In order to better serve their local community, Milestone kept the needs of the customer at the forefront of their redesign. Creating a more positive experience with their site, Milestone made several enhancements including: prominent placement of important call to actions on their homepage photo slideshow, multiple tabs to showcase Just Listed and Newly Priced properties, Open Houses and more, as well as hover-over features for photos giving quick access to basic property information.

The search results pages have been upgraded as well to include a refine bar of the most extensive filters available through the advanced search, allowing users to define their results further without having to return to the search form.

Additional enhancements include:

Advanced Search
Through this feature, Milestone is able to provide customers more filter options beyond the most commonly used fields. This allows users wanting to drill deep into the specific details of a listing the option to do so while not overwhelming those looking to do a quick search.

Property Picks/Driving Tour
Accompanying customers on the bottom of every search, search results and details page are the “My Property Picks” and “Driving Tour” tabs. These features allow users to add properties of interest to these baskets in order to compare the properties side-by-side or get turn-by-turn driving directions to each of the listings.

Quick View
Increasing the usability of search results page, the quick view feature allows customers to view basic property details without having to visit the property details page. The information appears within a light box application on the same page as the search results and includes a variety of property detail information including address, MLS #, price, list date, photos and more.

Upgraded Realtor Bios
The Realtor bios have been enhanced as well to incorporate a more sophisticated and streamlined design. By including tabs for the agent bio and agent listings, Milestone is able to keep important information above the fold for easy viewing. Call to action items are more prominent on the page as well, allowing a customer to quickly contact the agent for additional information.

Sticky Header
As an added detail, Milestone has chosen to include a static header that follows a user throughout the site. The header includes important call to action items such as their main contact phone number, quick access to email alerts and links to their social sites for increased exposure.

In addition to the features listed above, Milestone has also incorporated a Feedback form while their site is in Beta to ensure the site is meeting the needs of their online customers.

For more information, visit them online at www.milestoneky.com and click on the Preview Our New Site button at the top of the homepage.

Serving the Washington D.C. real estate market since 1980, McEnearney represents 150 communities in the surrounding area. In order to better market these communities and remain the local expert, enhancing community content was one of the major undertakings of the new site. With comprehensive community bios, the integration of Onboard community data and Point of Interest mapping, McEnearney’s community pages offer in-depth information on local neighborhoods. In addition, relevant blog content can be streamed to each community page for increased usability and added SEO benefit.

Other enhancements to McEnearney.com include:

Lifestyle Search
With a desire to remain on the cutting edge of technology, McEnearney has implemented Lifestyle Search on their site in order to improve the user experience. Through Lifestyle search, customers can find homes based on their desired community preferences. McEnearney is the 3^rd member to launch this innovative search tool. Visit McEnearney’s newly launched Lifestyle Search for more information.

Advanced Search
With usability at the forefront of design, an enhanced Advanced Search option is available on the new site. This feature differs from the competitions by offering access to all search categories available through the MLS. By organizing the multitude of available search criteria into 5 sections, the upgraded Advanced Search gives more options to those interested in specific search criteria without overwhelming customers wanting to conduct a simple search. Check out McEnearney’s Advanced Search for more details.

Metro Rail Search
An extension of the recently released proximity search, the Metro Rail Search allows customers to find homes within proximity to metro stations throughout the Washington D.C. area. This transportation-based search includes a stylized metro map and the ability to select a desired station and radius. Customers still have the option to do conduct a proximity search to other points of interest as well.

Radius Search
When viewing a property details page, users now have the ability to conduct a radius search of homes in nearby neighborhoods. By selecting a desired proximity to the property they’re currently viewing, customers can compare that home to other active listings and sold homes in the area.

Compare Property Tool and Driving Tour
Tabbed at the bottom of search pages include the Property Compare Tool and Driving Tour for quicker access to saved properties. The Property Compare Tool allows customers to compare homes side-by-side including price, number of bedrooms and baths, square footage and more.

Additionally, customers wanting driving directions to potential properties can easily view and print turn-by-turn driving directions to all listings added to the Driving Tour tray.

Market News
For the McEnearney launch, their news controller in the admin area has been updated. Now, all news feeds are broken down by area and categorized for quicker access to important community information.  In addition, all archived articles are easily accessible from the admin area as well.

Anchor Footer
As an added detail, McEnearney has integrated a social feed in the anchor footer of their site. Recent updates on their corporate Facebook page scroll along the bottom of the page allowing customers to click through for more information.

With all the new functionality available, the newly designed site aligns with McEnearney’s commitment to quality and exceptional customer service. Be sure to visit www.McEnearney.com for more details.

For members interested in implementing any of these features, please contact your project manager for more information.

By Amanda Stephan

This is true for visiting a website for the first time.  It is these lapses in logical layout and flow that usability seeks to remedy.  The above example of the confusing home is accurate, and coincides with our Q1 & Q2 Usability Reports, which sought to dispel issues concerning proper layout and navigation, respectively.  Users, much like homeowners, want elements of a website to appear according to their own sense of placement, not a designer’s.

At this year’s Enterprise Network Conference our very own Kassy Ritchie gave a talk on usability, elaborating on the psychology of the end user.  She also discussed The Active Usability Lab, which allows us to conduct usability studies in-house, giving us instantaneous feedback and the ability to implement changes to websites according to our findings.  Over the course of her talk she covered several tools and methodologies.

Our biggest, and coolest, usability tool is the Tobii eye-tracking machine.  It is a phenomenal piece of hardware which lets us know exactly where a user looks when on a website, broken down according to each user’s demographic, sex, age, and level of expertise.  Tobii helps greatly with both layout and navigation aiding in the determination of the logic of the average user.

Of course logic is a sliding scale.  For example, think of any real estate website.  Some users may want pages like “Mortage” to fall under a heading of “Services,” while others think it should fall under “Buyers.”  The trick is finding which heading is the most popular – which then may become a top-side navigation header.  In our Q2 study, one way of determining this was by a card-sorting method.  Test subjects were given a stack of cards and asked to sort them according to master categories (which were both pre-defined and user-defined).  Analyzing their organization of these cards is what led to the determination of proper navigation and the “ideal sitemap”. For more information, read our blog post, The Active Usability Lab: The Ideal Sitemap.

Consider for a moment the direct correlation between sales and the usability of a website.  From first contact we work towards the signing of the contract – always be closing, right?  But, what if a potential customer’s first contact with our company is visiting a website that only serves to annoy them?  The Active Usability Lab helps generate a positive user experience which makes us more likely to earn their business.

Related Posts:

The Active Usability Lab: The Ideal Sitemap

Active Community: Introduction to The Active Usability Lab

Active Community: Usability Lab, Part 2

By Jeff Payne

Because we released our results to Active Enterprise Network Members today, we want to give you a little insight into our findings through the online surveys we conducted as well as our eye tracking focus groups. 350 users participated in the surveys and over 60 people were tested using the eye tracking system. Because the information we collected is so valuable, we’re only releasing the full results to our clients.

However, we’d like to give you a sneak peek. This week’s video presentation focuses on four main of our study: the homepage, certain components on the homepage, content and branding. But what we really want to emphasis is the different perceptions of what the broker wants verses what the user wants.

At our October Enterprise Network Conference last year, we focused on the importance of moving to a more customer centric model. The results of our usability studies really drives this point home. With a user’s experience on our websites playing such a vital role in the success of our companies, it’s time we’re aware of their needs in order to meet their demands.

These results are crucial in helping the Enterprise Network move toward a more customer centric approach. With these findings, we’re now able to consult with our clients from a scientific standpoint when it comes to usability.

Below is the animation discussed in today’s Active Community session.

Related Posts:

Active Community: Introduction to the Active Usability Lab

10 Blog Usability Tips

Becoming an “Inside Out” Business

By John Sable

1. Rewrite your site: The most important thing you can do for your website is to update your content every year (this is the minimum). The last thing you want is a potential customer to visit your site only to find out you have outdated material. Not only that, but having fresh content on your site is another way for current customers to reconnect with you. Don’t forget the importance of quality content, either! Use content to your advantage as a way to not only provide useful information, but to increase search engine optimization. Duplicate and outdated content is a sure way to disenchant users and impacts SEO rankings negatively. If you don’t impress them with your site, there is little chance they’ll bother contacting you for additional information. Related Post: Using Content to Increase SEO
2. Redesign with your customer in mind: Usability is another important aspect of your site. If a customer can’t navigate through your site easily, more than likely they will give up and look elsewhere. It’s not only important to attract users to your site, but equally important to keep them there. There is a lot of competition on the web, so while structuring your site around usability, try to keep these questions in mind: How easy is it for users to find information or accomplish basic tasks? How quickly can they perform these tasks? And, how easy is it for users to recover from issues they encounter? Related Posts: Three Simple Rules to Remember, Active Website Teams Up with Tobii Technology
3. Keywords, keywords, keywords! Expanding on the importance of re-writing your site, another great way to create quality content for your website is through the use of keywords. We’ve said it before, but this is an easy way to rank higher on searches, thus generating more traffic to your site! The goal of your site is to provide information to your customers, making them want to use your services. By incorporating keywords into content, you’re making it easier for potential clients to find you amongst the masses. Related Post: Maintaining Long Tail Result
4. Socialize: Communicating with your customers is a fun and easy way to help boost visits to your site. For example, by establishing a weekly blog not only are you able to stay in front of your customers and give them a reason to keep checking back to your site, but you open up the communication channels as well. A lot of great insight can come from comments your customers make to your postings and lets you know what is of interest to them. Also, by having a Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn account (the list of these social media sites goes on forever!) you are able to reach out through different outlets. At AW, we’re firm believers that everyone searches the internet differently, so it’s best to cover all the bases. However, make sure not to take on too much. If you’re not dedicated to updating these sites, they won’t do you a lot of good. Be sure to post the social media sites that you belong to on your website for all to see, as well! Related Post: A Changing Culture
5. Publish content from your site: This one is pretty self explanatory. If you’re already taking the time to blog and post current content on your site, take a few extra minutes out of your day to submit your content to other sites as well. There are a vast amount of resources out there for you to use, whether it be social media sites such as Digg or StumbleUpon or a more traditional outlet like your local paper, the more you get your company name out there, the more traffic you’ll see to your website. Not to mention, by publishing your content on these sites, you increase the odds that someone else will find it useful and re-post it themselves. Related Post: Using Social Media to Your Advantage

As you move forward into 2010, don’t forget to set aside some time to nurture your website. The above list may seem a little daunting, but is necessary to help move your company forward. So start the year off right and give your website a much deserved makeover.

Related Sites:

10 Best Things You Can Do on Your Business Website

Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox

Tobii Technology’s Blog

Agents and managers alike came prepared with quality questions. As I stood there surveying the crowd, I noticed a room full of engaged realtors no longer struggling with the fact that traditional marketing has changed. Instead, this group of professionals came prepared to embrace the future with a new set of web tools.  Terms such as advanced mapping, individual property websites, video streaming, unique content and viral marketing did not fall on deaf ears.

I thought to myself, they are honestly getting it!

As I went from meeting to meeting, it became even more obvious that the culture is changing and the world we live in as developers and technologists is starting to be shared by the masses. In the end, out of 100 agents in attendance, we had 60 sign up for the advanced marketing plan for 2010 – a plan that included an agent website and two individual property websites per month.

Milestone agents are now equipped with all the necessary tools to be successful. By being prepared to take what they’ve learned and start writing unique content about the areas they farm, Milestone is looking ahead at new ways to position themselves in 2010 and beyond.

So, as I jumped a plane back home, I asked myself a question. Have we reached a tipping point?  Will 2010 be more about the customer and less about resisting change? I can’t fully answer these questions, but it did make me realize there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

And for everyone else out there, I encourage each of you to approach 2010 with a new sense of optimism. Don’t be afraid to talk openly with agents and managers about change; you may be surprised to find they are more accepting than you realize.

And please, do me a favor and visit the new Milestone site and give us some feedback. There has been a lot of hard work and late nights, so we welcome your comments.  At Active Website, we are proud of the achievements Enterprise Network Members have made over the years and feel fortunate to have fifteen great clients up and running on the platform.

Wow, fifteen! It seems like just yesterday the Network started. It makes me realize how far we have come, but also how far we have to go. For now though, I am going to enjoy this successful launch and carry it with me into 2010.

This is an important reminder for the Enterprise Network. It’s sometimes easy to take for granted that the most crucial aspect of a website is the ability for users to navigate through it and accomplish their goals. If a website is difficult to use, fails to explain clearly who the company is and what they do, or if it’s content isn’t easy to read, there is a good chance the user will leave and not come back.

As Nielsen so clearly states, “If a user cannot find the product, they cannot buy the product either.”

Nielsen lists 3 key components to improving usability:

1. Get hold of some representative users, such as home buyers and sellers.
2. Have the users perform representative tasks with the design.
3. Observe what the users do, where they succeed, and where they are having problems with the user interface. Be quiet and let the users do the talking.

By focusing on the consumer, we can address these above concerns in an effort to deliver what users want, and in the process, create happy, loyal, return customers. When we prioritize the needs and wants of our users, in the end we guarantee a higher success rate and higher ROI on any website efforts.

To read more from Nielsen’s column, sign up for the bi-weekly newsletter, and to read about some misconceptions about usability, go to Jakob Niesen’s Alertbox.

3 key components to a great website:

1. Make it easy. Beyond the aesthetics of a site, another important aspect of website design is Usability. Active Website ensures that the design follows best practices for usability, designing the pages to guarantee the user experience is efficient, effective and satisfying. 
2. Be Specific. Careful consideration goes into photo placement, call-to-action buttons and other aspects of navigation. Helping the consumer get where they need to be is key.
3. Don’t be shy. Rose says that you should “encourage your customers to share their feedback and ask permission to use positive reviews on your site. A good testimonial can go a long way toward instilling faith in your business.”

These suggestions may seem obvious but they are things many often fail to consider. There are proven studies on what consumers look for, are attracted to and use the most on websites. It’s important to think from the consumer’s perspective and not your own.

Remember: No matter how brilliant a site looks, if a visitor cannot get the information they need, it fails as an effective marketing tool.

Read the BusinessWeek blog here.

Question: What do buyers particularly value when visiting a real estate website?

Answer: Photos – “Buyers love photos – 86 percent said photos were ‘very useful’ on a Web site, which was the highest ranked…”

Active Website offers Individual Property Websites as part of our Enterprise Platform. IPWs allow for an unlimited number of photos, just what the buyers want. While providing each property with a unique webpage to boast its features, these websites will engage buyers and impress your sellers.

Other Benefits of Individual Property Websites:

• Every Individual Property Website is linked to IDX – pulling the information from the MLS listing onto the IPW to avoid repeating the data entry
• Multiple templates are available
• Different template designs appeal to lower, mid-range, and higher-end property themes
• Unique domain names available, e.g. www.123mainstreet.com

IPWs are also a great ROI tool for brokerages who can sell this service back to their agents. IPWs allow for an agent photo and contact information and these websites with unique domain names can be used to track sign-rider or print ad traffic, as well as general traffic. To find out more about individual property websites contact us now.

If buyers want photos, you should give them what they want. How are you approaching this important feature?

Take the quiz for yourself: Realtor Magazine Quiz

view one of our client sites for a review of this technology Denver Real Estate