Customer-Centric Banking Website Redesign

Problem

Users visiting a banking website looking to open accounts didn’t know where to go. They went down dead-ends and frequently backtracked. During their exploration users came across personal and business products without clear differentiation. The look was outdated and didn't provide a sense of modern features or security, leading productive customers to feel that the technology and security features would be stuck in the past.

The regional bank serving the Philadelphia area had grown rapidly in the past 5 years, but its digital presence did not reflect that. They needed a new website that represented them as modern, locally relevant, and accessible.

Solution

The redesign process commenced with an in-depth Discovery & Analysis phase, where I evaluated the client’s digital presence against user expectations and competitive benchmarks. Insights gained here guided the development of a new digital brand style and structural overhaul of the website. I developed a refined information architecture to enhance search discoverability while catering to diverse user groups—from large institutional clients to individual consumers.

Three essential user personas were uncovered:

• Personal: Retail banking needs - these users want to self-service online. They need direct comparisons and transactional user flows, with modern conveniences expected of big banks.

• Entrepreneurial: Small & medium business needs - these users have local businesses and want guidance from an institution rooted in their region. They want recommendations on the services that best fit their growth goals and expertise to allow them to focus on their business.

• Investment: Wealth Management needs - these users are looking for an ongoing relationship in which they can feel secure. Some may be business owners as well, but they want local offices so they can meet with their partners and have personalized services.

Key activities I led:

• Comprehensive user journey mapping across three primary personas to identify pain points and opportunities.

• User-centric navigation to enable users to find and discover financial products for them.

• Updated pages to feature customer benefits and allow for direct comparison. 

• Competitive research across 8 competitors and 3 inspirational brands to determine information architecture structures and visual styles.

Team activities:

• SEO-powered content to match user searches. 

• Custom graphic treatments to incorporate lock than members and create a community connection. 

Uncovering Business Needs & UVPs

By aligning business goals with messaging important to users, WSFS can effectively communicate its unique strengths to its diverse customer base, enhancing both engagement and loyalty.

For each product category (credit cards, business loans, refinancing), I led a discovery session with key stakeholders that defined the UVPs and user needs. This led to clarity in how I approached the UX strategy and allowed me to create a matrix of what each audience was looking for from the website.

Defining the Information Architecture

To create a new information architecture, I conducted a content audit to evaluate existing materials and align them with the new brand vision.

Inventory Audit: Cataloged pages and resources present on the current site.

Performance: Analyzed metrics, including page views and engagement, to identify strengths and weaknesses and create recommendations to sunset content.

Gap Analysis: Identified missing resources and overlapping content to create a new sitemap of required content and identified what pages would be combined, sunset, and created for the new site.

To create a scalable structure, I based the new information architecture on user needs. This created intuitive navigation paths for distinct audience segments.

Personalization: Created tailored experiences for different personas.

User Groups: Organized content and services by audience-specific categories for easy access.

Flexibility: As business goals change and new products launch, the navigation needed to scale and have different features.

Designing for scale

After the discovery process was done, and everyone was aligned on user needs, we moved into the design sprints. Using two-week design sprints, over 20 templates were created and iterated on within just 3 months.

As the lead designer, I developed a scalable design framework centered around reusable blocks, ensuring that each component is seamlessly integrated within a cohesive design system. Concurrently, the Senior UX Designer was enhancing and modernizing the brand guidelines. This dual approach facilitated consistency across various templates and streamlined the design process, allowing for efficient updates and modifications as needed. By leveraging a unified set of design principles and guidelines, we were able to create adaptable solutions that met user needs while maintaining a modern and clean visual identity. The result is a robust system that supports future growth and innovation.

Implementation and Results

• A full design system: 66 flexible components that scale across device sizes and can work together in flexible configurations.

• 500+ Pages: Overhauled to enhance the user experience and better explain brand values and products.

• User-led navigation: Streamlined navigation that enables findability and discoverability across four personas.

Post-launch, the website has allowed customers to locate and utilize services more easily. Advanced tracking tools have enabled the client to gain deeper insights into customer behaviors and preferences. This holistic approach has elevated the user experience and bolstered the client’s capability to capture and leverage new market opportunities.

This project showcases my ability to lead and execute comprehensive UX strategies that align business goals with user-centric design principles, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and business scalability.