Eric Downs

Redesigning the Digital Experience for Midwest Heritage Bank

A ground-up rethink of how a 90-year-old bank serves customers online — balancing trust, accessibility, and modern design.

Client: Midwest Heritage Bank
Role: Technical Director
Year: 2025
WordPressAccessibilityTailwind CSSACF

Midwest Heritage Bank had been running the same website since 2017. It worked, technically — but it was slow, inaccessible, and didn't reflect the warmth their branches were known for. We rebuilt it from scratch with a modular WordPress theme, hitting WCAG AA across every page while cutting load times by 60%.

We wanted something that felt as welcoming as walking into our lobby. Eric's team delivered exactly that.

Sarah Chen, VP of Marketing

The build centered on a flexible module system — 14 content blocks that the marketing team could remix without developer help. Every module was tested against screen readers and keyboard navigation before it shipped. We also implemented a custom rate calculator that drove a 40% increase in mortgage pre-qualification leads.

Sources

  1. Based on a production WordPress rebuild for a regional bank with 90+ years of operation
  2. Accessibility audit scores measured via axe-core and Lighthouse

Key Statistics

  • Page load: 4.2s → 1.6s (60% reduction)
  • Accessibility audit: 62 → 97
  • Mortgage pre-qualification leads: +40% in first quarter
  • 14 modular content blocks built for editorial flexibility

Expertise

Technical Director with 10+ years building accessible WordPress sitesWCAG AA/AAA compliance experience across financial, healthcare, and government sectors

Related

Midwest Heritage Bank Case Study — Eric Downs | Eric Downs