The Core Strategy: Make It Easy to Understand
Personal finance is overwhelming. That's why every decision in this project was guided by one question: “Does this make things easier to understand?”
That applied to:
- The tone of voice (friendly, first-person, no jargon)
- Structure of the guides (step-by-step, timeline-based)
- UI/UX (minimal, clear, non-overwhelming)
The free resource is for people just starting out with personal finance, so I removed anything that might feel confusing or overwhelming.
One idea I added was AI-generated podcasts using Google’s NotebookLM, so people can listen to each guide instead of reading. It makes the content more engaging and helps with SEO by giving Google more context through transcripts.
Design and UX Decisions
- Simple, focused layouts. Clean typography, generous spacing, minimal distractions.
- Learning Path format. Each category is laid out as a timeline to give users a sense of progress.
- Plain language. Everything is written in a way that feels conversational and approachable.
Fast Launch to Validate Early
I launched within two months to:
- Avoid overthinking and perfection paralysis
- Start collecting feedback from real users as soon as possible
- Build momentum and iterate quickly
Early visitors could leave their email and submit feedback, which helped me build a list of true fans who were invested in the mission from day one.
Real-World Analytics & Insights
I installed GA4 and Microsoft Clarity from the beginning to understand how people were using the site:
- Which pages people were clicking into
- How far they were scrolling
- Where they were getting stuck
Key Insight:
Scroll depth was lower than expected on long-form guides. While they were full of valuable info, they were too overwhelming—especially for beginners.
What I’m Iterating On Now
- Breaking up long guides into smaller, digestible parts
- Adding videos at the top of each guide to offer quick, visual explanations
- Continuing to speak to users and review analytics regularly to fine-tune the experience
What I Learned
This project reminded me that:
- Launching early is powerful—you learn so much more from real user behavior than assumptions
- Simplicity is a design superpower, especially when working with complex topics
- Creating trust and clarity is more important than flashy design
