CREDIT SHERPA

BACKGROUND

Credit Sherpa is an early stage FinTech start up that wants to grow its user base. It specializes in matching users to the right credit card for their financial situation.

CHALLENGE

Optimize the results page that users see after completing their “credit card questionnaire”, which gives them a credit card recommendation.

MY ROLE

Lead UX Writer and Product Designer

PHASE 1: PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

Credit Sherpa wanted to change both the design and the copy on their website. Before we began, I conducted user research in order to figure out what wasn’t working on the original page. Because the design and copy worked together, this prevented the designers from wasting time making graphics that would be scrapped.

We worked with the founders in order to segment their user base into personas. The two that we focused on were those who travel (and would therefore want travel rewards and airline miles) and those who have debt (and would therefore need more specialized recommendations for how to manage it).

I wrote a screener survey in order to find people we could interview. The results of the testing that we did keyed us in to the blind spots that the original copywriter might have had, and allowed us to scrap large portions that weren’t working. This initial culling lead to a product that was simpler and more clear for the user.

PHASE 2: GOOD CAN BE BETTER

After identifying copy issues on the current page, we began redesigning the webpage. Once we settled on a final look for the website, I went over the new copy and revised it again in order to meet the best practices of UX writing.

SIGN UP

(A) SIGN ME UP

The phrase “unlock all options with your sign up” could be confusing and ambiguous. A user might fear that they will be sent to another page and have to enter more personal information (like as name or SSN) in order to “sign up”. 

SOLUTION

Because the “sign up process” only involved entering an email, I made it clear by changing the wording. In addition, I personally liked the novelty of unlocking something with your email.

(B) LAY YOUR CARDS OUT

“See all options” was unclear. It is likely that many users would not read the small text above the CTA, and therefore be unsure about what “options” referred to. 

SOLUTION

The new CTA explicitly states what a user will see when they click on it, and does not rely on them having read any other part of the web page.

LANDING PAGE

(A) LONG STORY SHORT

The text at the top is too long, and contains unncessary words. The phrasing is also awkward (“balance on your credit card” vs “credit card balance”).

SOLUTION

Remove unecessary words.

(B) I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

A concern that came up many times during user testing was a lack of trust in the numbers. Users wanted to know more about how dollar values were calculated, but at the same time I wanted to avoid overwhelming them with data. When told that they earned money with their credit card, they often wanted to know how that happened.

SOLUTION

Clarify that “earnings”, which could come from multiple sources, are just cash back rewards.

(A) TITLE CARD

“Transfer your balance” is a recommendation, but it could easily be misread as being the title of the card due to its placement at the top of the card. The recommendation to transfer your balance is also included elsewhere shortly down the page.

SOLUTION

Change the text to make it a title.

(B) FIRST THINGS FIRST

The sentence structure is “take an action” (transfer your balance) --> “get a result” (save money). The structure should be flipped so that saving money is first. People often skim information and do not read the ends of longer sentences, which means that they might not see this important selling point.

SOLUTION

Front load the sentence and put the eye-catching information (save money) first.

(C) DAZED AND CONFUSED

Based on the user testing that we did, we found that people were often confused and distrustful of the numbers that they saw. It would often take them a while to realize that they had provided the information that we used in order to calculate the data.

SOLUTION

Mention that the data came from the questionnaire.

VOICE AND TONE

I conducted a branding exercise with the team as well as the founder. By separating a stack of cards with words like “technical” and “edgy” into the categories of “is a fit with company” and “is not a fit with our company”, I was able to pin down the voice of Credit Sherpa.

RESULTS

The founders of Credit Sherpa were pleased with the redesign and resulting copy changes. Through user testing, we found that people responded more positively to the results page by expressing less confusion and distrust of the numbers that they received.