The Challenge
As part of a new dashboard, I wanted to ensure users would be able to understand page content quickly and confidently from the start. Because the experience hadn’t yet been introduced to clients, there was a risk that unclear or overly technical titles could create confusion, misalign with user expectations, and undermine trust at launch.
At the same time, there were competing perspectives among stakeholders—particularly between advisor-facing teams and marketing—each advocating for language that reflected their priorities and domain expertise. This made it difficult to align on page titles that were both accurate and user-friendly.
To move forward, I needed evidence-based insights to determine which language would truly resonate with users, rather than relying on internal preferences or positioning goals. The goal was to select titles that support comprehension and build confidence, as well as reflect how users naturally think about financial concepts.
My Approach
I designed and conducted an unmoderated remote survey with 99 participants representing a range of experience levels and familiarity with financial topics. Participants evaluated alternative page titles and shared their expectations for page content. They rated their confidence in understanding and explained their preferences. I analyzed patterns to understand how language affects comprehension, confidence and alignment with user mental models.
What Changed
- Identified titles that users found clear, familiar and trustworthy
- Revealed which terms were misinterpreted/caused confusion, especially for less familiar concepts
- Highlighted how user knowledge influences comprehension and confidence
- Produced actionable recommendations for selecting page titles that align with user expectations
The Result
The research gave us clear, evidence-based direction on which page titles would actually make sense to users, helping reduce ambiguity and build confidence from the start.
It also made it much easier to align stakeholders. Instead of relying on opinions or competing priorities, we were able to point to real user feedback to guide decisions and move forward with confidence.
The work not only informed final title selections, but also set a foundation for how we test and validate content decisions going forward—supporting more intuitive, user-centered experiences across the product.