Best Practices for Credit Union Website Design

Your credit union’s website is one of your most critical marketing workhorses—no surprise at a time when most consumers (71%) prefer to manage their financial accounts through digital channels.

But is it working as hard as it could be to deliver an experience that engages your visitors, improves their financial well-being, and boosts your bottom line, too? Probably not.

Creating an effective credit union website involves more than just an attractive homepage, though you’ll want one of those, too! While unique and on-brand design is of course important, if you’re looking to engage your members and convert your prospects, you’ll also need to consider functionality, accessibility, interactivity, and user experience.

In this article, we'll explore best practices for credit union website design, focusing on key elements that enhance user friendliness and drive engagement.

Understanding the importance of credit union web design

Your credit union website shouldn’t be an afterthought. In fact, we consider your website to be the hub of your digital marketing ecosystem. It plays a pivotal role in attracting members, improving member satisfaction and retention, and enhancing your brand's credibility.

Enhancing user experience

User experience (UX) is at the heart of effective web design. A pretty website with poor UX is going to frustrate its visitors, not wow them. On the other hand, a seamless experience encourages visitors to explore your site further and engage with your products and services. This involves intuitive navigation, fast loading times, and easy access to information.

For tips on credit union navigation menus, UX-friendly copywriting, and how to adhere to the guiding UX principle, “Don’t make me think!” see these UX best practices for credit union websites.

Building trust and credibility

Does your website look like it was built back when “social media” meant MySpace? It’s time to change that! A professional-looking credit union website builds trust with potential and existing members. An outdated or poorly designed website, by contrast, can lead to concerns about information security and a reluctance to apply for deposit or loan products online.

In addition to a website that is professional looking, we recommend reassuring visitors about your credit union’s credibility by clearly showcasing your values, mission, and services; testimonials and other social proof; photos of real members and community landmarks; and relevant awards and designations. Learn more about how to build trust and credibility with your credit union website.

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UX Best Practices for Credit Union Websites

What constitutes a “friendly” user experience on a credit union website? We'll explore five key best practices.

See our UX guide

How to Build Trust & Credibility with your Credit Union Website

Your website represents a primary touchpoint for many prospective members. Don't scare them away!

See these four key tips

Your Guide to Responsive Design for Credit Union Websites

These best practices will ensure that your website is both functional and user-friendly across devices.

See our responsive design guide

Key elements of an effective credit union website

Responsive design

As an employee, you’re most likely to visit your credit union website from your work computer; sometimes you might forget that in today's digital age, people access websites from various devices, including smartphones and tablets. Data from our clients shows mobile visits are generally on the rise, which means that the mobile version of your website shouldn’t be an afterthought.

That said, we advocate for “mobile optimized,” not “mobile first.” A responsive design ensures your website looks and functions well across all devices, providing a consistent user experience. This adaptability is crucial for reaching a broader audience and accommodating members' preferences. A “mobile first” approach can detract from the desktop user experience, and desktop views still generally account for the majority of credit union website traffic. For more, see these responsive design best practices for credit union websites.

Simplified navigation

What are some of the most common UX faux pas we see when it comes to credit union website navigation? Too many navigation labels, navigation labels with clever but confusing names, drop-down menus with too many items and/or drop-down megamenus without any clear hierarchy.
Navigation should be intuitive and straightforward. Use clear labels and organize content logically to help users find what they're looking for quickly. A well-structured menu and search functionality can significantly enhance usability. For more, see our UX best practices for credit union websites.

Accessibility

Accessibility is not just about compliance. Ensuring your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, is both a legal requirement and a best practice. It’s also an opportunity to center the needs of some of your most vulnerable members, and in the process, create a better user experience for everyone. This is a concept called inclusive design, and it’s one that is very much in line with the credit union movement’s historical focus on underserved populations.

Ensuring an accessible online experience is an ongoing task. As you add content, images, and photos, we want to make sure that visitors of all abilities can enjoy a quality user experience. Pay particular attention to features such as alt text for images, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility. For more, see our guide to credit union website accessibility and ADA compliance.

Engaging content

All too often, website copy, images, and other content take the backseat to design and functionality during credit union website redesigns. But these are all key to communicating effectively with your audience. Prioritize engaging, informative, and relevant content, including concise text, high-quality images, and interactive elements that provide value and keep users engaged. For a more detailed breakdown, see these tips for creating compelling credit union website content.

Security

Security is paramount, especially for financial institutions like credit unions. Implement robust security measures, such as SSL certificates, to protect member data and build trust. Regularly update your website to prevent vulnerabilities and ensure smooth operation.

When selecting a hosting provider and CMS for your credit union website, you’ll want to make sure to ask about DDoS protection to filter out malicious traffic, an SOC 3 audit for the data center, automatic backups and security updates, password enforcement and 2-factor authentication measures, a disaster recovery plan, real-time scanning and full daily scans, and the uptime Service Level Agreement (SLA). Learn more about key considerations for selecting a CMS platform and hosting provider.

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How to Choose a CMS and Hosting Provider for Your Credit Union Website

If you choose well, your CMS platform and hosting provider can empower your marketing team and help you better serve and protect your members.

See these key considerations

Your Guide to Credit Union Website Accessibility

Here's how to create an ADA compliant website that helps people across a wide spectrum of abilities access your products and services.

See our website accessibility guide

Tips for Compelling Credit Union Website Copy

If the content on your website sounds like it could belong to any financial institution, you’re not alone. Here’s how to write copy that converts.

See our copywriting best practices

Best practices for credit union web development

When developing your credit union's website, keep these practices in mind:

Collaborate with experts

Partnering with experienced web designers and developers who understand the nuances of credit union websites can help take the load off your plate and ensure that you’ll end up with a unique, professional, functional website that adheres to UX, design, copywriting, SEO, security, and accessibility best practices. They can provide insights and technical expertise to create a site that meets industry standards and member expectations.

Most importantly, we recommend looking for an agency or vendor that prioritizes building relationships with its clients and brings a true partnership mentality to a website redesign project. Learn more about how we approach credit union website designs here at PixelSpoke and see our tips for vetting vendors.

Optimize for search engines

Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for increasing your website's visibility. Like website accessibility, SEO optimization is an ongoing project, and you might find it worthwhile to partner with an agency or consultant who can regularly monitor your site and keep up with the latest best practices in this ever-evolving field.

During a website redesign, you’ll want to pay special attention to content hierarchy, keyword research and optimization, and local seo. Explore these basic SEO best practices for credit union websites to learn more.

Test and iterate

Your credit union website is your digital branch, and just as you would monitor the performance and revenue of a physical branch, it’s critical to monitor the performance of your website.

But how? There is so much data potentially at your fingertips, and it’s hard to know what questions to ask. You may find that partnering with an agency or consultant with expertise in website analytics will help you cut through clutter and get to the information that matters most.

At PixelSpoke, as experts in Google Analytics, conversion optimization, and web performance analysis, we help clients understand who is visiting their credit union website, what they’re doing when they get there, and how their credit union can more effectively engage visitors to drive results. We leverage Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, cross-domain tracking, custom event tracking, ongoing web performance reporting, and conversion optimization tools to maximize the ROI of our clients' digital branches.

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SEO Best Practices for Credit Union Websites

Think you can’t compete with the big banks when it comes to SEO? The confined geographic reach of most credit unions can work to your advantage.

See these top 7 local SEO tips

Measurement & Optimzation

Understand who is visiting your credit union website, what they’re doing when they get there, and how you can engage them to drive results.

Learn how to maximize the ROI of your digital branch

Can Credit Unions & Vendors Be BFFs?

Here's how to build true partnerships with credit union vendors—and how to weed out those who have a more transactional mindset.

Read our CUInsight article

Real-World examples of successful credit union websites

To inspire your credit union's web design, let's look at some real-world examples:

Example 1: EastRise Credit Union

On the heels of a merger and a rebrand, the team at EastRise sought to create a website that stands out from the crowd, reassures members about the continuity of their credit union, and converts prospects to members. The photography across the website depicts local settings, featuring photos of real members and team members in their favorite places doing things they love. Macro textures of nature and weathered, time-tested objects help tell their stories, and pages are punctuated with patterns inspired by nature and everyday items.

To increase conversions, all guided selling options help visitors choose best-fit product options based on criteria they select, and interactive calculators pull the most updated rates help visitors estimate potential monthly payments before making a buying decision. Dual homepage functionality offers a custom homepage to visitors who have never logged into online banking and likely aren’t yet members, and onsite promos can be customized based on previously visited product pages.

Learn more about EastRise Credit Union's award-winning website redesign.

Example 2: Mirastar Credit Union

After a name change and rebrand, the team of Mirastar needed a website that brought its new brand to life and modernized the user experience. Mirastar’s new brand is brave, bright, and personal, reflected in the website’s vivid color palette, vibrant design, and approachable language. Subtle scrolling animations add an element of delight, design motifs throughout the site reinforce the credit union’s new logo, and authentic and diverse photography helps to convey Mirastar’s inclusive vision of prosperity for all.

Whether visitors are looking for information about a product or service, are ready to apply for a loan or open an account, or need to find a nearby ATM, the site’s revamped and highly intuitive navigation gets them where they need to go. Rates are easily located on a dedicated page and integrated on relevant product pages, and a robust impact section, accessible from the main navigation, helps to communicate the depth and breadth of Mirastar’s commitment to its members and community.

The site redesign increased average engagement by 34% and engaged sessions by 33%. Learn more about Mirastar Credit Union's award-winning website redesign.

Example 3: RadiFi Credit Union

RadiFi's website reflects the credit union’s evolved brand, with energetic design motifs that carry visual themes from the credit union’s new logo and “Make Waves” tagline across the site. The end result is a dynamic, user-friendly experience that visually captures the RadiFi brand essence.

Designed to both inform and promote, the website includes added layout options to help make content more accessible and scannable. A sticky sub navigation element enables visitors to directly access sections of interest on long-scroll product pages, and new insite search functionality helps visitors find what they need across the site.

The site redesign resulted in a 90% increase in organic search traffic, a 500% increase in visits to the "Open an Account" page, and a 33% improvement in page load time. Learn more about RadiFi Credit Union's award-winning website redesign.

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Case Study: EastRise Credit Union Website Redesign

PixelSpoke partnered with EastRise Credit Union to build a best-in-class website, convert prospects to members, and help launch their new brand.

Case Study: RadiFi Credit Union Website Redesign

PixelSpoke partnered with RadiFi Credit Union to bring RadiFi’s new brand to life and build a website that informs and promotes.