- A weblog by InetSolution
2004 Top Five Credit Union Website Usability Mistakes - #1
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 4, 2004
Confusing forms with no guidance
Most credit union websites rely on forms as their primary interactive tool to allow members to conduct business. Unfortunately, most sites leave members in the dark in regards to properly completing forms or what to do when errors occur. We’ve even found forms that intentionally delete data input without warning users.
Let’s look at an example of poor usability on the Dort Federal Credit Union website.
While visiting the Dort website, I decide that I’d like to apply for an auto loan, so I click on the link to begin my application – and this is where my nightmare begins. The first source of confusion with this form is deciding which fields are required. There are no helpful indicators to tell me whether I really have to input my middle name or if I have to input my work phone number.
I fill out the form with the information that I think is relevant, but I’m not comfortable providing my social security number, so I leave it blank. I click the Continue button and receive an alert popup telling me that I need to provide a social security number.
This is a helpful error that I correct and then try to submit the form again.
This time, I do not receive a popup error, but instead a message displays on
the bottom of the page that tells me I input an invalid birth date. I didn’t input any birth date, so how can it be invalid? Why didn’t I receive a popup error this time?
Since I’m an experienced web user, I know that the error indicates that I need to input a birthday, so I do it. I type in ‘01011970’ and click Continue, but receive the same error. Apparently I need to type the date in a specific format, but there’s no guidance on the form that tells me this. I decide to click the Refresh button to clear the error, but nothing happens. I click the Back button instead, but then I get a system error.
Unfortunately, the entire application is filled with usability issues that are confusing and frustrating. Each new page in the application presents different error handling techniques and limited guidance.
Another site that demonstrates a common credit union website problem is Parsons Federal Credit Union. They have a home banking sign-up form that looks like I can fill out on-line, but where’s the Submit button? If I read the little tiny print at the top, it says:
“Using Internet Explorer, fill in the application below. Then print out and fax, mail, or bring to your nearest PFCU Office”
Seriously? Do they really want me to fill out this form on the website, then print it and bring it to the office? If your form cannot be submitted on-line, do not make it appear like it. Instead, make it visually clear that this is a printable form by using lines instead of input boxes, and consider using Adobe PDF format instead of HTML. You can view this form on-line at http://www.parsonsfcu.org/app_cuonline.htm.
