Banking17.07.2013

FNB website redesign explained

FNB launched its revamped website on Sunday 14 July, offering a fully responsive design which offers the same functionality on mobile devices and PCs.

The website upgrade drew sharp criticism from some FNB customers, who lambasted the new design and complained about functionality problems.

CEO of FNB Online, Lee-Anne van Zyl defended the move, saying that it was important to offer the same method of interaction across all platforms.

Responsive design

One of the standout features of the new FNB website is its responsive design. This means that the FNB site provides a suitable viewing experience and functionality for all devices – from a PC to a smartphone.

Many of the complaints about the new website came from PC users who felt that the new site is a step backwards – both in design and functionality.

Some people have also raised the concern that FNB focussed too much on mobile devices in its new design.

Van Zyl dismissed these concerns, saying that they extensively tested the user experience of the new website before launch. “The new site tested very positively,” said van Zyl.

“There are also some new interfaces creating a short learning curve and some complaints. We expect that customers will quickly become familiar with these new features and will find that the site is extremely user friendly and offers a much richer banking experience.”

She also explained the decision to opt for a responsive design rather than two websites – one for PC users and one for mobile users.

“We want to give our mobile users access to a full-featured banking website, rather than a pared down version of our online banking platform,” said van Zyl.

“The new scalable site offers this and offers a standard method of user interaction across all platforms.”

Lee-Anne van Zyl

Mobile devices on the rise

It is clear that FNB’s website revamp was strongly focussed on accommodating mobile devices.

Van Zyl said that at least 900,000 FNB clients have accessed the fnb.co.za website via a smart device.

She added that 10% of banking clients are currently accessing the website via a smart device – up from just 4 % last year.

While the new mobile friendly FNB website is a bold move to future proof the service, good news is that more changes are in store to accommodate user requests.

“We are listening and making changes as we progress,” van Zyl said.