Bank of Ireland Should Meet Usability & Localization Requirements Together
I connected to my Bank of Ireland site today, and spent 30 seconds trying to login.
Why? Because the order of options on the left has changed to accommodate the introduction of localized training and options for Chinese and Polish users. I was used to Login being the first menu option. Nothing wrong with providing localized content, but couldn’t they have accommodated both needs by leaving Login at the top of the menu or repeating it on the toolbar? The degradation of usability of course is going to impact usage of the uptake of the site’s service in every language, so how BoI can isolate one impact from another beats me.
Incidentally, where is the Irish language option?
I use AIB online banking but it’s just as bad. They are still using much the same HTML they’ve been using since the 1990s. This causes several usability and accessibility issues, including:
- Tabled designs, not CSS-based
- Images uses as links
- No alt text on images
- HTML is not valid (i.e. not standards compliant) and therefore is not supported by all browsersI bet these banks have never conducted any usability reviews or usability tests on real users!
Posted by Dublin Usability Consultant on 03/26 at 08:21 AMI was *asked for some feedback last year about the online service - I was doorstepped in the FX section of the College Green branch with a questionnaire… though I am not sure how much of my feedback ever made it through to the design team. It’s kinda obvious they haven’t really tested out all the key user interactions. Labelling of components isn’t the best, and error and warning messages need a big improvement. I ended up CANCELLING some key direct deposits because I thought they were obsolete. If it had told me what the DDs were actually for, it might have helped…
Posted by Ultan on 03/26 at 01:40 PM
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