Slickdeals Money
Slickdeals Money is an editorial website with a mission to support and empower individuals to take charge of their own personal finance journeys.
AGENCY
OVERVIEW
The Slickdeals Money editorial team came to Studio Simpatico for a brand refresh, redesign of their editorial site, and the design and implementation of new features (credit card marketplace, personal finance calculators, etc.) to enhance users’ experiences on their finance journey.
THE GOAL
Create a new site that was approachable and easy to navigate, especially for users who might be new to and/or intimidated by personal finance topics.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Conducted research on the conventions of personal finance websites and compiled a competitor analysis.
Ideated possible design solutions based on client and user needs.
Created wireframes and mockups that clearly articulated user flows.
Continued ideation on designs based on client feedback.
Collaborated with development team to ensure API integration was seamless.
Led workshop teaching the client how to navigate a custom CMS built on WordPress.
Conducted quality assurance testing on final product before launch and communicated changes to the development team.
APPROACH
Competitive analysis and information architecture
We took a close look at the ways in which other competitor personal finance sites structured their navigation, categories, tags, and URL slugs, as well as audited the content that existed on the current Slickdeals Money website. We compared this information to the needs that the Slickdeals Money team had expressed and diligently evaluated how article categories would function within WordPress. We came up with six custom post type categories for content: articles, reviews, comparisons, surveys, stories, and guides. We also grouped content by general categories, which would have dedicated “hub” pages: credit cards, banking, personal loans, CDs, and taxes.
Understanding client and user needs
In initial conversations with the Slickdeals Money editorial team, we learned that their readers are at varying levels of their personal finance journey, so the website and new features needed to accommodate beginner to advanced personal finance topics. The Slickdeals Money team emphasized the importance of editorial trust when it comes to matters of personal finance, and we wanted to convey a sense of ethos and approachability through the site. We also knew that since new content would be published daily on the site, we needed to tailor the CMS to meet the unique needs of the editorial team.
PROCESS
Comparison tool feature
A new feature that the Slickdeals Money team wanted to see integrated into their site was a comparison tool for credit cards. We wanted the comparison tool to be an extension of the credit card marketplace — mimicking a shopping experience where a user could pick up two items off the shelf and hold them up next to each other. We designed a table to compare the most similar categories of fees and spending for each card, and ensured that users could scroll while still seeing the card at the top.
Embedded modules to enhance content
In order to give the Slickdeals Money editorial team added flexibility with their content types, we designed over 10 different modules that could be embedded anywhere in the content. These modules were designed to parse and summarize the information presented in the content, as well as to keep readers on the site by directing them to other articles and tools that they may be interested in.
Facilitating API integration
During the development phase of the site, I was entrusted with mapping the Slickdeals API to Studio Simpatico’s custom WordPress theme, which uses a custom process to pull data automatically, ensuring data accuracy. I worked closely with the development team to ensure that the existing API fields were feeding into correct fields in the new build.
Leading a CMS walkthrough tutorial
When the development team was ready for the Slickdeals Money editorial team to populate content in the new build, I led a tutorial with the client showing them the ins and outs of using our custom WordPress CMS. Part of my job was also to ensure a good user experience for the client, and I did this by compiling a guide for the client with detailed instructions for content population.
Takeaways
This project was a unique challenge in combining an editorial UX project with the implementation of new product features. Working on so many moving parts at once as well as thinking deeply about the fine print of each user interaction on the site really sharpened my attention to detail. Organization as a UX designer is absolutely critical when dealing with large projects such as this.
Working closely with the development team for this project taught me so much more about technical details such as APIs, WordPress custom fields, WordPress site architecture, and more. Having to teach information to the client helped me extensively learn every detail of the build so I could be there to answer questions and facilitate communications between teams. (I also may have picked up a few new credit card tips along the way!)