean the site has to be at all boring. There’s a balance here.
What you choose to include, and where, also says a lot about your credit union’s values and priorities. If you’re all about financial education, but the articles are generic and outdated and links are buried in the footer, that’s a mismatch. If you’re all about having the best rates, be loud and proud and make the rates and highlights easy to find. If you’re THE credit union for Podunkville, then make sure Podunkville is on every page, along with plenty of recognizably local pictures and people.
The interface is not just about a cool design; it’s the first interaction most people will have with your credit union. Does this face of your brand match the best of what you have to offer, or is it more like a bad haircut that gives a bad first impression?
Need a hand with your yard sale? Wondering how your CU’s website measures up? Let’s chat!
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