User Testing for Financial Websites
We do deep diagnostic dives into websites prior to beginning the remodeling process. This includes competitive analysis, SEM, SEO and eye-tracking heat maps. All of this is an effort to understand user experience.
Jonathan Lay in his blog, “What Live User Testers are Saying about Bank and Credit Union Homepages,” describes his company’s process and findings. It is always comforting to have your research corroborated by other research project. Yet no matter what research you are reading, nothing replaces your actual, non-employee users for solid decision-making data.
Here are a few of Mr. Lay’s findings about financial websites:
- The first questions people ask themselves are “does this look professional?” And “do I believe this site is safe and secure?”
- Most users feel frustrated, confused and mostly overwhelmed by all the choices (navigation) and calls to action on a home page, AKA the Paradox of Choice (choice is inversely correlated to usability)
- Most home page advertising banners do not sell. The click-through rate is so low that the space should be used for other things. To millennials, these advertising banners may also lead to negative awareness, “this page looks like spam.”
Too much of any good thing is bad for most things and especially for a website. The key is to create a clear PATH for your users.