Money Watch – Personal Finance Blog

Lloyds TSB has announced that it is relaunching its banking website at the end of November, with a new look and new functionality.

The bank say that the changes, made in response to customer feedback, are designed to make it easier to use and navigate.

The key changes are:

• Internet Banking log on access on every page – log on to internet banking quickly, wherever you are on the Lloyds TSB website.
• Improved navigation - Links which are currently found on the left hand side of the page will be replaced by a navigation bar at the top. From here you’ll be able to go anywhere on the site and do your online banking as usual. As you move around the site, the page you’re on will be highlighted so you’ll be able to see exactly where you are by reading back along the top line. You can go to anywhere on the site by clicking on the tabs on the top of the page or through ‘Get there faster’ which appears at the bottom of the page.
• Clearer page layouts - To keep up with bigger and wider computers screens, Lloyds TSB are updating the site design to improve the layout. The pages are intended to be less cluttered and provide improved visual appearance, clearer content, easier to read and better placed icons and navigation aids.
• Better tools for product selection and comparison – simplified product comparison and selection tools (such as Credit Card comparison tables, Mortgage calculators, Loans calculators).
• Improved accessibility for visually impaired users - changes are being made to make the site more accessible to users with visual impairments. Accessibility controls will be located at the top right corner of every page. This will allow customers to resize the text and change the colour contrast. The new site has been certified by the Digital Accessibility Centre as AA standard for accessibility, ensuring that the new site is usable to everyone.
• Security Centre – a new Security Centre will replace the Online Security section. It has been designed to be more engaging and easier to follow to help customers become more security aware.
• Dedicated ‘Help and guidance’ section – there will be a dedicated ‘Help and guidance’ section designed to provide visitors with extra assistance while you move around the site. This will include: ‘Customer support’, ‘Product guides’, ‘Security guidance’, ‘Financial planning’ and ‘Money worries’.

There will be no changes to login details with the refresh of the site, so your existing Lloyds TSB usernames and passwords etc will remain the same.

There’s no currently no indication as to whether the site will be “responsive”; adapting its layout to the device you’re viewing it on, for example providing mobile users with a mobile-optimised version of the site. This would be one thing on my wishlist for the new site.

You can see a demo of the new site on the Lloyds TSB website, but here’s a look at the new homepage:

It’s difficult to assess the impact of these changes until we can actually access the site, but the initial impression is that it’s a step forward for the Lloyds site, whilst retaining its brand identity with its “for the journey” characters. As mentioned earlier, once the site launches we’ll also be able to see whether the site is compatible with multiple types of device.