Changing the face of your financial services website – matching design with brand

Many people associate the financial service industry with bland and boring websites.

They don’t get excited about all things financial and don’t expect the website to be anything other than functional. But just because compliance is necessary, this doesn’t mean that creativity should be lacking.

With so many guidelines to adhere to, the industry also has the added drawback of ensuring that everything on their website is legally correct.

If something goes wrong, the implications are serious which is why so many websites end up boring and bland. What is needed is a vibrant and fresh feel whilst not creating any legal loopholes.

Web design for financial services

This is where the clever design and finance branding of your website comes into play. Just because you need to be aware of legal compliance should not mean that you sacrifice the look and feel of your web design for finance.

Clever use of images, colours and layouts can promote your brand, making it memorable and creating a positive impression with viewers.

Skilled website designers know exactly what to do to bring personality and tone to the fore.

The design has a major impact upon customers, appealing to them not only consciously but also subconsciously.

By getting the mix just right, viewers associate themselves with your brand, seeing you as a friendly and personable financial service provider.

Getting it right

A good example of this is the website https://positive-internet.com/ . As providers of internet services, this company doesn’t do anything fantastically special and yet their website does a wonderful job of reflecting their brand i.e. what they are about.

The clever use of colours, layout, content and design conjures up a very particular feeling.

This is precisely what the website developers intended.

By using the website to portray an image and brand that is suggestive of them being ‘good people’, those viewing the site digest this information.

This is the sort of company that they want to work with, so they are far more likely to choose them, feeling that they have the same values in common. And it’s the same with financial services.

If you are dissatisfied with your current financial website, there is no time like the present for a full makeover.

Talk to a skilled website developer now, making sure that they understand what your brand is all about and what message you need to convey to customers.

If your current website has issues, make them aware of this. Tell them what you like least about the look and feel of the site, conveying an impression of what your ideal website would be like.

The website process

This 3-step process works well when working to match website design with a brand:

• Research – good web design begins by gaining an accurate understanding of your industry, audience, competitors and brand. Research should kick off by looking at your audience and then moving out from there.
• Clarification – this involves looking at precisely who you want to target, how you will appeal to them, how competitors are positioning themselves and how your website can be an extension of your brand. This step is vital, as this is when the decision is made about what information is necessary for the new website.
• Strategy – now work on the website can begin. Your brand will be communicated via content, organisation and appearance. All three should match your brand:
  a. Content – items that viewers will read or watch
  b. Organisation – arrangement of content
  c. Appearance – look and feel of the site including logo and brand colours

The user experience (UX)

As far as UX is concerned, navigation is also important as it enables viewers to get to where they want to be.

Navigation should always be clear and simple, ideally appearing at the top of each page.

When the website works well and is easy to use, customers will begin to build trust and will keep coming back for more. Your website appearance is what makes you stand out from the crowd; avoid cluttering the site as this is a turn-off.

If you must add additional content, then far better to use more pages.

And don’t forget that size matters – even if you are a small business, the website doesn’t have to portray this.

Whatever your speciality – financial advice, investments, banking, mortgages or property broker, professionalism is boosted by creating a website that looks like it belongs to a larger company.

The credibility of your business will be improved based on visitor perceptions.

The site should be responsive, able to load fast and work well on mobiles as well as tablets or laptops. Customers will soon go elsewhere if the site is impossible to view on their mobile.

Choosing a website designer

First impressions count and can last a lifetime. Don’t get it wrong by representing your brand with a shoddy website. Choose a website designer who specialises in matching website design with brand.

By opting for a financial services web design agency, they will be able to give examples and suggestions of what will work best with your new website, using dedicated designers to produce mock-ups of the new look.

By helping you to choose the right design for your website, focusing on your image and getting the tone just right, your brand will be well represented.