When you think about your credit union website, you need to understand the difference between website design and website development. If your website were a physical building, the design would be the surface features and usability, like the carpet, the wallpaper, and the light fixtures. Web development encompasses the barebone structure and functionality, such as the framework, plumbing, and electrical wiring.
Web designers and web developers work together to get your credit union website up and running. In a previous blog, we discussed the principles of good web design. Today, we’re going to discuss five benefits of quality credit union web development:
- Adherence to Web Standards
- Guaranteed Security
- Platform Setup
- Mobile Responsiveness and Optimization
- Dynamic Website Features
Adherence to Web Standards
When selecting a web developer, you want to ensure that he or she is familiar with and follows the standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The mission of the W3C is “to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure the long-term growth of the Web.”
The organization is the go-to source for defining web technologies, both current and forthcoming. By adhering to these standards and best practices, your web developer ensures your credit union website is consistent with others on the internet.
Guaranteed Security
Every day, users visit your credit union website to conduct business, entering in and downloading personal information. Gaining and maintaining their trust is possible only through the security web developers program into your site.
Quality web development defends your credit union website from attacks that may involve introducing malicious code into your website and your members’ browsers. This can allow the hacker to steal passwords, Social Security numbers, and credit union account numbers as well as program code that renders your credit union website unusable.
A qualified web developer understands the necessity of setting up two-factor authentication for your credit union website and using HTTPS and encryption to protect your data. He or she might also write code that truncates important information — such as the member’s Social Security number or account number — so that only a portion of it is displayed.
Finally, the web developer should integrate a vulnerability scanning tool into the web application. This continuously scans your credit union website for bugs and suspicious activity.
Platform Setup
Credit union website development also includes setting up the platform for functionality. This includes entering and programming all the code into an appropriate content management system (CMS) so that you can easily make changes and updates to your site once it goes live. The web developer will also ensure that your website is compatible and integrates smoothly with your online banking application as well as any other third-party software or tools you might incorporate into your site.
Mobile Responsiveness and Optimization
According to a survey by ValuePenguin, 94 percent of credit union members use a mobile device to check their account balance or monitor recent transactions. As more people rely on electronic devices to bank, having a responsive website — one that adjusts to fit the user’s screen — is a must if you want to be competitive. Your web designer will probably work with your web development team to ensure the responsive site looks similar to the site the member would see on a desktop or laptop screen.
Dynamic Website Features
While the design of your credit union website helps your member find information, web development is what makes it interactive and come alive. For instance, the web designer might create a button that the user clicks to go to access online banking. The web developer programs the visual effects to work in conjunction with the static images the web designer provides. For instance, when the user hovers over the button with the mouse, the button and the text inside might change colors. As the user clicks on it, the button becomes a little larger. Web development might also incorporate multimedia elements like videos or slide shows and even programming secure online application forms.
Final Words
At CUWebsite™ Services, you can select from a variety of website templates that we design and develop specifically for your credit union’s needs. Our experts understand a credit union website must not only look good to attract members, but it also needs to work well to provide them an exceptional user experience. Our web development team produces well-structured and clean code to make your credit union website easy for search engines to crawl to boost SEO. Contact us today to get started.
