Yesterday, I participated on a panel that delivered a program called Extreme Online Makeovers to community bank execs at ABA's National Community Bank Convention in Palm Springs. The star of our panel was Valley National Bank of New Mexico <vnbnm.com> CIO Richard Carlisle.

He described how his 25,000-customer bank took their website from an IT-designed animation-heavy site to a slimmed down, Web 2.0-inspired gem with the help of Digital Insight. See below for before and after screenshots.

The redesigned website, quietly launched online at the first of the year, has already tripled site visits, increased online banking registrations by 20%, and increased average time on the site by 50%. The bank is so happy with the website they intend to feature it in multi-media advertising campaigns later this year.

Before                                                                      After 

Analysis
Here's what we like about the new site:

• Extremely limited use of text on the homepage, about 50 words. That's a few more than Google, but still 75% less than a typical banking homepage.
• Good use of color: The blues are very soothing, and the restrained use of two shades of orange add life to the site while directing attention to the key area for most users, the online banking login.
• Fits easily on a single screen: This is a no-scroll homepage on nearly any computer, and the liquid design means it will shrink or expand to fit most-common monitor sizes and resolution scenarios.  
• Rotating image: Today, the site rotated through four different graphical images, each connected to a different area or bank promotion. And they are not all just "happy family" pics, but make good use of local imagery to showcase its position as the home-town bank (see after screenshot above).
• Large and prominent search box: Although the site-search box is not located in the standard, upper-right corner, its large size and prominent position make it much easier to find for most users.

There is still work to be done (Business Banking, Giving Back and Community Calendar are all under construction), but overall, it's an excellent example of why you should consider making your homepage simpler and more focused.