Question

Topic: Website Critique

Feedback Needed On Real Estate Website!!!

Posted by Anonymous on 8/29/2007 at 2:44 PM ET 125 Points
Hey guys, I currently work for a residential development company located here in columbus, ohio. The company is called Lifestyle Communities. We sell apartments and condos. We just put up our new website and I was wondering if I could get some feedback.

www.lifestylecommunities.com
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/29/2007 at 4:16 PM Accepted
    The images are good and the timeline is clever. It shows the lifestyle you're trying to create and the images presumably show/reflect the demographic you're trying to attract.

    I'm unclear why "United Way tops 2006 goal" get such prominent placement on your home page.

    Since you did the site in Flash, there isn't much text on the site. This will cause you problems with the search engines, since there's no keywords or relevant text for the web spiders to find.

    The gray menus above the slideshow is in a different order than the main boxes (Now Showing, Our Communities, and Rent of Buy). Make them consistent.

    Since your communities are (currently) in Ohio and Kentucky, it would make sense to make that obvious on your home page.

    What's missing for me is a call to action/benefit statement. Since a community is a collection of people, how do Lifestyle Communities create the community? Is it more than real estate + common areas? Or is it simply a "look" designed to attract like-minded people? Rent or Buy is what you're trying to get them to (eventually) do.
  • Posted on 8/29/2007 at 5:10 PM Author
    I work in the marketing department and definitely agree that "United Way tops 2006" has no relevance. Adding more text might not be a bad idea either. The gray menus are similar to the boxes at the bottom, but not identical, therefore I'm not sure exactly what you mean by making them consistent. Do you mean matching them up in order from left to right?
    Would you also mind clarifying what you mean by "call to action/benefit statement"?? If you click on "about lifestyle", read what it says under "vision and values", that might answer how we create a community. By "common areas" are you referring to the amenities we provide?But i see what you're saying.
    Maybe it is indeed also a "look" to attract like-minded people, but is there anything wrong with that? I'm actually an intern here and our marketing department only consists of 4 people. You're response isgreat, i really appreciate it.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/29/2007 at 6:05 PM Member
    Yes, I meant matching them up left-to-right.

    The home page is your one chance to get people interested enough to invest their time to find out more. If people have to dig around to find out "what's in it for them", odds are, they'll leave and not revisit your site.

    The benefit statement therefore should be on your home page. Perhaps what you need is a tagline (where the united way is) that describes what you're about. The call to action is basically a statement that tells the reader clearly what you want them to do next: (and when) call you? click here? email?

    There's nothing wrong with a look to attract people. The problem is you're creating places to live and hoping that people who buy/rent share the same vision. Given your images, what would happen if 50% of your units were sold to inactive retirees with little disposable income?
  • Posted by Harry Hallman on 8/30/2007 at 9:25 AM Accepted
    There is a way to use Flash and get the spiders to read the the text. You should ask your developer about it and see what they can do.

    I really like the site. When can I move in (:-)
  • Posted by prhyatt on 8/30/2007 at 9:54 AM Accepted
    I guess I'm in the minority here, but the site does not work for me as it is set up.

    First, I was confused by the time at the top of the page- I wondered why you were showing the time so prominently, and then I realized that it was not the correct time- even for your time zone. Once I figured out that it was a video representation of a "typical(?)" day, then I began to wonder about the people. The lifestyle depicted is consistent with what is usually shown for retirement communities (ie, the "good life" of lounging by the pool and hanging out in the bar/restaurant) but the young, attractive people didn't fit-- don't they have school or work during the day? The only shots that call attention to the homes themselves are the kitchen and bedroom, and they seemed out of place after so many recreational images. Would you really go home and cook after a day of recreation and happy hour? Then the caption about resting up for "new opportunities" seemed out of place as well.

    The order of the navigation seems odd. I agree with Steve and Jay that you need more focus on the nuts-and-bolts of the product and the company. I did like the Rent or Buy page, but I might title it differently. If your audience is really the younger crowd, then maybe a "Home Search 101" page, where you could compare the buy vs rent decision, and then give more sell copy about your company. I would include more meat on this page.

    The pages for specific homes with the floor plans could be improved by showing the layout larger and above the fold- I wasn't sure that there was a layout on the page until I scrolled down, and many people won't do that.

    Finally, I would place "About Lifestyle" as the 1st or 2nd tab rather than the last one-- much of that page works well as a home page actually. And the Now Showing page totally threw me. I'm not sure what its purpose is. If residents are supposed to upload video, maybe you want a "Members" page or something similar. That might contribute to the image of your Lifestyle as an exclusive clubstyle community.

    In short, there are some good elements here, but I think they need to be tightened up and tweaked a bit so that your message is clear and the visitor gets enough info to want to take action.

    Good luck!
  • Posted on 8/30/2007 at 1:29 PM Author
    First, off I'd like to thank all of you for your feedback. It was very informative and precise. I do agree that there should be more text on the homepage. There should definitely be more info regarding the company. The time line on the homepage does indeed need some tweeking.

    It's funny you mentioned the fact that the time line portrays more characteristics that a retiree would have i.e lounging all day, drinking by the bar etc. They just released this new website maybe two weeks ago and the first thing I told them "as an intern" was that the lifestyle portrayed in the time line doesn't represent a realistic "typical day" of a young professional, for which we supposedly market to. I hate the part where it gets to image of the girl lounging by the pool with the quote "i should be at work". That's irresponsible and immature. I took note of all the ideas and feedback and will be presenting it to the team. As for the videos made by current residents, I think it was a great idea, but isn't placed in the right spot.

    Here are a few of the ideas I had already mentioned to the department which are in the process of being integrated:
    1. virtual tours of all models
    2. company blog
    3. a change in the domain to a 2-word/phrase such as www.TheLC.com or www.thegoodlife.com
    4. creating a Facebook/myspace page for the company
    5. A personal letter to our readers/prospective clients about how we create communities FROM our CEO or one of our sales teams (with group shot of sales team/Ceo about letter. Hopefully that makes sense

    Id like to introduce myself for a minute. My name is Rajiv Gupta, 21 years old currently attending The Ohio State University and our marketing department here at LC actually was actually just replaced by a new one a few months back before I even started b/c the old one left and started a new company. The department consists of only three people. The people I work with are very young as well.
    Now heres the problem. As much as I love the people I work with, I feel that they are more focused on short-term advertising such as creating banners, brochures, small promotions (free concert ticket give aways, t-shirts, etc., radio advertisements) rather than focusing on long-term marketing. And as an intern I've found it difficult to integrate any of my ideas unless I take the bull by the horns and do it myself. I personally feel some of my ideas would work wonders for the company, its just a matter of getting them to listen and implementing them. I apologize if i bored you with the last few lines, i just needed to vent. Again thank you all for your feedback, I will definitely be presenting them in my marketing proposal!
  • Posted by lathans on 9/7/2007 at 4:38 PM Accepted
    Reading the Company History and Vision paragraphs, they don't match what you are presenting. If the foundation is on family, show a better range of people (you seem to only be targeting single, good looking partiers). If it's superior craftsmanship, tell/show exactly what that is or how that's done (the videos start to do this, but you may want to think about a "craftsmanship" section detailing building materials and style. You may want to post floorplans online here, too.

    This should be a consumer-focused site; your Core Values are more for your corporate philosophy so I wouldn't include them here.

    You've already expressed that busy professionals are not going to be hanging out at the pool drinking all day; another point to remember is that you're not in Florida or Southern California, either. They may be out in July and August, and maybe on the weekends, but in your geographic area that's just not feasible all year around. I'd have a more diverse seasonality. Show what real neighbors do (take a clue from your testimonials). I also agree that the videos are great (except Shannon's pool one) but they get lost; it's also the only place you actually get so see the insides.

    Good luck, and hang in there!
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