In a crowded financial marketplace, it is vital to have a highly visible point of difference. As part of a major brand overhaul, Royal Bank of Scotland wanted to redesign natwest.com to increase online sales while making the site fully accessible to all customers.

Extensive research was undertaken to find out more about how customers use online banking services and what was wrong with the existing natwest.com site. A key challenge was to make information accessible to customers with disabilities, without impoverishing the website experience for fully able users.The redesigned site avoids clichéd lifestyle photography in favour of honest observations combined with engaging and relevant animation. Language is clear and simple, providing logical mechanisms for navigating within and between pages.

Improving access for disabled customers meant rethinking basic website design elements so that blind or visually impaired users could find their way around quickly. The new page designs easily accommodate changes to text size, allowing users to view screens in the way that best suits their individual needs.

In the first two months NatWest has seen a 40% increase in sales applications. Fall-out rates have improved dramatically – and the site is now fully accessible to all NatWest customers.