4 Essential Features for Your Credit Union Website

Your website is the digital front line that introduces your brand and your business to the world. Current members visit your site to get the latest information and current promotions as well as online banking. Non-members use your website as a platform to window shop while they are on the search for their financial home. What you display or don’t display on your website, can leave a lasting impression.

Listed below are some essential features that every credit union website should have:

Responsive Web Design with Intuitive Navigation

In 2016, a website that is not responsive (i.e. is able to be viewed and used with ease on any device) will suffer in search results and page ranking with Google and other search engines. With a fixed and unresponsive site, you are losing users as they will be more likely to leave your site in frustration.

A responsive website means that you are able to extend your reach to all users, regardless of the device they choose to view your website with.

In addition to a responsive site, your site’s navigation should be straight-forward and clean. You want to be sure that your website’s navigation is focused so that people can find what they are looking for fast and easy.

Is your website mobile responsive with intuitive navigation?

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Contact Information

Despite that we are in a digital age, people still want to deal with people directly.

Make sure that your contact information: physical address (and mailing address if applicable), phone number and email addresses are easy to find. Generally speaking, people will use your website to get some basic information and then will contact you when they are ready for more. Making these essential contact avenues readily available will give your users the impression that you are accessible and that you want their business.

Promotional Space & Focused Marketing

While it might seem like a good idea to put banners and other ad graphics in every pixel of whitespace on your website, this method also leads to user confusion.

Your visitors aren’t sure where to focus their attention, so they are focused on everything, which means they aren’t taking in the important calls to action and time-sensitive promotions.

By giving your website specific promotional spaces while using focused marketing with your content and graphics, you can lead your visitors exactly where you want them to go!

Got a great spring promotion that you think is too good to pass up? Make that a featured promotion on your website’s dedicated promotional spaces.

The Membership Application Process

The Membership Application Process (MAP) should be a fairly streamlined and easy process to walk through on your website. Ease of use and focused steps for your users to take to sign up means a higher conversion rate and more members!

Did you know that CU*Answers offers a great MOP / MAP program? We have created attractive, modern and user-friendly experiences for credit unions to use for new membership sign-up.

Learn more about MAP

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Have you incorporated some of these features on your website? What do you find to be the most important feature on your current site?

Questions about Website Security

Accessibility

CU*Answers Web Services recently received some questions about website security. This client was concerned about the recent defacement of a Credit Union website in Montana and asked about how this would be handled at CU*Answers. We thought they were some good questions, so we wanted to share our answers with everyone. Here they are:

Who do we contact by phone to completely shut down our website? And does that include weekends and afterhours?
During M-F 8-5 business hours, call the Web Services Team 616-285-5711 x275
After hours, call Customer Support 800.327.3478 where someone is on call 24/7 to engage the appropriate team for response.
If something odd occurs does CU*Answers provide a diagnostic or forensic analysis of what happened?
We analyze our logs regularly to determine the source and method of attacks in order to mitigate attempts proactively. In the case of a successful “hack” we would do our due diligence to learn and prevent further abuses. We don’t have a formal plan to provide you with a report of those findings, but we’d be happy to share any findings deemed beneficial.
Does WordPress receive the same attention to updates and monitoring for security as our site?
I’m not sure I understand this question, your site does use WordPress, which we monitor and update continuously and update both the WordPress core software and plugins, this is one of the benefits of hosting with us. We also use several WordPress plugins to monitor security and log admin logins and changes on your site. Furthermore, Network Services has several protections in place at the network level including firewalls and intrusion detection systems – to name a couple – to assist in mitigating attacks.
Lastly, would CU*Answers automatically post a temporary site or link to take members to a “safe” site – bypassing the unwanted component – to access their information?
Yes, we would absolutely respond with necessary action to protect your members from any security incident. This response would depend on the severity of a compromise, ranging from removing the threat by redeploying your site from a version we keep in our code version control system, to potentially redirecting requests to your site directly to your online banking URL until the risk was mitigated.

Financial Literacy Videos launch on New Website

Financial Literacy Screenshot

We believe financial literacy is more than just book learning. It comes from the interactions Board members have with each other and with credit union teams. It comes with the confidence you gain from experience, education, and perseverance as a volunteer. That’s why we put together this video series on Financial Literacy.

The Financial Literacy for Credit Union Board Directors videos recently launched on a new website built with WordPress. Read More »

ExamShare launches in Beta

One of the common complaints we hear from our clients is the difficulty in preparing for regulatory examinations. If you had an idea of what to expect, we believe you would be much more effective and score higher on your next assessment. ExamShare is a website where you and your peers will provide feedback through a survey regarding your examination experience.

ExamShare is currently available in beta release meaning we are looking for credit unions to sign up, try it out and report feedback.

ExamShare is built with WordPress.

PolicySwap launches in Beta

Have a policy? Leave a policy. Need a policy? Take a policy.

That’s the idea behind PolicySwap. PolicySwap is a collaborative website where CU*Answers clients can share policies and procedures with each other. Not sure what your BSA policy needs to say? Browse here and select a policy from your peers. Each policy is reviewed by the CU*Answers team for quality, to ensure you are receiving the best possible value for your time.

PolicySwap is currently available in a beta release, meaning we are looking for credit unions to actively participate and kick the tires.

PolicySwap is built with WordPress.

Asking the Right Questions Launches

Board meetings serve many purposes, but one of the most important is the role it plays in creating an atmosphere that challenges the insider perspective of the credit union management team. That’s why CU*Answers created Asking the Right Questions.

Asking the Right Questions is a compilation of questions to challenge the credit union CEOs and board members to get engaged. You are encouraged to use this site during your next board meeting and limited edition print copies of the questions are available. If you have favorite questions for your credit union, please add them to the network.

Visit Asking the Right Questions, one of our new websites built with WordPress.