|
04 Nov 2008
Website Review: Bank of Ireland Business Banking website scores a disappointing 3/10
We had imagined that our financial institutions would be a progressive bunch, each having a very professional, highly polished, impressive web presence. Last week we asked our designers to have a quick look at some Irish Business Banking websites. We were surprised by their findings; the results were far from positive. Of the six banks examined only RaboDirect seemed to be able to professionally present their Business Banking Services online. The designers reviewed BOI Business Banking in some detail to see what lessons could be learned.
Some key factors to consider:
What makes a good B2B website? >>
Did BOI Business Banking measure up? >>
Does the site clearly communicate its purpose >>
Is the site visually appealing? >>
Can we find our way around the site? >>
Is there a clear call to action? >>
Can we find the site on Google? >>
How does BOI stack up against the competition? >>
What makes a good B2B website?
Some of the key ingredients for an effective Business to Business website are:
- Quickly and clearly communicates what the site offers on the homepage
- Richly communicates key benefits of doing business with the company
- Visually appealing in a way that fits the brand
- Features a clean, simple, intuitive navigation
- Presents a variety of clear calls to action – tell the visitor what they need to do next
- Works well with search engines so that the sites reaches out to customers searching for services
Did BOI Business Banking measure up?
A quick visit to the BOI Business Banking and you’ll immediately see that the site is missing many of these key ingredients. On landing on the site it’s not immediately apparent what the site offers. The site is visually unappealing and the navigation is seriously confused. The site’s only redeeming features are an effort to encourage visitors to take the next step and contact the bank and also the site was easily found on Google.
Does the site clearly communicate its purpose?
One of the main requirements of a homepage is to clearly present what you can do on the site and to provide a clear jump off point to the key sections and features within the site. BOI’s Business Banking homepage offers nothing but confusion. A suggestion for main features to communicate here could be: discover our services, get in touch with a business advisor, sign up for online banking, log in to online banking, check our latest rates and here’s our latest and greatest special offer. Rather than clearly presenting these features the homepage bombards us with links to over 50 different pages and options and that’s not including the “quick links” drop down menu!
Score: Clarity of purpose 2/10
Is the site visually appealing?
Most definitely not. Some of the most visually unattractive aspects include:
- An unstructured, scattered layout.
- Inconsistent font types, sizes and colours.
- Poorly designer graphics e.g. the light bulb image with a plain text overlay trying to entice readers to the “business bulletin” is ineffective and the text header “Welcome to Bank of Ireland Business Banking” is messy.
Some dynamic “flash” movement on the homepage at least would be good. With some large, bright, impactful images matched with some well written key benefits of doing business with BOI. A little colour would help too.
Score: Visual appeal 1/10
Can we find our way around the site?
A clear, concise navigation structure is key to ensuring a positive user experience. The BOI Business Banking homepage offers three navigation bars (none of which stand out as being the primary navigation), five drop down menus (one with just one option!), a bread crumb navigiational aid and multiple hyperlinks. Needless to say the overuse of navigational aids is definitely going to make it difficult for the user to find their way around the site. Internal pages then surprise the user with a completely different layout to the hompage, again with confusing navigation.
A few quick suggestions to improve some of BOI’s navigation issues
- Determine a navigation structure that includes all elements of the site under 4 to 7 key headings. Use just one main clean, clear navigation bar.
- The main navigational tabs needs to be much larger.
- The “quick links” and “search” options are useful navigation tools but they need to be clearly secondary to the main navigation.
- Use attractive graphics rather than just text to high light important areas.
- No need for the “Online Forms” drop down menu as it only has one option!
- “Switch to Us” needs to be prominent and visually appealing not just a drop down menu.
Score: For ease of use 2/10
Is there a clear call to action?
A banner on the homepage advises us to contact a business advisor. Yes it’s a call to action but the banner is visually unappealing and the message is weak. Most pages do have relevant contact information and the site has a detailed ‘contact us’ section. A simple “Request a call back” form would be a good feature. Help save some time for busy business customers. Let BOI determine who I need to talk to.
Score: Call to action 5/10
Can we find the site on Google?
Bankofireland.ie/business does well on Google ranking #3 and #4 on the Google.ie natural search results for the search phrase “business banking”. However, some attention could have been paid to writing a more compelling title tag in the code of the homepage than just simply “business”. (This tag is used by Google as the heading for your listing.)
Score: Search engine visibility 5/10
How does BOI stack up against the competition?
Overall we would score the BOI Business Banking website 3/10. Not good, but not shocking when you compare it to competitor websites. Of the six banks we examined, RaboDirect is the online leader. From our very brief review we ranked the six sites we examined as follows (1 being the strongest and 6 the weakest):
Some New Thinking
BOI Business Banking needs a new online face. The current site has few of the key ingredients that are needed to make a Business to Business website effective. Their competitors, other than RaboDirect, are also poorly presented online. BOI are coming from a position of weakness but there is definitely an opportunity to re-design and stand apart in the market.
Ed Field
Managing Director
Yvonne Diggins
Web Project Manager
E: enquiries@diginomarketing.com
T: 1890 927 800
. Return to Digino News Index |
