Creative Director & Designer
Weichert.com
Redesigning Search and Display for a better user experience and higher lead generation.
Redesigning Search and Display for a better user experience and higher lead generation.
Weichert.com is a lead generation website and listing aggregator. It is aligned with a customer center that’s armed with the technology to pair buyers and sellers with a real estate agent in minutes. With 76 million property views in 2020, 3.7 million registered users in 2021 and a site with 3.8 page views per session, Weichert.com is a strong and steady producer of leads for real estate and other closing services.
I have worked on supporting several projects for Weichert.com. In this case study, I focused on the larger projects and revenue generators.
“The Ask"
In 2018 I partnered with Thought Works to do a deep dive in the search and display user experience. It was time for a refresh, and we needed to analyze the gaps in the buying process; how Weichert could service customers when needs arise throughout the home buyer journey.
The Process
My partnership with Thought Works lasted four weeks including day long creative sessions and analysis-based research. We spent time identifying where the company was and their future aspirations. We looked at competitive analysis to see where Weichert was succeeding and failing in the customer journey compared to the market.
Competitive Landscape - Where is Weichert today in the competitive landscape and the goals of Weichert for the future.
The Customer Journey – Exploring how a home buyer would start the search process, what tools they would use, and what gaps Weichert.com had when specific needs would arise.
Design Priority – Through research, pinpointing the most dependent customers when it came to service and information. These groups also had the potential to be the most profitable and in need of servicing.
User Personas – Once the new and move-up buyers were identified as our target clients, we created personas that outlined their ‘pains and gains’. We recognized when Weichert.com could supply them value in the home buying search as well as inform them on anything that would cause concerns during the journey.
Deliverables
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Created a new look and feel for Weichert.com, including an excellent user experience plus enhanced search and display functionality.
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Took the user from home search to results, aggregating maximum inventory options.
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Provided simple sorting tools while also having advanced filter capabilities for power users.
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Supplied the user with a complex property listing that was easy to read; Highlight photography and key information while supplying purchasing tools, area information and similar listings to round out a complete home search experience.
Design
With mobile devices contributing to 60% of Weichert.com traffic, a mobile first approach would be taken. We needed to consider display rules supplied by every MLS on search results and property display pages. Make CTA’s, forms and search visible and attractive. Give users who sign up for membership advance tools for saving and sharing.
Release
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New home page design.
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New prebuilt filtered search results based on previous search or location.
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Market to other closing services in line with the buying journey.
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Developer super user filter and sort tools.
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Enhance location services for map options.
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Deliver a better property detail page experience with rich content and up-to-date information.
