Mint vs. Quicken, and the importance of a good UI

Mint.com's Aaron Patzer has a few words of advice for Web startups seeking to set themselves apart from the competition:

• Make sure you have a simple UI
• Don't use a stupid, made-up word for the service

Mint's founder and CEO was speaking at yesterday's WebbyConnect panel on "Building an Overnight Web All-Star." He claimed that the personal finance site is now four times as big as Quicken Online, even though the competitor is based on a decades-old brand and launched a year before Mint did. How can this be? Patzer points to the fact that Quicken required 50 screens to get started, compared to Mint.com's two.

"User interface matters on the Web," Patzer said. "And finance companies I don't think get this, because every bank website I've been to looks like it was made in 1997. There hasn't been a whole lot of innovation here."

To realize his vision of a clean design and easy-to-use interface, Mint's founder hired one of the designers of Apple.com. He also made the sign-up button -- a long, orange oval that says "Sign up in under five minutes" -- one of the most recognizable parts of the front page. He claims that it has an 18% conversion rate.

"I think that's the number one reason why Mint is at the evolution that it's at, because we've paid attention to user-centric design," Patzer said.

Phishers, take note: Patzer said that good design helps convince new users to feel safe about entering sensitive information. "Design is also crucial to conveying trust," he said. "This is a personal finance service. You enter your bank usernames and passwords through this site. Trust is not conveyed through copy or the words that you use, it's conveyed in an instant through the quality of your design."

Patzer had little patience for sites that use made-up words, which are often hard to spell and hard to remember. He criticized Geezeo.com and Wesabe.com for choosing difficult names. "That kills your word of mouth marketing," he said, adding that Mint had not spent anything on marketing. The popularity of the site is due to word-of-mouth referrals, as well as Patzer's willingness to speak with practically any media outlet. He claims that he spends 30% to 40% of his time on press, because extra coverage can lead to special opportunities that otherwise would never happen.