Personal Finance Web Sites: A Great Idea in Theory, But Still Confusing to People, According to New Study

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study released today by Change Sciences shows that even though people can see the value of using personal finance web sites, many of those sites are not making it simple to find and use the desired information. The study compares the performance of a mix of banks and personal finance start-ups by analyzing what people did while exploring the sites and how they felt about the experience.  

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Personal finance sites are faced with the ongoing struggle of providing information on a complicated topic in a way that is easy to understand. Many sites have zeroed in on what information to share, as 54% of participants described the sites as worthwhile, but have yet to master how it is presented. According to the research, 22% of the study participants felt that personal finance sites were not well organized, and 18% felt that there was either not enough information or there was not the right information for them on the site. Despite their overall usability problems, however, the sites that focused on personal finance advice had a 10% higher perceived trust rating than those that focused on personal finance tools.

Pamela Pavliscak, a founding partner at Change Sciences, elaborates: "These sites are all about content, yet people feel like they don't have enough depth. Initially, the sites are getting people to a list of topics, but can improve the experience by providing the right mix of content that caters to different learning styles."

To learn more about the study, visit: https://www.changesciences.com/trending/personal-finance-web-site-user-experience-2014.  The following sites are covered in the research: BB&T Learn and Plan, Better Money Habits (Bank of America), Capital One, CNN Money, Kiplinger, Nerd Wallet, PNC Achievement Sessions, SunTrust Resource Center, and Wells Fargo.

About Change Sciences
Change Sciences is a group of qualitative researchers, data scientists, and software engineers dedicated to helping organizations measure and compare how people experience web sites. It counts 18 Fortune 100 companies as clients and has completed more than 700 projects in the last five years for clients in financial services, healthcare, entertainment, travel, government, e-commerce, and e-learning.

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SOURCE Change Sciences