Community West Bank
Services we provide:
- Discovery
- Strategy
- UX/UI design
- Website development
- Xperience by Kentico implementation
About Community West Bank
CWB is a large community bank in southern California with over 20+ locations and a track record of financial strength, security and stability gained over its 44 years in business. CWB has set itself apart from other banks by its people, dedication to client advocacy, exemplary "relationship banking," strong community support and a mission to exceed expectations. With a passion for providing customized solutions, the merger drove the decision to revamp their digital services to better serve their customers.
The Process
In an era where digital presence is critical to financial institutions and mergers are frequent, the successful merger of Community West Bank (CWB) and Central Valley Bank (CVB) depended on a robust and well-executed digital strategy, critical to providing a seamless user experience for customers and employees. SilverTech, leveraging its expertise in Xperience by Kentico website development, customized a digital solution that unified the brands of these two banks into one cohesive user-friendly digital experience in just 4 months from start to launch.
The Challenges
The merger of CWB and CVB presented unique challenges, particularly in integrating two distinct digital landscapes into a single cohesive website. The biggest challenges included:
- Differing Content Strategies: CWB's site was optimized for SEO with a rich content library, while CVB's site focused more on detailed product pages. Balancing these different content approaches was crucial.
- Short Timeline: The project needed to be completed with a demanding timeline, delivering a high-quality, functional website, from planning to launch in less than four months.
- Outdated Technology: The old CWB site suffered from poor mobile optimization, slow speeds, outdated information, and a lack of interactive features. This hindered customer engagement and usability.
Goals for New Site
SilverTech identified four main goals for CWB's new website with the main goal of unifying the brands. The merger of the two banks presented a unique opportunity to take advantage of the best from both brands.
Solution and Implementation
Based on the insight gained, SilverTech devised a comprehensive strategy roadmap to address the challenges and deliver a seamless digital experience for the bank merger. It was SilverTech's recommendation that Kentico's newest hybrid CMS platform Xperience by Kentico would be the best solution for the new website. Xperience with robust features and functionality allowed SilverTech to create an exceptional digital user experience efficiently for CWB.
The Key components of the solution include:
- Unified Content Strategy: SilverTech developed a content migration plan that combined the SEO-rich content from CWB with the detailed product information from CVB. This approach ensured that the new site would benefit from both banks' strengths while avoiding duplication and inconsistencies.
- Modern Design and Functionality: The new website was built with Xperience by Kentico, featuring a modern, responsive design to enhance user experience across all devices. Key features included:
- Enhanced Interactivity: Interactive elements and engaging content to improve customer interaction and retention
- Improved CTAs: Clear, strategically placed CTAs to guide users through the site effectively
- Technical Upgrades: Faster loading speeds, improved reliability, and mobile optimization to ensure a smooth user experience
- New Functionalities: Inclusion of essential tools like product comparison tools, branch locator and more
- Accelerated Development Timeline: Despite the tight timeline, SilverTech employed agile development practices to ensure timely delivery without compromising quality. The team worked in sprints to continuously test and refine the site, leading up to a successful launch within the four-month timeframe.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Importance of a WAF
By: John Wingate | 4/12/23
Protect Your Website
In today's world, web application security is more important than ever. With the increase in cyber attacks, businesses and organizations need to take proactive measures to protect their websites and web applications. One such measure is the implementation of a web application firewall (WAF). This blog post will cover the importance of a WAF and how it can help protect your website and web applications.
What is a Web Application Firewall?
A web application firewall (WAF) is a security solution designed to protect web applications from attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other types of web-based attacks. A WAF works by analyzing incoming web traffic and filtering out potentially malicious requests based on a set of predefined rules.
Web Application Firewall Protections
There are quite a few benefits provided by a WAF in addition to the layer of protection to your web applications against common web-based attacks. For starters, A WAF protects against zero-day attacks, which is an attack that exploits a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or developer. It does this by analyzing incoming traffic and detecting potentially malicious requests. In addition, web-based attacks can result in data breaches, which can be costly and damaging to businesses. A WAF can help prevent data breaches by detecting and blocking malicious requests before they can reach the web application.
It can also help with compliance. Many industries have specific security requirements that businesses must meet to comply with regulations. A WAF can help meet these requirements by providing additional security measures to web applications. A common example is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance. PCI DSS references a WAF as one control mechanism that an organization can implement to verify whether Internet-facing web applications are placing cardholder information at risk. Another example is Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), in which a WAF can help keep protected health information secure.
Be Proactive
A web application firewall is an essential component of a comprehensive web application security strategy. It provides an additional layer of protection to web applications, helps prevent data breaches, and can help meet compliance requirements. With the increase in web-based attacks, it is important for businesses to take proactive measures to protect their web applications. Implementing a WAF is an effective way to do this and can save businesses time and money in the long run. SilverTech can help set up, monitor and increase your website security. Contact us to learn more or see our managed services page.
