STUDENT LOAN HERO

calculator redesign

Project Scope: Redesign of existing student loan pre-payment calculator 

Results: New Prepayment Calculator design was a HUGE winner! Increased bank link event conversion by 74%, while reducing bounce rate by 75%! 

Challenge: As a highly trafficked asset, our Pre-payment calculator was identified as an underperforming conversion experience. They hypothesis was that users who are most likely to explore pre-payment are also likely to qualify for refinancing, therefore conversion should be higher, not lower.

Process: After considering the needs of the primary refinance persona, I started by conducting a basic teardown while considering usability heuristics. That teardown identified several major aspects of the existing layout that would likely effect conversion.

First, there are dozens of links competing for the click that we want. Second, there are competing CTAs, headlines, etc that, as an experience, fight for the user’s attention. 

With problems identified, I moved into ideation. I explored experiences, such as turbo tax, that provide users with a clear message and clear next steps. 

In addition to greatly simplifying the results of the calculator, I supported the elimination and consolidation of extra links, buttons, CTAs, while preserving SEO - our main traffic channel. I also provided in the design clear next steps for those not interested in refinancing. 

Solution:
The final solution provides for two main data points after a user interacts with the calculator - how much money they’ll save and how much time. Directly below is a clear CTA for visiting a lender. Below the calculator section, I provided 3 options for users who are not ready to refinance.