In our opinion, the Wells Fargo homepage has been the gold standard for the past three years, ever since the launch of its tabbed navigation in June 2003. It was one of four large-bank homepages earning an A in our Report on Financial Homepag Design in October 2003 (see Online Banking Report, 101/102). The navigation, copywriting, and usability are still top-of-the-line, but the look and feel is a bit dated, especially the banners running along the bottom.
According to a small-text warning at the top of the page, the site is being refined, and users "may see a different homepage for the next few months" (see screenshot below).
Analysis
The bank's homepage design has been essentially unchanged for more than three years, so it's about time for a remodel.
What we don't quite understand is the reasoning behind the cryptic message at the top of the page. With spoofing a continual problem, the bank may not want users to be concerned if they see changes. However, this message probably does more harm than good.
The main problem is lack of information. The bank doesn't say what type of changes to expect, or even when they might happen. Most importantly, they fail to communicate why they plan to dribble out incremental changes instead of launching a redesigned site all at once. (And a quick search on "home page redesign found nothing at the bank's site.)
There may be very good technical and/or marketing reasons for the iterative process, but they should be explained. At minimum there should be a link to an FAQ page. As it stands, users can't be sure if an odd-looking Wells Fargo is a spoof or a new design.
Don't leave users hanging! It creates only more uncertainty, not to mention additional emails and calls to customer service.