- This interview is the first in a monthly series, where we explore the mission of Sopra Banking Software (SBS) team members, and how their work contributes to the company.
A website is an essential channel for acquiring new customers. Therefore, constant design and performance improvements are major challenges for companies. At Sopra Banking Software, 2023 marks a turning point for our website, with a new look and feel. Streamlined pages and phone screenshots set the tone for the new graphic charter. But beyond aesthetics, the changes we’re implementing respond to a practical need: Optimizing the website’s user experience (UX).
Our site has over a million visits per year and a large number of resources like videos and images. Ensuring a fluid path for visitors is the role of Morgane Devran.
Passionate about connected objects and the tech sector, Morgane joined SBS in 2021. Since then, she’s held the position of Tracking Specialist & Website Project Manager within the Digital Marketing team. Looking back on her missions, Morgane explains how she optimizes the website and its performance on a daily basis. She also shares the challenges imposed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Tracking Specialist & Website Project Manager sounds complex… Can you explain what your job entails?
Morgane Devran: My role consists of managing and improving SBS’s website and its performance. More specifically, I take care of the front end of the site, including the interface that’s visible to users. Among other things, I oversee the creation, modification, and deletion of pages. The idea is to have a “uniform” website, ensuring consistency and a fluid user experience.
That’s why I also take care of organizing internal linking: Connecting pages to ensure they refer to each other. This contributes greatly to improving the navigation of Internet users, by suggesting pages to visit and helping people know what to find – a “guided tour”. It also means the site is better referenced in search engines.
Another part of my job is search engine optimization (SEO). In concrete terms, I ensure pages load quickly, our content is relevant, and we have external references – other websites publish links that refer to us.
How do you make decisions to create, modify, or delete pages?
Morgane Devran: I analyze visitor data and the paths users take through the site. That allows me to understand what’s working (or not). For example, I observed the digital banking page works very well because of its layout, so my team and I replicated its architecture across the website.
Can you give us an example of an optimization you’ve implemented to improve the UX?
Morgane Devran: To make navigation easier, we simplified the website’s menu by reducing available choices by half.
Who do you work for?
Morgane Devran: I mainly work with the Digital Marketing team, but requests sometimes come from the Product, Operations, and Market Intelligence teams.
What impact does your role at SBS have?
Morgane Devran: A huge impact, because one of my goals is to ensure SBS’s offering is as widely known across the web as possible. To give you an analogy, the website is SBS’s business card on the Internet, meaning visibility’s at stake, especially since the site has over a million visits per year. Therefore, my role focuses on regularly monitoring, updating, and maintaining the website.
What project has excited you the most?
Morgane Devran: I was excited about the “Server-Side Tracking” project. I had to retrieve as much data as possible while respecting “cookie consent” and the GDPR. It was very technical; I learned a lot about data processing. Until then, I had no idea about the path taken by user data.
Are you currently working on a specific project?
Morgane Devran: Right now, we’re working with the design team to give the website a new look and inject a bit of freshness!
What difficulties do you encounter when making the user experience more fluid?
Morgane Devran: The GDPR and cookie consent complicate my data analysis work. The aim is to use data while respecting the consent policy and user security. We discovered a valuable solution with Matomo, a tool that anonymizes collected information, meaning data is no longer associated with a user and doesn’t have personal and sensitive characteristics.
What’s the future vision for improving UX?
Morgane Devran: The goal is to simplify the user journey as much as possible. That may involve removing pages and simplifying content while being careful not to lose information. Another option is to choose lighter images for better loading. These are great ways to enhance the user experience.
What makes you good at your job?
Morgane Devran: My curiosity and problem-solving help me with the digital aspect of my role. I’m also eager to learn and develop new skills. For example, I loved learning about tracking, helping me follow and analyze the behavior and interests of people (potential clients) on the web. It’s very useful, and I’m passionate about it. And more generally, I have a creative side and an eye for detail, which are extremely useful for ensuring the website has a uniform look.
Would you like to join the Sopra Banking Software adventure? Discover all our job offers on our Careers page by clicking on this link.