What Makes a Better Credit Union Website?

by Cathy Scoda 

As cooperative as the credit union industry is, you’re still operating in a competitive landscape—and you need to use all the tools at your disposal to keep your current members happy and attract new members. Thankfully you already have one of the tools you need—a website.

Your website may be just one of the tools that you can use to gain a competitive advantage—but what an advanced tool it is! Simply by adding features, you can take your website from one that describes your products and services to a site that engages visitors and makes them interested in returning. 

Start with the Fundamentals

For website veterans, these tips are simple reminders, but they merit a brief mention. The following are some of the simplest features that can be adjusted to make each visit to your website a pleasant one. Be sure your site has:

• Clear navigation
• Strong balance of text and “white space”
• Easily understood naming conventions or labels so that visitors can quickly find what they need
• Descriptive information about your products and services
• Call to action (with contact information) on every product and service page

Incorporate Useful and Fun Features

People quickly tire of a static website, so add features and interactive options to keep visitors coming back. Depending on your site’s available “real estate” and your budget, you can add one or all of the following:

Secure Live Chat – A live chat service lets your member service representatives (MSRs) interact with your members and potential members in real time. Your MSRs can address concerns, answer questions, provide information—and even send members directly to a specific page of your website.

Financial education and budgeting tools – Your site can be a trusted resource for financial education and budgeting resources. Add relevant financial articles and tips to help your members make sound financial decisions, and your members will rely on your site for more than just rates and a link to their home banking login. When you add financial calculators to your site, you’re helping members budget and plan so they can reach their financial goals.

Video – Place videos on your site on a regular basis to keep members interested, so they’ll return to your site to see what’s new. Some types of videos you can post include:

• Instructional – Financial literacy is always important, so post videos that cover different topics (such as controlling your credit or planning for retirement) and appeal to members of all ages.     
• Community-oriented – Share a brief video of your CU staff members participating in community events, such as a fundraising event for a charity.
• Promotional – Post a video of your CEO’s appearance on the local TV news to discuss the importance of Member Business Lending or simply promote a product or service.

Mobile site – Let members find your site and access it wherever they are—with a mobile site. Whether members are on the road and need to find a branch or shopping for a car and want to talk financing, a mobile site provides a quick way to reach you and your services. 

Look Ahead

These are just a few of the features that you can use to enhance your site, serve your members, and keep visitors to your site engaged. But stay tuned; the way technology is changing, chances are you’ll soon have a few more tools to select from the technology toolbox!

Related Products: Content Management System, BoldChat, Video Management System, Mobile Site

Is Your Credit Union’s Website Easy to Use? Top 5 Things to Consider

When redesigning or even just tweaking your credit union’s website you need to think beyond the bells and whistles and focus on website usability. There are four tests to assess your website’s usability:

• Design Test – This test consists of showing respondents an image, be it a wireframe, design or mock-up, for five seconds. After the respondents have viewed the design they are then asked a series of questions. It’s used to evaluate and determine if a site’s design is meeting its goals.
• Navigation Test – Respondents are given a task to complete on your site and test results show the success or fail rate in addition to a click analysis as well as if the navigation makes sense.
• Click Test – Click testing gauges how users engage with the site’s overall design. It also evaluates the key area of focus of the design and can determine user preference between two designs.
• Eye Tracking Study – A specialized test that tracks where on the computer screen the test subject is looking and in what order.

Website Usability at its Best

If you think you know your website, you might want to think again after undergoing any of the above tests. No matter how good looking and content-rich your website may be, there’s always room for improvement. 

Here are the top five website usability factors that often get overlooked:

1. Strong calls to action
   Having text that proclaims “click here” isn’t enough for Web users anymore. You need eye catching graphic designed buttons with strong calls to action like “apply here,” “contact us” or “rates” to get the responses you’re looking for on your credit union’s website.
2. Think F-shaped
   Most eye tracking studies done on websites, especially by the pioneer of website usability Dr. Jakob Nielsen, reveal a consistent pattern. Most users’ eyes tend to follow an F-shaped pattern when looking at websites for the first time. They start at the top left, work their way down and then briefly look to the right. You might want to consider laying out your website accordingly, putting important content on the left side of the page.
3. Ignore the fold
   Well, not completely … but the idea that all your important content needs to be “above the fold.” This means the part of your website you first see without scrolling down. Studies show that if your viewer is interested, they’ll scroll down for more information. And with so many varying screen sizes these days – from gigantic flat screen monitors down to tablets and smartphones, everyone’s fold is different!
4. Speed matters
   Do you have any idea how long it takes a slower computer to access your credit union’s website? It’s worth finding out. Too many images or other website performance issues can determine the click speed. And in this fast-paced world, people don’t like waiting. If they have to wait too long, chances are they’ll find another credit union’s website that’s faster.
5. Keep it clean
   We’re not talking about having G-rated content (although it never hurts). We’re talking about layout. Were you so concerned about getting every speck of information on your site you didn’t think about how attractive or readable that content is? Consider how much white space you have and how your content is formatted. A good amount of white space, easy-to-read fonts, headings, bulleted lists and concise copy are all your website’s friends and improve its usability.

Test it Out

If you don’t believe our tips, test it out for yourself. Have new members, family and friends visit your site, their feedback may be enlightening. If you’re looking for a more thorough analysis of your website’s usability, CU Solutions Group can help.

We utilize the design, navigation and click tests to get a good understanding of your site’s strengths and weaknesses, compile and present the data and offer useful suggestions. We also offer Web design and development, custom copywriting and more to help make your credit union’s website the best it can be.