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Diction
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Content

Overview

The content of the home page should mainly consist of what researchers have called “the essentials”: “who you are”, “what you offer”, “what is inside”, and most importantly, how to contact you. It is imperative to give the audience a reason to be on your page [7]. Any information that is included beyond that increases the complexity of your page, which depending on the other elements you’ve included, may or may not be necessary

Most financial technology home pages address these topics in the form of what I call a ‘can-do’ list, a list of all of the services, products, and perks they offer, but notably excluding any instructions, pricing, or logistical details. This keeps the complexity of the site in the sweet spot, especially in relation to the flashiness of their design.

Call to action and contact section of Stripe's home page
Call to action and contact section of Chime's home page
Call to action and contact section of Square's home page
Call to action and contact section of Adyen's home page

Figure 1: Examples from Stripe, Chime, Square and Adyen showing the CTA+Contact section of their home pages.

Fine print section of Chime's home page
Fine print section of PayPal's home page
Fine print section of Cash App's home page

Figure 2: Fine print section examples from Chime, PayPal, and Cash App's home pages.

Further Information

For consumers who have bought into the ad, and are ready to move on in the purchasing process, “read more” links are provided under each section, allowing those who need more information to easily find it without crowding the page. Similarly, navigation links in the navigation bar or footer include general sections of the site for customers to further peruse at their pleasure. 

With financial technology companies being entrusted with the funds of both individuals and other companies alike, one of the most important (and legally mandated) content inclusions is the fine print, usually placed in the footer of the page. The fine print usually includes licensing information, partnership disclosures, and (sometimes huge) qualifications for the claims made during the advertising sections of the site. Most notably, the specific phrase “X is a financial technology company, not a bank” recurs often, showing up 8 times across 3 of the 6 home pages analyzed (the ones that provide personal banking services), usually alongside the name of the actual bank the company works through.

What's Not Included

Excluding these subjects prevents consumers from being turned off by dissatisfaction with prices, or confusion and apprehension from long instructions. Since the home page’s main goal is building brand trust and funneling them towards purchase intent, avoiding logistical topics helps maintain the clear message they’re aiming for, alongside keeping site informational complexity in a moderate range.

Chime's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
Chime's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
PayPal's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
PayPal's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
Cash App's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
Cash App's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
Cash App's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"
Cash App's use of "X is a fintech company, not a bank"

Figure 3: Chime, PayPal, and Cash App's use of "X is a financial technology company, not a bank."

In conclusion, the diction, usage of rhetorical appeals, layout, design, and included content of financial technology home pages all combine to serve the purpose of building brand trust in consumers, while funneling them towards a purchase.

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Created by Katharine Strong

All brand assets of Stripe, Chime, Square, PayPal, Cash App, and Adyen are cited on this page and within a separate downloadable document. Each asset was acquired either through a Creative Commons license or via press kits, allowing permission for editorial/educational noncommercial use. The entire site was created without template, in Webflow, and exists as a visual representation of the patterns identified and analyzed in the aforementioned companies' desktop home pages.

Home is a genre analysis, not a financial technology company.

1

Stripe | Financial Infrastructure to Grow Your Revenue. Stripe, n.d., https://stripe.com/.

2

Chime - Banking with No Monthly Fees. Fee-Free Overdraft. Build Credit. Chime, n.d., https://www.chime.com/.

3

Power Your Entire Business | Square, Square, n.d., https://squareup.com/us/en.

4

Pay, Send and Save Money with PayPal | PayPal US. PayPal, n.d., https://www.paypal.com/us/home.

5

Cash App - Do More with Your Money. Cash App, n.d., https://cash.app/.

6

Engineered for Ambition - Adyen. Adyen, n.d., https://www.adyen.com/.

7

Geissler, Gary & Zinkhan, George & Watson, Richard. (2001). Web Home Page Complexity and Communication Effectiveness. J. AIS. 2. 0-. 10.17705/1jais.00014.

8

Sutcliffe, A., & Namoun, A. (2012). Predicting user attention in complex web pages. Behaviour & Information Technology, 31(7), 679–695. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2012.692101

9

Doty, P. (1997). Selling the Home Page: An Essay on the World Wide Web and Rhetoric. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 1(3), 99–105. https://doi.org/10.1300/J136v01n03_12

10

Geissler, G. L., Zinkhan, G. M., & Watson, R. T. (2006). The Influence of Home Page Complexity on Consumer Attention, Attitudes, and Purchase Intent. Journal of Advertising, 35(2), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2006.10639232

11

Singh, S. N., Dalal, N., & Spears, N. (2005). Understanding Web home page perception. European Journal of Information Systems, 14(3), 288–302. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000525

Thank you for reading!