First Bank and Trust, the official bank of NFL team the New Orleans Saints, was on the fence about choosing a small company for the potential redesign of their public site. To help persuade them, a select employee group conducted a comparative analysis reviewing the web sites of competitors, the results of which were compiled, organized, fleshed out, and edited by yours truly. I’m proud to say that we got the job. 

Cover Page: FBT Comparative Analysis

(Excerpt, from Page 2)

Executive Summary

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
First Bank and Trust approached Mudbug Media in August 2007 regarding a redesign of the website
fbtonline.com. Before this redesign was to take place, a comprehensive survey was commissioned for the
comparison of the websites of 14 banks currently doing business in southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi
including First Bank and Trust and their affiliates. Each of these sites was judged on several criteria: aesthetics,
organization, the presence of features common to banking websites, and web development best practices.

ANALYSIS SUMMATION
Though none of the websites reviewed ranked outstandingly in every category, several sites merit special
notice with respect to certain criteria. Visually, Regions ranks the best overall for their simple branding, vibrant
color, high-quality stock photography, and modern typography. Capital One also deserves special mention with
their superior use of attractive animations that call attention to important information. Chase, Regions, and
Capital One - the largest banking institutions reviewed - all boast feature-rich sites, and the smaller Hancock
Bank impressively offers a comparable array of features on its site as well. Organizing a website becomes more
challenging as the site grows in size, and Omni Bank, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust, and First NBC organize their
content superbly for websites of their respective business sizes. Functional best-practices for websites were
widely in place, though technical best-practices were poorly followed; most sites did not employ any current
search engine optimization techniques, and every site failed the 508 Compliance test, a measurement of a
website’s accessibility among the disabled.

STUDY CONCLUSIONS
The First Bank and Trust site ranks in the middle of the pack in most respects, with the notable exceptions of
written content (better than most competitors), organization (below average), and the online banking interface
(ranks poorly). However, the site can be greatly improved by reorganizing the existing content, splitting long
pages into several smaller ones, overhauling the visual aesthetic, and consistently applying these principles to
every part of the site, especially those areas provided using third-party services (e.g. online banking).

Download the entire comparative analysis by clicking here.