2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Ten - Failure to Develop and Adhere to a Web site Growth Plan

By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 14, 2003

It’s normal for a credit union to design a web site with its current situation in mind, but the web site architecture should allow for some reasonable level of expansion. In many cases, after the web site is launched, departments within the credit union emerge that insist upon being included in the main navigation. These items, not identified within the initial architecture, appear as a visual and functional afterthought, frequently crippling usability and cohesiveness that the initial web site had.

Make sure updates to your site don't make it look slapped together.

The Fix: During planning, identify areas that may be subject to expansion, and prepare a plan to address these needs as they emerge. Build in controls so any growth occurs at an incremental rate. Develop business rules, so that each request for expansion is carefully evaluated and qualified. Lastly, plan regular web-centric meetings with all departments to get a handle on their expectations, before they become requests and mandates. Evaluate your current navigation system and if you have more than 10 main links or buttons, try to eliminate at least three of them. Review your web site statistics to see which links are clicked most often. Those that are in the bottom 30% should be evaluated to determine if they’re really needed, or if they can instead be placed as a sub-level navigation link.