North Star Credit Union
Friendly, customer-focused Minnesota credit union.
overview
North Star Credit Union is a beloved financial institution deeply involved in their Minnesota community — but their website wasn’t keeping up. Members struggled to find basic information about services, promotions, educational scholarships, and community outreach, and the site didn’t reflect the personal, community-first feel that defines North Star in person. They needed a refreshed brand and a website that made their full range of services genuinely easy to understand.
SERVICES
Website Strategy
Branding Refresh
Brand Audit
Website Design
Custom Web Development
Website Support
SharePoint Intranet Design
Our Solution
We designed a WEBSITE as FRIENDLY AS THEIR BANK.
To meet North Star’s needs, the solution was:
01 – Website Strategy
02 – Brand Design Update
03 – Website Design and Development
04 – Ongoing Support
Website Strategy
We started the project with a content audit. Using real customers, we mapped their user stories and identified their needs, then planned a site architecture that finally presented North Star’s full range of services, promotions, and community programs in a logical, easy-to-follow order.
SEO PLANNING FOR ORGANIC RANKING
During our content planning phase, we analyzed which keyword strategies were bringing new customers to North Star Credit Union. We identified some new keywords that would benefit the business, and we worked those into our content and copywriting goals for the new site. Targeting this search traffic organically helps to create evergreen content that will continue to be valuable.
Brand Design
After content strategy was set, we gave the credit union’s existing brand a facelift — updating colors, sourcing new imagery, and incorporating UGC and stories from local members to keep the market connection genuine rather than generic. We also designed custom watercolor and hand-drawn elements to represent each service and make the brand feel more approachable. These doubled as clear, identifiable UI elements on the site, and carry over naturally into print design and email marketing.
A BRAND DESIGN THAT FEELS LIKE HOME
North Star’s original look had served members for years, but it no longer reflected the warmth of the credit union’s community involvement. We refreshed the palette, sourced new imagery, and introduced custom watercolor and hand-drawn elements — small, human touches that make each service feel approachable rather than institutional.
Website Design
With the design styles set, we designed a new website. We created a UX design system that was flexible and could grow with the organization. This included reusable elements for branches, services, and team members with a modern, clean feel that was fresh, yet not overly corporate.
SCOPE:
- Website Audit
- Content Strategy
- SEO Strategy Planning
- Brand Design Refresh
- Website Design
- Website Development
- SharePoint Intranet Development
- Ongoing Website Maintenance
CUSTOM DESIGN
We created a new custom website to connect with their target Minnesota audiences. As we designed, the client could provide live feed back each week in a Figma prototype.
WORDPRESS CUSTOM THEME DEVELOPMENT
We built a custom WordPress theme unique to North Star Credit Union. The lightweight, fast-loading website theme is easy to maintain and will serve them for years to come.
Highlights
- Custom WordPress Development
- Ongoing WordPress Support
- Host migration
- Financial Calculator Integrations
Podcast addition
As we continued to work with North Star, they kept growing their marketing team and expanding into new channels. Last year, they approached us to brand their Money Wise podcast — a project that called for a child brand alongside North Star’s core identity, plus technical integration with their website and hosting platform. We advised them on recording, editing, and publishing workflows to help them launch the podcast to their audience.
Color additions
As North Star kept growing, they weren’t ready for a full rebrand yet — but they wanted their home page to feel fresher and more like something people would want to share online, using real photos and stories from their own members. To do that, they needed a few more colors than their original brand had. We tried out new colors and found simple ways to add them in without starting over — a good middle step until they’re ready for a complete rebrand down the road.
Ongoing Support
After launch, a website needs support. We provide WordPress updates, content tweaks, SEO support, and other marketing guidance — giving their internal team an expert to call on anytime they need help. The site was also built on the back end so North Star’s own team can add content regularly with ease.
SCOPE:
- Website Support
- SEO Optimization
- Intranet Support
- Content Updates
Results
The new branding and website gave North Star’s staff a site they’re proud to point members to. The public is now educated on community programs, meaning fewer calls asking for basic information. Forms and financial calculators are available online, so members can estimate a loan without a trip to the branch — and it’s just as easy for the team to add content as new branches open.
The website works as a 24/7 employee for the credit union: the news and events pages are strong, steady SEO drivers, pushing new organic traffic every week.
Metrics
- North Star has opened an additional branch location since the website launched
- The client returned for further work, including podcasting and an internal SharePoint site for staff
OUR CLIENT’S WORDS
“Wooster Creative was very responsive to the needs of our credit union and created a new website identity that feels authentic to our members, is easy to use, and reflects our staff well. We appreciate their creative services and our new online visual presence! Great communication, very easy to work with, they designed a beautiful, intuitive website! “
—JENNIFER STEDT, President
North Star Credit Union
Ready for a brand & website that works as hard as you do?
We build websites for credit unions and banks that educate their members and inspire trust.
