The Best Bank Websites of 2023

Introduction

Each year we review hundreds of bank websites to help us identify industry leaders, best practices and emerging trends for our customers.  We’ve selected some of our favorites that exemplify the features bank websites should include. We evaluated them based on the following criteria:

• Design
• Online Banking
• Call to Action
• Content Marketing
• Trends
• Pagespeed & Technology

---

Bluevine

The Bluevine website looks more like a Silicon Valley startup than a bank and they utilize great design patterns to create an effective and engaging website that almost certainly converts well. 

Unlike most banks, they are targeting a very narrow niche which allows them to simplify their website and their messaging for small businesses.  So while there is a lot to like here it’s important to remember that they don’t have the same constraints that a community bank does.

Design

The mega menu takes great advantage of the space. Each navigation drop down has a unique layout ideal for the content that each drop down contains. 

Call-to-Action

The primary call-to-action, “Get Started” is available at all times starting with a prominent place at the top of the homepage as well as a place in the navigation that follows the user as they scroll down the page. 

Content Marketing

The vast majority of the pages on the site are found in the Resources section. This content is a great example of providing useful and informative content for their prospective customers while also taking advantage of the SEO benefits of having this much content as well as seeding every page with a call-to-action to convert these visitors into customers.

---

Bremer Bank

This is another fantastic example of what can be done with a bank website. One advantage that Bremer has over other banks is that they are clearly targeting a specific industry. This allows them to allocate a large section of their website with resources and products tailored to Agricultural businesses.

Design

Their top level navigation is very simple with an effective mega menu drop down that reveals quite a bit of depth in their sitemap but still very well organized and easy to navigate. 

They appear to have used a mix of stock photos and custom photography but the color grading and photo editing is very well done and makes all of the imagery consistent throughout.

Content Marketing

Digging into the site reveals a deep library of articles that are well written and optimized for both search engines and prospective customers. Their social media pages have regularly posted content with a variety of topics that reveal the bank has a very well orchestrated content marketing campaign that is almost certainly attracting new customers.

---

Umpqua Bank

The Umpqua Bank website consistently makes it to the top of our list of favorite bank websites year after year. They have done an amazing job of consistently staying at the top of the list of best bank websites for over a decade. The current iteration is a rock solid example of clean design with straightforward content and simple navigation. 

Design

They just completed a rebranding and have a great writeup explaining the change. Rebranding a long established business can be challenging and there are plenty of examples in the wild of disastrous results but Umpqua has done a great job of updating their image and redesigning their site to match. 

Online Banking Login

90% of visitors to a bank website are existing customers only interested in accessing their online banking service.  Umpqua has made sure the login button is always visible but they have also created a very simple full screen login menu to help customers find the correct online banking service. The design of this login screen also reveals that they have prioritized mobile user experience which probably accounts for more than 50% of their website traffic.

---

Byline Bank

Byline Bank does a great job across the board and although they may not be the best example for any individual element they have done the best job covering all of their bases. Their website may be the best example for most community and regional banks.

• Design: B
• Online Banking: B
• Call to Action: A
• Content Marketing: A
• Trends: A

Call to Action

They have prioritized new customers for their call to action and have made their CTA very visible above the fold and have included it mixed in with their content as you scroll down their pages. The bright orange button not only matches their brand but it also does a great job attracting the gaze of the visitor. 

Content Marketing: 

Like everyone else on this list, they have a great insights section with a deep roster of well written articles to drive their search engine optimization and social media campaigns. It appears that they are licensing a significant portion of their content instead of writing it themselves which could be a great solution for banks that aren’t confident in their ability to create this kind of content. 

---

Summary

All of the sites on this list were selected for standing out amongst their peers and after reviewing sites from all over the country a few trends started to stand out.

As designers ourselves we prioritize design and naturally all of the sites we consider “the best” have well designed websites with great user experiences.  One trend we noticed on many of the best sites was a movement away from full width “Hero” sections at the top of the homepage. Many of the designs we reviewed instead have a simple white background with a two column layout, text on the left side and imagery on the right side. 

Another interesting trend we noticed was that every one of them had an “Insights” page which is effectively a blog with well written articles for their target audiences. Content marketing has been firmly established as the go to approach for digital marketing and should be some part of every bank’s strategy.