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European banking sites failing users

Even the best websites of Europe's 20 largest retail banks scored badly on a
recent Forrester Research ranking of usability.

Top-rated sites like Halifax, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank didn't reach
an overall passing grade, although British and German bank sites were better
at help users achieve their goals than Italian, French, and Spanish banks.

Europe's top retail banks each spend between E20m and E50m annually on their
websites as they gear up to welcome 20m new European users, for a total of
64m online bankers by the end of the year, Forrester said.

Most of Europe's large retail banks reported that they focused last year on
enhancing navigation and layout, and this year they intend to improve
transactions.

To monitor their sites' success, most firms track traffic and customer
visits, but only 44 per cent analyze interactions or sales, Forrester said.

At present, most firms use a third of their budget on infrastructure and
integration, a third on building transactions and tools, and the remainder
to fund content, site performance monitoring, and design.

"More than two-thirds of sites pass for reliability, but poor navigation and
service conspire to spoil the user experience," said Forrester analyst
Charlotte Hamilton.

"While most sites' text and graphics are visible and logically presented,
standards for site navigation and service are below a pass."

Half of the sites failed to offer alternative access to content through
search engines, she said, and few gave customers any onsite help.

Banks have to improve design and use accepted web design standards, Hamilton
said, including offering frequently used links consistently throughout their
sites alongside "help" and "contact us."

For users less at ease with navigating the web, firms should offer a search
option as another route to content and functions, and link unsuccessful
searchers to the call center.

Bank sites also do little to assuage consumers' fears about how firms use
their data online, with few firms giving clear and consistent access to
privacy policies throughout the site, the Forrester report said.