Financial Web Design

Websites for banking and finance companies have their own special design requirements.

Design Matters

Financial website designs must speak directly to the target market, whether conservative or contemporary.

In some cases, designs for financial websites are more conservative. Take the Family Wealth Collective as an example.

This company helps business owners who are either growing their businesses or getting ready to retire. The target market is facing important choices with personal and business implications.

This led the Orbit creative team to choose simple, empathetic navigation (About You and About Us) as well as images with human faces. The pattern in the header and the gold color all contribute to the site's rich, traditional feel.

In the end, this financial website conveys solidity without being stodgy.

Financial websites can also edge closer to contemporary design trends. This was the case with the design of ReviewMy401k.com.

Here, the target is web-savvy investors who are looking for an efficient way to get expert input on their retirement funds. Visitors can create accounts, complete a risk-assessment questionnaire, and receive advice on asset allocation and diversification.

Here, we used a more modern design with cutting-edge online features (animated demos and blogging) and a contemporary color palette reminiscent of E*TRADE.

Orbit worked with the client to select a combination that would be familiar to early adopters - the target market that would be most apt to convert into customers.

The "Mullet" Strategy: Clean Up the Front, Don't Touch the Back

Financial sites have some of the web's most complex tools behind them. Banking websites are good examples. Think of the planning and programming that went into your bank's online tools: login, manage accounts, view statements, transfer funds, etc.

If you have a business with serious online tools like these, the thought of redesigning your site probably makes you queasy.

But you really have two websites:

The marketing site that speaks to potential customers
The set of online tools for existing customers

Is it possible to redesign one without touching the other? It's not only possible; it's a good idea. These two areas have different goals, strategies, hosting requirements, and measurements for success.

Orbit separated these two distinct areas for the Chicago Patrolmen's Federal Credit Union website. This small, local bank has a full-featured login area with a complete suite of online tools for bank customers. That side of things was working well.

But the face needed a lift. The public area needed better design, a way to make easy updates, and a sharper focus on marketing and message. So Orbit rebuilt the marketing area of the site without touching the back-end tools.

Contact Orbit with questions about web design for financial websites. >