Hey APCO Credit Union, 1994 Called and they want their website back

Instead of selecting a site to analyze by complete randomness today I decided to change things up and take a request. Yes that’s right, this guy takes requests. One of my avid followers asked me what I thought of this “special” website so I decided t humor him a bit and give it ago. Boy, was I amazed at what I found.

WEBSITE: APCO Employees Credit Union (www.apcocu.org)

Show me those rates on the abacus please

Am I in a time warp? Did I really just see  what I think I saw? I know credit unions don’t have the reputation of being  financial institutions with tons of glitz and glamor but come on, this just looks ridiculous. Where do I even begin? Okay, I know where.

First off, where do I log in? They claim “PC Banking is now available” (who calls it “PC banking” anyway? What about “online banking”) but there is no indication of any entrance to their web banking portal.  Oh wait, there it is, directly under the image that says “Map” in yellow letters. How intuitive! Totally confused here – not a good sign. If you want people to actually use your online banking, make it easy for them to access. I can’t stress enough how websites need to be simple to navigate. If I am confused, there is a good chance there are many more just like me.

Second, I do like the fact that the navigation is very easy to see  but the accompanying images couldn’t possibly be any cheesier and low budget. Is that an abacus they are using for the rates navigation image? Oh that is definitely how I want to portray my bank – the modern look of an abacus. Seriously, this is not the type of impression you want to make on new or existing customers. First impressions of websites say a lot and what you’ve got does not help your cause. Please update those graphics and you’ll immediately update the look of your 1994 website.

Finally, what are all of these banners in the middle of your page? You already want people to leave your site? I just got here and I’m having such a good time I don’t want to go! Having all of these links to various sites tells me as a visitor that nothing on this page is worth sticking around for. There is absolutely zero valuable content on the home page and any valuable content you do have is buried in the links. What about brining some of the helpful information right to the home page, like perhaps some “About Us” information or even a listing of the products and services, maybe even some financial calculators. Whatever it is, it has to be something that you feel your visitors would find the most helpful.  So rather than making a user choose between some navigation links or banners that link to another destination, keep them on the site and show them what APCO CU is all about.