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Doolittle and Dalley
Clear header image, which changes in a silde-show, which is much more interactive and captivating than the image on Andrew Grant's site, where the images are covered up.
This website also offers more information in relevance to the estate agency, with latest news and a small about info area. This shows the site can be used for more than just looking for a property but also just for wanting to find out more information, which can be easily found on the homepage.
Similarly to Andrew Grant they have a news feed. But it does not look appealing or attractive, and I don't think it would entice people to read it.
They had a option on the 'buying' menu to look at more large, farm/ equestrian properties which is useful as in the Worcestershire area where there is a lot of rural housing areas and may be the reason people want to move here.
Also a useful aspect of this website is that there is a map on the site showing where the most local estate agent offices is, this is be helpful information.
Allan Morris
The opening home page of the Allan Morris Website is different to the other websites I have looked like, with the map locating their home office at the top with a photograph next to it, displaying their most common housing location, Bawdily. It then has a clear property search option.
It also has the standard get in touch or enquiry section of the page, looking very generic but this makes it easy for the user to use.
But differently to Andrew Grant and to other estate agents websites I have looked at it looks like it has a valuation option where those who are looking to sell a property they can get a quick evaluation without having to ring someone or having an assessor.
Then the property page is also very generic, with three properties displayed per a row and with one clear image of the house, with a small amount of information such as the location and price and bedroom bathroom information. Although I do think the layout of this information is boring and compared to Andrew Grant is not very creative and doesn't show its importance. Although there is a small paragraph underneath this which is so small and I do think wouldn't be useful as I don't think people will stop to read all of them when they can just click on it if they are interested in more information.
Purple Bricks
I think purple bricks website has the best homepage I have seen, it is the only one I have looked at with a relevant cover image. You can see in the image that this is a dad and his daughter, but the photograph has been taken on the stairs on purpose, so that you can see that they are at home. Therefore it is implying to the website user that the emotion in the picture is due to their own home, which is a sales pitch in itself. They then have a statistic that is backed with a figure and the source, which shows how good their service and company is which should draw people to stay on the page.
There is then more information on the home page, split and broken up with images and colour, which I think is very important to keep the user interested. But there is also a quick search option where someones location can be put in and the filters can be changes easily with a slider option. Which is modern and doesn't require them to fill out lots of information.
The only thing I found may be an issue with this website is that the list of properties that come up when you have filled in the search option is that it is in list effect not in a grid arrangement. This will make it more tedious for the user to have to keep scrolling to see them all. Although it keeps the attention on one at a time, as a grid can sometimes have those who look better in the pictures draw the attention away from another on the same line that might be more suitable.
The menu/ navigation bar is also very effective, it has four very clear and simple options on the main navigation bar and a search option. Then there is more options above this at the top of the page, which is in a smaller text as it is not as important and is meant to be looked for not obvious. But the main four options on the navigation bar have a drop down menu that appears when hovered over, which gives more detail and narrow options that the user will be looking for but it is not too much information and only gives you titles, which makes it clear and easy to navigate.
G Herbert Banks
This is the most outdated estate agent website that I have looked at as it is old fashioned in design, it shows that their online presence is not keeping up with the modern versions of their competitors. Although the site is easy enough to use and clear and easy to navigate, it is boring and does not stand out or pop like some of the others do.
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