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- Outdated Technology: The old CWB site suffered from poor mobile optimization, slow speeds, outdated information, and a lack of interactive features.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
Website Security on the Progress Sitefinity Digital Experience Platform
8/17/23
Progress Sitefinity is a popular content management system used by businesses and organizations around the world. As with any CMS, security is an important consideration when using Sitefinity. In this blog post, we will look at some of the key security features of Sitefinity and best practices for securing your Sitefinity website.
Security Features of Sitefinity
Sitefinity comes with several built-in security features that help keep your website safe. These features include:
- Access Control: Sitefinity has a robust user management system that allows you to control who can access your website's content and features. You can create user roles within the CMS, give specific permissions, and assign users to those roles.
- Two-Factor Authentication: Sitefinity supports the ability to configure an external identity provider which supports two-factor authentication. This adds an extra layer of security to user logins. With two-factor authentication, users must provide a password and a verification code sent to their mobile device or email address.
- Secure Login: Sitefinity uses a secure login system that encrypts user credentials and uses HTTPS to protect data in transit.
- Anti-Forgery Tokens: Sitefinity includes anti-forgery tokens that protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks.
Password Policies: Sitefinity allows you to set password policies, such as password complexity requirements and password expiration periods, to help prevent unauthorized access.
Best Practices for Sitefinity Security
In addition to the built-in security features of Sitefinity, there are several best practices you can follow to further secure your website:
- Keep Sitefinity Up to Date: It is important to keep your Sitefinity installation up to date with the latest security patches and updates. This helps to protect against known vulnerabilities and exploits.
- Use Strong Passwords: Make sure all user passwords are strong and complex, with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid using common words, phrases, or personal information.
- Limit User Access: Only give users access to the features and content they need to do their job. This helps to limit the potential damage if a user's account is compromised.
- Use HTTPS: Always use HTTPS to encrypt data in transit and protect against man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Monitor User Activity: Monitor user activity and logins to detect suspicious behavior and potential security breaches.
- Use a Web Application Firewall: A web application firewall can help to protect your Sitefinity website against common attacks, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).
In Summary, Sitefinity Websites Are Secure
Sitefinity provides a range of built-in security features to help protect your website from attacks and unauthorized access. By following best practices for Sitefinity security, you can further enhance the security of your website and keep your data and users safe. Remember to keep your Sitefinity installation up to date, use strong passwords, limit user access, and monitor user activity. With these measures in place, you can enjoy the benefits of Sitefinity while keeping your website secure.
