Hi Neo community! 
First of all, I’d like to say how much I appreciate Neo Financial’s sleek and modern design. As someone who values intuitive user experiences, I couldn’t help but notice something that could be improved when it comes to switching between English and French on the website. Specifically, I’m talking about the dropdown menu for language selection.
Currently, the switching between languages is done using a dropdown.
Why is it a dropdown? Dropdowns are for saving space. Here space doesn’t seem to be an issue, and dropdowns are bad for other reasons:
A drop-down list suffers from a huge problem, the user can’t see all the options they are presented with directly. Instead the need to click to see the options, then scan through the options, then click to make a selection.
Read: Why drop-down lists are bad for the user experience.
Additionally, the current flow requires two clicks to switch languages: one to open the dropdown menu and another to select the desired language. This could be simplified to just one click for a more seamless experience.
Why This Design is Suboptimal
- Cognitive Load
Jakob Nielsen, a renowned usability expert, emphasizes the importance of reducing cognitive load for users. If someone is already confused by the language on the page, forcing them to guess what’s in the dropdown adds unnecessary complexity. The goal should be to make the action of switching languages as quick and obvious as possible. - Visibility of Options
The Norman Nielsen Group advocates for visible controls over hidden ones when possible, especially for frequent tasks. If the only other option is “French” or “English,” why make users hunt for it in a dropdown? Visible options reduce the risk of errors and improve the overall user experience.
Consider how Rappi did this: users can see that 1. the page is multilingual 2. that it is available in three languages 3. see what these languages are and 4. are able to switch between languages in one click.
- Unnecessary Clicks
The current design requires two clicks to switch languages. For a task as simple and common as this, a one-click solution is more efficient and user-friendly. - Mismatch Between User Goals and Interface
When a page is displayed in English, the user doesn’t need extra confirmation that it’s in English—they already know that. What’s relevant is the option to switch to French. Similarly, a French-speaking user landing on the page in French would be looking for “English,” not “French.”
Canada.ca might not be the most user-friendly site, but switching languages here is easy. If the user ended up on the French page and did speak a word of French, they can simply click “English” in place where one would expect the button to be.
How Other Sites Do It Better
Many websites tackle this challenge more effectively by displaying both language options visibly:
- Switch Buttons
Some websites use a simple toggle button (e.g., “English | Français”), allowing users to switch instantly with one click, without needing to open a dropdown. This approach is compact yet clear and works well when there are only two language options. - Show the Other Language
Instead of repeating the current language, some sites display only the alternative (e.g., if the page is in English, the language switcher says “Français”). This approach is especially helpful for non-native speakers who are trying to navigate a page in an unfamiliar language.
It could also be worse. Consider how Nubank put the language switcher at the very bottom of the page, requiring users to scroll 5 screens down. This would be very hard to find.
A Friendly Suggestion
Neo Financial could enhance the language-switching experience by:
- Replacing the Dropdown with a Switch
A toggle like “English | Français” is more intuitive and reduces unnecessary clicks. - Showing the Language You Want to Switch To
Displaying the alternative language instead of the current one makes it immediately clear how to switch. - Reducing the Flow to One Click
By eliminating the need to open a dropdown, users could switch languages with a single click, making the experience faster and smoother. - Keeping It Accessible
Ensure that the language switcher is easy to find, perhaps in the header or footer, where users typically expect it. - Add More Languages
Canadian banks typically only work in Canada and don’t have good internationalization/multilingual support, but this is a missed opportunity even inside Canada. If you are read immigrant forums you will discover many newcomers who are choosing banks based on the availability of someone they know who speaks that language at that particular bank, and this can be the most important criteria because it allows users to actually use the service. If everything else was bad but understandable in the language of the user, having that multilingual UI and support can help Neo win customers in those niches.
This change would not only align with established design principles but also make Neo’s website even more user-friendly for bilingual users or those less comfortable with the default language.
Thanks for reading!