Crafting a financial website is an entirely different creature altogether from recreational and leisure based sites such as those focused on music or fashion. You’ll be targeting a whole different readership and demographic altogether. Financial sites ought to convey a more professional and serious tone and instill trust and confidence on the part of the reader. Part of this is content, but appearances play a crucial role as well. Some fonts, for example, simply appear more dignified than others. Imagine the site of AIG or Goldman Sachs done up entirely in Comic Sans, and you get the picture.

As far as colors are concerned, studies show that gray and blue tones are subconsciously associated with trustworthiness by the viewer and are more appropriate for business and finance websites. With that in mind, a generally somber color scheme is a good idea, with perhaps one or two colors that stand out, like a mildly bright orange or green to set off the rest of the design. You’ll also want to avoid overindulging artistically with your look and feel. A few flourishes, maybe a unique element or logo or two, but nothing that will seem ostentatious or out of place on a site catering to investors and business people.

On any site that is heavily dependent on financial matters or leans towards a data heavy setup, you’ll want to pick and choose your charts and graphs, your live feeds and other infographics wisely. There’s such a thing as too much information, and the human brain on average can only process so much of it at a time in a useful manner. Keep that in mind and display only the most relevant current information required for any given page. The right data, presented in a clear-cut manner mixed in with some insightful content goes a long way.