HSBC
Mortgages
Improving the pre-application journey for UK mortgage customers
Research & UX analysis
User journeys
Site structure
Wireframes
User testing
Background
HSBC UK provided a poor web experience for both new and existing mortgage customers. Information was repetitive and fragmented with no clear structure or content hierarchy. Pages were hard to find, had unclear calls-to-action, and sometimes led to dead-end journeys.
Task
Restructure and fix all mortgage pages for a smoother customer experience and to increase application starts.
Research & UX analysis
I conducted a heuristic evaluation of all existing mortgage pages to gain a deeper understanding of the customer journey issues.
This included a detailed sitemap analysis, with emphasis on entry points, navigation and content hierarchy.
To identify areas of improvement, I analysed reports from Data and SEO and reviewed competitor sites. I held a page description diagram workshop with the Mortgages team to learn about the different buyer types and their respective needs, priorities and pre-application journeys.
User journeys
We decided to focus on first-time buyers, remortgagers and exsiting customers looking to switch rates. Depending which stage they were in the purchase process, the goal was to signpost them to the Rates page, get a Decision in Principle, or start a mortgage application.
Site structure
I created a sitemap for the UK mortgage pages, paying close attention to SEO, navigability and scalability. I tested to see if it could work on other HSBC markets (CIIOM, UAE, Australia and Mexico) which were also set to adapt the new designs.
Wireframes
I worked closely with a copywriter to create the wireframes. Each page went through multiple iterations, with input from Ad Control, Legal & Compliance, SEO, my peers from Design, and the Mortgages team.
User testing
Our UX Researcher and I performed a qualitative user test on the new UK designs. We observed which pages users engaged with, how they found and navigated each page, and whether they felt the order and level of information was sufficient for them to make a decision.
I also worked with Optimisation to run A/B tests on high-traffic pages, such as the Mortgage hub and How to Apply.
The published UK pages eventually became the foundation for the Mortgages global templates, which would be rolled out to mutiple markets.
