SENB – Ritwik M.

South East National Bank

Enhancing the discoverability and usability of banking workflows.

Website redesign

B2B / B2C

Shipped

SENB, a community bank in the Quad Cities area, faced challenges with its online presence despite its strong local service. The new website improved information accessibility and simplified banking processes, leading to increased new account openings, enhanced user engagement, and reduced support requests.

overview

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Role Product Designer

group

Team 1 PD, 1 PM, development team

schedule

Duration 1 months

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Project type Industry

Contribution

Research

UI design

Interaction design

problem

Users faced difficulties finding information and completing tasks on the bank's website, resulting in low engagement and poor reviews. This misalignment between the bank's physical and digital presence was negatively impacting its business growth.

67%

Bounce rate

Unable to find what they’re looking for, users often chose to abandon the site.

32%

Task completion rate

Users weren't engaging deeply with the site's content.

1m 45s

avg. session duration

Even after finding the right information, users were't able to finish their tasks.

~3%

New account openings

Poor reviews steered potential customers away from the bank.

Existing website

Legacy UI patterns, inconsistent navigation, complex copywriting, and high cognitive load per screen were the major reasons the website wasn't efficient or appealing.

Solution highlights

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Navigation & hierarchy

In the refresh, I restructured the navigation to make it shallower (up to 2 levels max) and kept the sought-after services and flows at the surface for easy access.

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User control & freedom

I added clear signs and controls so users always know where they are and what's happening, and can go back if they need to. Also reorganized information-dense pages to bring hierarchy and clarity.

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Supplemental information

Brought supportive information and services to the forefront, complementing parent flows. For example, the bank's routing number and financial calculators were previously buried under several links, forcing users to break their task flow to find them when needed.

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Instant help & support

Users had to fill in request forms for the smallest things, and the telephonic service always had long waiting lines. Quick assistance was unavailable. I introduced a chatbot that sticks to the bottom right of the page, always within reach—especially on a handheld device. It contains FAQs, live chat support, and options for further assistance.

Login & account access

Combined different login types into a single fly-out menu and made it a part of the main navigation for easy access. Also added supplementary login banners across inner pages where it's required for users to log in.

impact

"I haven't called customer service for help at all. Everything I need is easy to find, especially my routing number for setting up direct deposits."

— Anonymous customer review

It wasn’t long before the metrics improved.

24%

Bounce rate

Improved usability and discoverability reduced task abandonment.

27%

Task completion rate

Ease of navigation made it easier to access information on the site.

48%

avg. session duration

Users were able to complete tasks online that they previously visited a branch for.

57%

New account openings

Noticeable increase in new account openings and loan applications.

Note: The impact metrics were observed over approximately 12 months after development to determine the effectiveness of the changes on user behavior and engagement.