Developing websites for the FinTech industry can be a huge undertaking, considering the complexity of data security laws and regulations. However, there’s more to think about than cybersecurity, although that is certainly a priority.
Next time you take on a web development project for a company in the financial services industry, here are 14 important things to consider.
Example of a Financial Service Website[/caption]
When people visit a financial services website, they’re typically going to do one of three things: look for information about the services offered, apply for a loan of some sort, log into their account, or create a new account. The user interface (UX/UI) you develop should make all of these tasks easy. It should also make a phone number visible on every page, along with the contact information for member services or any other customer support you offer.
A user-friendly interface on a financial services website needs to provide visitors with important elements right away. For instance, the account login link should be prominent and visible from every page across the entire website. It’s even better if you can provide the login form without forcing users to click through to a separate page to get into their account.
Once clients are logged into their account, all of their bank account information should be visible right away, since that’s what people will be logging in to access most often. However, when existing customers have more than one checking account, you’ll need to display their accounts in a way that doesn’t merge them together visually. Some bank websites don’t separate accounts visually, and it can be hard to tell them apart at a glance.
Another aspect of a user-friendly financial interface is making transfers easy. There are a few different types of transfers that your client may want to offer. Transferring funds between accounts within the financial institution, transferring funds to and from outside accounts, and “bill pay” money transfers. Links to initiate these transfers should all be clearly labeled and it’s a good idea to use a tooltip to explain each one. Some people don’t know the difference between a transfer and bill pay, and tooltips can help to differentiate.
Twenty years ago, website developers had to remember to make websites mobile-friendly because desktop design was the default. Today, that’s flipped. Mobile design is now the default, since 95.8% of people use a mobile phone to access the internet. However, it’s still critical for your websites to be desktop-friendly. Nearly 63% of people use a laptop or desktop, just not always as their primary device.
It’s crucial to make sure your design works for both mobile and desktop users. If you ignore the needs of desktop users, people will not be happy. For example, it’s nice to have big text and plenty of white space on a mobile device, but you don’t want this to be what your desktop users see. They are going to be on bigger screens, and if they have to scroll just to view a few lines of gigantic text, they’ll get frustrated. Make sure your text and overall design is responsive so that it automatically resizes based on the viewport size.
Financial service providers want to give their clients a smooth, easy experience online, and part of that requires having a design that converts. Conversions will vary according to each company, but in general, might include:
These are just a handful of the different types of conversions a financial services company might want to get. Be sure to find out what kind of conversions the company is aiming for, and develop their site around those goals.
There’s a good chance your client will ask you to write content for them, which may include the copy for each of their services pages, blog content, or emails. Many business owners are just trying to get everything done as quickly and easily as possible, and don’t know content creation isn’t typically a web designer’s responsibility.
If you choose to write content for clients, it’s a good idea to work with a copywriter to give your client the best possible copy. Writing content requires more than just describing services in general terms. It’s actually a professional craft that takes years of experience and expertise to get right. There is a difference between copy written by a professional and copy written by an amateur. What appears to be decent copy your English teacher would approve of may not actually convert.
Set up analytics to track the data your client finds most important. They’ll probably want to know which pages are getting the most organic traffic from search engines, what forms people are filling out, and where visitors are coming from before landing on their new website. They may also want to know how users are interacting with their accounts, like which features they use most, what features are not being used, and more. Incorporating a user-friendly layout and strategic design elements can also enhance user engagement and make tracking behavior easier.
Find out what your client wants to track, and then implement tracking for as much as possible. Make sure the analytics clearly communicate key messages to your client about their site's performance in search results.
You might also be asked to work with someone else, such as the design team, to track leads that come from other sources published in various online marketing campaigns targeting potential clients.
It can be tempting to accept a job building a website with design project specs above your abilities when the pay is good. However, this move almost always results in disaster. If you try to do it yourself, you’ll end up having to use workarounds that may look functional on the surface, but fall short on the back end. You won’t be able to get away with those workarounds for long.
For example, WordPress is an excellent platform for blogging and even some ecommerce websites, but it’s not appropriate for a finance website that allows users to access bank accounts. No matter how many sites you’ve built in WordPress, and no matter how well you know the platform, it will never be sufficient long-term for financial services.
Every step of the way, you should be including cybersecurity in your development process. Don’t wait until the end of the project because that may not work. Your clients can hold you legally responsible for creating an unsecure website, especially if you make promises that it will be secure.
Financial websites should be built to the highest security specs possible, and in accordance with all applicable data privacy laws. For instance, all financial institutions are required to protect consumer financial data under the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, which is also referred to as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. This federal law is enforced by the FTC, and governs how personal financial data can be collected and disclosed. It also requires financial services firms to actively protect consumer information.
Your client may not know anything about cybersecurity, so don’t lean on them for instruction or guidance. Use your experience to determine what protective measures are ideal, and discuss the options with your client.
Breadcrumb navigation is extremely useful for visitors to know where they are and how the general structure of a website flows. It also helps search engines index a website, and that’s a great reason to include it in all of your designs.
When you include breadcrumb navigation on a financial website, it will help Google and other search engines make sense of the hierarchical structure. As the spiders come across the breadcrumb links, they’ll follow them throughout the entire site, which will help all pages get indexed.
Testimonials have a place on financial websites, just like any other business. Sometimes people look for reviews and testimonials first, but sometimes you can distribute them throughout the website toward the bottom.
Ideally, you should place testimonials on pages designed to get people to sign up for various services, or apply for a car loan, personal loan, or a mortgage. When you do this, ensure that each testimonial is relevant to the particular page. For example, a testimonial stating how easy it is to apply for a loan would go on the pages that have loan applications.
You don’t need to be an SEO expert to include basic SEO elements on a financial services website. Start by ensuring all images have alt tags, each page has a unique page title, and headings and subheadings are enclosed in header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
A great way to set your client up for success in the search engines is to publish pages that focus on local content. For example, build a separate page for each city served, and use local terms on each page. This will help Google index and rank those pages so that they will be considered relevant when local users search for that particular financial service.
Photos are great, but video is better. Whenever possible, add some video content to better engage users. If your client doesn’t have anything, ask them to create a short video that introduces the company. If they don’t know how to make video content, or don’t want to, refer them to a video production company to get the job done.
People will expect the online support portal on a financial website design to work flawlessly, so make sure what you create is easy to use. For example, you might be asked to create a ticketing system, or publish a form where people can submit their inquiry. Whatever type of customer support your client will be offering, make certain it works.
Including a privacy policy page is now a legal requirement under many data privacy regulations, including the GDPR, and it’s not something you should skip. However, don’t use a pre-made privacy policy because it probably won’t reflect how the financial institution collects and stores personal data.
It’s okay to use a template, but the privacy policy needs to be customized to reflect the actual collection and usage of personal information. If you aren’t sure how to create one, consulting with an attorney will help.
Users love being able to search for keywords on a website, so include a search box that will scour the whole website for any terms entered. This is especially helpful for knowledge bases and FAQ sections, but it should be implemented across your entire website. For example, visitors should be able to search for keywords from the home page and also while logged into their account.
On a final note, you may want to consider outsourcing the development to a team of professionals with the resources to get it done quickly, efficiently, and to your client’s specifications. That’s where we can help.
At Dev.co, our team of experienced web designers and software developers can create a website or web/mobile application for any financial institution. To learn more about our services and how you can partner with us, contact us today!
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