New Website:www.OwnChicagoHome.com -I need some feedback

[horatiub]

Hello everybody,

my name is Cristina and this is my first post on here. I recently launched my website and I would like some feedback from all of you. It would help me tremendously improve it.

Thank you so much

[Tony & K]

I like it. Looks very professional

Notably the way you gave for either buyers or sellers pages a specific menu of services that should concern them. You covered pretty much everything.

Now for the critics:

The search is a bit confusing though.
Not that my website is any better btw but dunno there could be a better way to display the search for properties.

If any of my customers look for a home in chicago i'll send them to your website ;)

[horatiub]

thank you for the feedback Tony. And I appreciate the referrals :)

[falgo]

Overall the site looks very nice. I like the layout and it is very simple to navigate.

There were a couple of things that I noticed that I did not like...

- on your School Search page the frame forces me to scroll and makes the page look unprofessional.

- On your right hand column the search button goes off the column into the background space, maybe just placing the seach button below the input field will help.

- your property search page only searches one listing. Any plans to add a full IDX solution? If not I'd just make this more of a featured listings page.

Overall a nice site.

[Pam Gitta]

This is my first post also. Your site looks nice. The color scheme really adds to the professionalism of it all--it looks very elegant.

The first thing that came to my mind as I read your homepage was: I live an hour north of Chicago, and that's close enough to know that Chicagoans are among the most city-loyal people out there (I suspect it's that whole "Second City" thing). And when you break it down to neighborhoods, as your company has, the loyalty grows even stronger.

So, you might consider opening with copy that's a little more specific. Rather than speaking in general terms about what any real estate agent from Manhattan to Montgomery hopes to accomplish, talk specifically about Chicago and all its loveable quirks. Describe your Bucktown neighborhood, and one or two others that really stand out. Give them a you-are-there story (with a headline!) and draw them into your world. THEN, you can move onto the nuts & bolts of how the site is laid out...once you've got them hanging on your every keystroke.

The only other thing was your poll on the right-hand side...I could only see the top half on my screen, and I thought it was a questionnaire that would result in my getting a list of homes in my area of interest. That could be taken care of by simply putting the word "Poll:" next to "Where would you like to live?"

And that's a great photo of you, BTW. You look very approachable. :)

[horatiub]

This is my first post also. Your site looks nice. The color scheme really adds to the professionalism of it all--it looks very elegant.

The first thing that came to my mind as I read your homepage was: I live an hour north of Chicago, and that's close enough to know that Chicagoans are among the most city-loyal people out there (I suspect it's that whole "Second City" thing). And when you break it down to neighborhoods, as your company has, the loyalty grows even stronger.

So, you might consider opening with copy that's a little more specific. Rather than speaking in general terms about what any real estate agent from Manhattan to Montgomery hopes to accomplish, talk specifically about Chicago and all its loveable quirks. Describe your Bucktown neighborhood, and one or two others that really stand out. Give them a you-are-there story (with a headline!) and draw them into your world. THEN, you can move onto the nuts & bolts of how the site is laid out...once you've got them hanging on your every keystroke.

The only other thing was your poll on the right-hand side...I could only see the top half on my screen, and I thought it was a questionnaire that would result in my getting a list of homes in my area of interest. That could be taken care of by simply putting the word "Poll:" next to "Where would you like to live?"

And that's a great photo of you, BTW. You look very approachable. :)

Thank you Pam, great suggestions. I will definitely apply them. The poll part has been changed already :)

And thank you for the kind comments, it's true, I am very approachable and I always treat my customers as my own friends. I know it sounds like a clichee, but it's true. :)

[sw25]

I think the site looks good. The featured listings on the right hand side are placed well are sized well (i always place this on the right hand size when designing realtor websites). The colors look good but may be a little dark or dull. They do look very business-like which is a plus. Overall i would say its a really nice site.

[Cedar City Utah Realtor]

Site looks great. One thing you might want to consider is all your lead capture is on pages within the website and not on the main page. You may want to consider adding buttons or something on the main page. For instance you may want a CMA, Home Search, And Home Alerts Button next to the Featured Listings. The reason I say this because people dont really read websites they just scan them for what they are looking for. You want to put what people are looking for in easy to find places.

[horatiub]

Site looks great. One thing you might want to consider is all your lead capture is on pages within the website and not on the main page. You may want to consider adding buttons or something on the main page. For instance you may want a CMA, Home Search, And Home Alerts Button next to the Featured Listings. The reason I say this because people dont really read websites they just scan them for what they are looking for. You want to put what people are looking for in easy to find places.

Definitely good suggestions, I have to look into them.

In the mean time, I added some new things to my site, I think it's better than before

[re_advice]

Christina... I am actually glad you posted that link as I was playing around with the same theme last night. I downloaded Mambo and it took me a good hour to figure the whole thing out. Glad you posted the link as I can now see how one may be able to actually make use of all the mambo functions.

[arun123]

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