Joining forces for good
We had the privilege of playing the role of a kind of product lead for the project working alongside a bunch of amazing values aligned people and partners strategic design and user testing specialists Paper Giant; finance and strategic content team WORDS for things; digital development by Portable, photography by Good & Proper and analytics by Melorium. The website was built on Webflow Enterprise, the leading no-code visual design platform to empower the bank to adapt, update and manage the site in a more responsive way, with all customer data and key functionality continuing to be delivered through existing apps. Thanks team, we loved the journey 👊
Accessibility and diversity
Since launching, we’ve been asked by a few Harvey followers what are our best tips for making an accessible and diverse website. So we’ve reflected and put together our top tips and learning for this project:
- Talk to users, do interviews and surveys of a representative group of people who will be using your site, set yourself targets on the types of people you want to talk to
- Use clear and simple language, reduce jargon and internal words
- Simple design that focuses on clarity, legibility and works with screen readers - avoid sophisticated animation, crazy graphic design, and ensure text is not embedded in videos / images
- Use heading structure with intention, heading 1, 2, 3... 6 should all describe clearly what's within that section, and then use bullets and numbered lists
- Use imagery of people that is inclusive of your broad audience - ideally take photos of actual customers or community in various places, perspectives, cultures, ability
- With all of this be realistic and progressively improve over time - if you try to do everything perfectly you'll never launch a new site
- Have a continuous improvement plan, each month do user testing, optimise text, improve sections of your site based on feedback
The new website
New website features include:
- Questions answered before they’re asked with simple-to-navigate pathways into support and how-to information
- Sharing stories and images of the people who own the bank, Bank Australia customers
- A focus on putting user needs first with jargon-free language and a user experience in line with WCAG 2.0 accessibility standards
- Increased transparency by putting important details like rates and conditions in clear sight to go beyond industry compliance and help customers genuinely understand
Bank Australia’s new website is part of its wider digital transformation program, including updating technology around the bank and ensuring customers have the best possible experience.
Bank Australia Head of Marketing Nicole Hunter said the new website will help the bank provide a better experience for customers and tell a clearer story about the impact people can make through their choice of bank.
“We’ve grown rapidly, and the way we communicate who we are, what we stand for, and how we can help, wasn’t meeting all of our customers’ needs.
- Nicole Hunter, Bank Australia Head of Marketing
"In building the new site it was really important to find partners who not only had the skills we needed, but also shared our values regarding people and the planet.
That’s because the new website is built around our purpose. It is a critical channel for growing the movement of people who are taking control of their money and using it to create a world where people and the planet thrive. We can now have broader conversations, from what the clean money movement stands for to helping customers feel more in control of their finances.
With increased functionality and accessibility our customers will now find our website much easier to navigate to the information they need. From finding rates to reading about our impact on people and the planet.”
Reflections from the dream team
“It was an honour to partner with Bank Australia and support them at this critical step in their digital transformation."
- Iain Phillips, Design Director at Paper Giant
"With such a strong purpose-driven brand proposition, Bank Australia needed a website that reflected those values, motivated new customers to join, and better served existing customers with their daily banking needs.The process of close collaboration between customers, client and partners has delivered a result that carefully balances the need for pragmatic financial information with effective brand messaging to create a motivating user experience that can be built upon and continuously improved into the future.”
Iain Phillips
Design Director, Paper Giant
“We set out to shine a light on the evidence for clean money and build a content experience 100% informed by the needs of customers and non-customers."
- Lisa O'Sullivan, Principal at WORDS for things
"As a tight-knit project team, we’ve built the foundations for success for everyone, regardless of their financial situation. To say we’re incredibly proud of this project is an understatement.”
Lisa O’Sullivan
Principal, WORDS for things
“Part of our vision as a team is to create a world where business, technology and design are used as forces for good."
- Andrew Apostola, CEO at Portable
"Our partnership with Bank of Australia to create their new web platform has allowed us to further realise that vision with an organisation that cares as deeply about social responsibility and human experience through technology as we do. Ethical finance is an emerging battle ground for the public. This website is the beginning of Bank Australia’s digital led strategy and we look forward to this website evolving to the ongoing needs of the Bank Australia customers.”
Andrew Apostola
CEO Portable
“At Webflow one of our main goals is to democratize building for and using the full power of the web."
- Bryant Chou, Co-founder at Webflow
"Ensuring that websites are accessible is a huge piece of that puzzle and is a main focus for us as a company. We’ve built out tools to ensure websites built on our platform are as accessible as possible to all people.
When Bank Australia came to us with this project and their desire to focus on improving accessibility, we jumped at the opportunity to partner with them. Bank Australia's team is incredibly passionate about providing a great web experience, and it’s been a pleasure working with them throughout this project. We believe the final result speaks for itself, and the fact that the final product was built on Webflow’s no-code platform will allow the Bank Australia team to continue to build out and iterate on their new website quickly and seamlessly moving forward.”
Bryant Chou
Co-Founder, Webflow
“We believe business can help solve some of the biggest issues facing society and the planet."
- Rebecca Smallchua, CEO at Harvey
"We’re at a tipping point in our economy where profit and purpose are no longer a compromise but business can thrive achieving both. Bank Australia is an example of this while empowering everyday Australians and businesses to use their money as force for good, not harm. It was an honour to partner with the team overseeing strategy and product management of the new website. We can’t wait to see the clean money movement grow to the next level in Australia.”
Rebecca Smallchua
CEO Harvey
View the website here: https://www.bankaust.com.au/
