CIBC Ways to Bank
The background
CIBC is one of Canada’s largest banks, offering a range of personal, business, and commercial banking services. Their Business Banking division supports entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses with flexible financial solutions, including different ways to bank.
Hypothesis
If we consolidate multiple “ways to bank” pages into a single, streamlined experience with intuitive tabbed navigation, we can reduce user friction and help visitors find what they need more efficiently. By prioritizing clarity, simplifying messaging, and surfacing key actions upfront, we can reduce bounce rates, support both new and existing clients, and increase engagement and conversions for online banking registration.
My role
As the content strategist, I led a full audit of the page’s content and structure, collaborated with design, SEO, and product stakeholders, and developed a revised content strategy focused on user needs, clarity, and conversion. I also delivered messaging guidelines and recommendations for how to better surface information using scalable components.
Insights
Visitors were overwhelmed by dense content and unclear pathways to complete tasks like signing up for online banking.
The page blended informational content with transactional goals, making it hard for users to find what they needed.
Over one-third of visitors were existing personal banking clients, but the content didn’t account for their familiarity or needs.
High bounce rates indicated a mismatch between user expectations and the page experience, especially for task-oriented users.
The Objective
- Clearly define the page’s purpose to align with user intent
- Consolidate multiple scattered “ways to bank” pages into a single, unified landing experience using tabbed navigation.
- Surface key information and CTAs earlier in the user journey
- Improve content layout and hierarchy for readability and scannability
- Reduce copy fatigue through concise, accessible language and meaningful headings
- Align content with business goals and drive registrations
Steps and approach
As the lead content designer on the project, I led the following steps to execute the redesign of CIBC’s Ways to Bank section.
What I delivered
These content changes were key to redesigning the entire experience. The numbered images highlight exactly what was updated and where each change was made.
The Results
“The redesign really helped take our service to the next level. We feel like we have the competitive edge.”
Big impacts
Changes made to the cash management section really helped improve the user experience and align with CIBC Business Banking’s Business goals. The use of different components with engaging copy helped make the section more modern
Notable improvements
I crafted welcoming content that was relevant and keyword friendly for those users entering from Google search
The content is primarily aimed at new prospects, but the page hierarchy also includes personalized experiences for existing customers
I made it easier for users to engage by adding clear call to actions, guiding them on what to do next
To provide a logical layout and improve content hierarchy, we focused on maximizing the use of existing components
Beyond the Writing
End-To-End Experience
I worked closely with stakeholders, UX, and design teams at every stage of the project. My responsibilities included reviewing existing content, writing new copy, and refining it to align with the design. The goal was to create simple, engaging content that made the site easier to use. The final redesign improved the user experience, increased sign-ups, and helped meet CIBC’s business goals.
Constraints
The project had some bumps along the way like several rounds of stakeholder and legal reviews and making a case for new components that weren’t part of the current library. Despite these challenges, my team and I were able to deliver an experience that made the Business Banking team very happy.