I redesigned a credit union website. Here’s what actually worked (and what didn’t)

Quick outline:

  • Why I cared and what members needed fast
  • The stack I used (plain talk, real tools)
  • Page-by-page wins and misses
  • Real sites I studied and borrowed ideas from
  • Who should pick what, and why
  • Final verdict

Honestly, building a credit union site sounds simple. Show rates. Help folks log in. Help new people join. But you know what? The little stuff trips you up. Tiny buttons. Old browsers. Slow phones. Someone’s grandma on an iPad from 2016. It all matters.

I led the redesign for a mid-size credit union last year. Nine branches. Rural and city mix. Lots of car loans. Members love the people at the branches, but they don’t love hunting for the routing number at 10 p.m. I wanted the site to feel like a friendly teller who never sleeps.

The stack I actually used

I won’t overcomplicate this. We used tools that our small team could handle.

  • WordPress with the Kadence theme (fast, clean blocks)
  • GA4 for analytics and Hotjar for heatmaps
  • Monsido for ADA checks (WCAG 2.1 AA)
  • Cludo for site search (good synonyms, strong “no results” view)
  • MeridianLink for account opening (clean handoff)
  • Alkami for online banking (we linked “Log In” to it)
  • Coconut Software for “Book an Appointment”
  • Gravity Forms for simple forms (with honeypot and reCAPTCHA)
  • Google Maps API for the branch locator
  • TinyPNG for image compression
  • Cloudflare for caching and a little speed boost

Could we have gone Drupal or Sitefinity? Maybe. But with three people and a busy calendar, WordPress gave us control without drama.

Real pages and flows that changed things

Here’s the thing. The homepage isn’t a poster. It’s a switchboard.

  • Hero area: We put three big tiles front and center—Open an Account, Auto Loans, and Locations. On mobile, those tiles stacked with fat tap targets. Clicks to “Open an Account” went up because people could actually see it. Wild idea, right?

  • Rates module: We added a single, simple rates table with tabs (Loans, Savings, Certificates). No tiny footnotes. The “as low as” label had real clarity. When rates changed, one update hit every page.

  • Routing number and hours: We dropped the routing number in the footer and a sticky “Help” tab on mobile. Calls about that number fell. Small thing, big peace.

  • Accessibility: We stopped using overlays and used real fixes. Focus states. Color contrast. Skip links. Clear labels. Monsido’s alerts kept us honest each week.

  • Account opening: We trimmed the path to MeridianLink. Three steps. One page of content. Clear “What you’ll need” list. Less bounce. More starts.

  • Branch pages: Each branch had hours, Google Map, appointment button, and a short note like “Drive-thru fits large trucks.” It sounds silly, but folks loved it.

  • Auto Loans page: People care about payment, not poetry. We showed rates, a 30-second payment calculator, and a link to “Get Pre-Approved.” That triad was gold.

What missed? Our first pass on the search page was dry. People typed “printer-friendly direct deposit form.” Our results showed a blog post. Not helpful. We tuned synonyms and boosted our Forms page. Fixed.

Things I loved

  • Speed felt fast on a cheap Android phone. That was my litmus test.
  • Cludo handled “bank vs. credit union” spelling messes without drama.
  • The “Make an Appointment” button reduced lobby lines. Staff noticed.
  • The branch locator loaded quick and didn’t hide the phone number.
  • ADA fixes made keyboard users smile. I watched Hotjar recordings. Cleaner paths. Fewer rage clicks.

Things that bugged me

  • Vendor handoffs were brittle. One slow script and the page stalled.
  • Marketing wanted huge hero photos. Pretty, yes. Heavy, also yes.
  • Legal footnotes grew like vines. We pruned them, then they grew back.
  • Old PDFs. We remade lots as web pages, but not all. I still feel bad about that.

Real sites I studied (and borrowed from)

I looked at these during planning and testing. I also used them as a member to see what broke.

  • Alliant Credit Union: Clean layout, strong rates pages, sharp IA. Their “Join” path is calm. It made me slow down and copy that calm tone.
  • Navy Federal Credit Union: Lots of content, but the main tasks are clear—Log In, Join, Products. Their appointment flow gave me courage to push ours.
  • BECU: Straightforward checking and savings pages. Their use of clear, everyday language kept me from writing nonstop marketing fluff.

I didn’t copy them pixel for pixel. But they set a bar for clarity.

Small details that paid off

  • A “Call Us” button that turned into the phone app on mobile
  • A tiny “Spanish” link routed to a human-ready phone line first
  • “As low as” text right next to APR, not buried in a footnote
  • “What you’ll need” checklists on every “Apply” page
  • A short “Try this instead” box on 404 pages (Rates, Locations, Log In)

If you’re picking a path

  • Tiny team, tight budget: WordPress + a light theme. Use GA4, Hotjar, and Monsido. Keep images small. Ship fast. Fix weekly.
  • Heavier compliance, lots of editors: Consider a stronger CMS and a credit union agency. PixelSpoke, BloomCU, and ZAG Interactive know this space. They speak “core,” “LOS,” and “ADA” without sweating.
  • Lots of custom tools: Make a shared UI kit. Buttons, form fields, cards. Don’t let three vendors ship three different blues.

A few real-world numbers and moments

  • We cut the homepage weight by about 40%. Load felt instant on 4G.
  • Calls about hours fell after we fixed branch pages.
  • People found the routing number without hunting. That felt like a win.
  • Staff sent me a photo of a shorter lobby line after we added online booking. I kept that photo.

What I’d change next time

I’d start with content first. Not the homepage art. A clear voice guide. Fewer words, more help. I’d write error messages early too. “Hmm, that didn’t work” beats “Error 413.”

I’d also set stricter rules on images. Max sizes. Exact crops. No guessing.

Final verdict

Credit union web design isn’t flashy. It’s service. It’s a friendly hand at 11 p.m. on a cracked phone screen. If members can log in, find rates, open an account, and book a visit without thinking, you’ve done the job.

And if you’re stuck on a choice, ask one thing: Can my aunt do this with one thumb? If the answer is yes, ship it. If not, keep sanding.