Creating a fresh, easy-to-use and useful digital portal

What were our client’s needs

Hellenic Bank a prominent financial institution in Cyprus with a history dating back to 1976, embarked on a digital transformation journey to overhaul its corporate website. The primary objective was to enhance its digital footprint, recognizing the pivotal role it plays as a core marketing and sales channel. To fulfill this vision, Linakis.digital was chosen by Hellenic Bank to lead this exciting project, characterized by its customer-centric approach. The project encompassed the following:

  • Meeting various customer needs through increased functionalities.
  • Helping users easily find what they need through simple information architecture and navigation.
  • Presenting Hellenic Bank as a modern bank and setting it apart from competitor traditional banks.
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    How we rose to the challenge

    Following User Experience Research (UXR) and stakeholder interviews, we identified the target audiences and their needs and proceeded to design a flawless IA (Information Architecture). Additionally, the project necessitated adopting technological solutions that empower users and implementing UX solutions that optimize the user journey and navigation.

    The result for Hellenic Bank was an elevated user experience appealing to its target audience with added functionalities whilst also offering a new and fresh digital visual identity. The new website was positively received with higher user engagement and lower bounce rates. Finally an increase in sales made through the corporate website was observed, together with an overall reduction in sales operational costs.

    02-01

    Making a difference: how we mastered a seamless UX

    When designing the new information architecture, we strategically shifted the focus from business goals to user-centric goals to ensure a more human-centric approach. After having clearly identified and separated the target audiences, we defined the hierarchy of information points and designed the sitemap.

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    Combining our findings from UX research and interviews, and having the user in mind, we came up with a fit-for-purpose Information Architecture, which optimizes the user experience. To achieve this, we simplified items and structure to cater to user needs by creating:

  • Readable content – We avoided lengthy texts and presented content in bite-sized chunks, highlighting key information.
  • Easier access to products and services – Clear product categorization and compare-product option in just 2 clicks.
  • Ready-to-use calculators – We integrated the calculators in the relevant product pages, for easy and immediate access. They appear as small components that can expand when users need to use them. This was a huge change, as previously all calculators were grouped together on a separate page, which made them difficult to locate.
  • User-friendly menu features – Each menu item now includes a button that directly leads the user to the main action associated with that category. This benefits all users, especially the ones who already know what they are looking for. It minimizes the need to explore options, therefore saving time.
  • Improved forms and wizards – The new forms guide users through the process in clear and concise steps. They provide all the information required to complete the process quickly, whilst also allowing users to make informed decisions along the way.
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    Along this process, we ensured that pages addressed the different needs of each target audience, allowing users to intuitively navigate and find the information they are looking for. Additionally, to further facilitate the user journey, we strategically used interlinking to guide users to related content.

    Redefining the digital visual identity: how we approached the project

    The visual transformation

    During the design stage of the first interaction flows for the website, we applied the ideation method. Thus, our UX Researchers, Interaction Designers, and subsequently the Hellenic Bank stakeholders, engaged in constructive dialogue to exchange thoughts and generate ideas. We then designed the wireframes, integrating the key design features.
    The visualization of the new website focused on:

  • Emanating a feeling of simple and clean style.
  • Highlighting the points of interface with the user.
  • Using typography suitable for digital screens.

    • In this way, we redefined the digital visual identity, providing Hellenic Bank with a fresh face.

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    Leveraging technology: how we optimized the digital potential for both users and Hellenic Bank

    Empowering users with tools

    We developed and integrated various technological solutions to assist users and improve their overall experience:

  • Calculators, e.g., loan calculators.
  • Wizards, e.g., applying for a new account.
  • Online forms, e.g., contact forms, appointment forms.

    • Moreover, we connected the corporate website with the online banking platform, using several web services to integrate it with the bank’s systems. Thus, users can now carry out various transactions through the website, such as obtaining a digital signature, registering for online banking credentials, resetting their password, etc.

    Bridging technology and banking

    To ensure an advanced level of functionality, Sitecore was our software solution of choice. This is one of the world’s leading digital experience platforms, which is also particularly easy-to-use and secure. We connected Sitecore to the bank's other systems, to offer a more comprethensive experience to the user, depending on the information they are looking for, or the action they wish to perform.

    The website is based on Microsoft Azure PAS (Platform as a Service). Changes and additions to the website are managed through Azure dev ops, which provides the administrator with better control of the result when publishing content changes. It offers a highly customizable process and the option of previewing and approving content at various deployment stages. Therefore, changes can be made in an easier and more streamlined manner.

    07-01

    Elevating excellence: The impact of our redesign

    From relevance to revenue: qualitative transformations

    Our redesign led to:

  • An elevated digital presence for Hellenic Bank, thanks to the UI (User Interface) design.
  • Optimized user experience, due to the clear and intuitive navigation pathways.
  • Improved SEO (Search Engine Optimization) performance.

    • All the above, had  a noticeable impact on revenues and costs, as the bank managed to:

  • Increased online sales, from featuring products and services in a coherent manner.
  • Reduced branch operational costs relating to support services, as digital tools allow users to easily obtain the information they need on their own.
  • Reduce costs relating to content maintenance, as the management system streamlines the process, minimizing errors.

    Numbers speak: quantifying success 

    In addition, key metrics during the website’s first month of operation compared to the corresponding period last year confirm that the redesign has improved overall user experience. Specifically:
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