Website Evaluation
Non Traditional Buildings
Non Traditional Buildings Competition
Website One
Features and Benefits
Strong Call to Action top right
Personal text under banner image – “Thank you for taking the time to visit…..” – gives a friendly approach
Seven good reasons to have a survey
Strong emphasis on importance of being independent
RICS logo very prominent
Several mentions of Which? research to emphasise the importance of having a survey.
Badges:
RICS
Non Traditional Housing:
A page within Local Property Advice section
A general page describing just a few different types of non traditional construction and would benefit from photos or sketches.
No real selling points of why it is important to have a survey of a non traditionally constructed property.
FAQs:
This page would benefit from internal links such as Why do I need a survey – if this had a link to In-depth Survey information page may help to engage with the website viewer to learn more about why having a survey is important.
Blog:
Leads to a blank page!
Social Media:
23 Twitter followers, following 1, 9 Facebook followers
Testimonials:
22 Testimonials with a mixture of short and medium length reviews – some have a Feedback through a third party site rating – but does not give details of third party which is odd?
Keywords:
Independent Chartered Surveyors and Valuers, RICS, valuation survey, survey of property, homebuyers, building surveys, structural surveys, residential survey, commercial survey, Cambridge, St. Ives, Ely, fakenham, Holt, St. Neots, Huntingdon, Norwich, Swaffham, East Anglia, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, testimonials, here to help, Cromer
- No focus on non traditional buildings
Above the fold:
Purple colour is memorable
Large grey borders due to the type of website structure are rather prominent and tend to blend into the left navigation bar.
Navigation and User experience:
Old style left side navigation
Load Speed:
1.33 s
Negative areas:
Downloads – odd selection more on building issues would be helpful
Clicking to go back to Home page via header would be helpful as this is a more usual feature on most websites
Not responsive
Dated feel to website and a predominance of text
Party Wall page is blank (as was Blog previously mentioned)
Age of website:
Domain registered in Oct 2004
Position of website on Google search page:
Number 7 natural search
Date reviewed:
22 March 2018
Website developer:
Ovata
Website Two
Features and Benefits
Call to Action: Request a Quote at the top of the page and Get a Fast, Free, No Obligation Quote Today! bold green button, although at the bottom of the page, both take you to Contact Us page, although would benefit from a Quick Quote it is their way of gathering information for a call back.
Testimonials via TrustPilot based on 205 reviews. Testimonials shown on every page.
Fresh, mellow colour palette for three links with strong photos (appear to be stock photos)
Navigation menu split into two at header more general info at top and more specific information in lower navigation – interesting layout of information
Lease calculator – for Prime Central London and Greater London areas – generates a range with caveats encouraging website viewer to Contact Us for further information.
Examples surveys included in website
Badges:
RICS
Videos:
Video 1: Within Property Surveys & Valuations section 2.27 min video – strong graphics with strong text – Detailed Survey – peace of mind / nasty surprise as well as explanation of their traffic light system of Red = urgent defect, Amber = non-urgent defect and Green = good.
Professional video with no link to Youtube, Vimeo etc, upbeat music and an easy to listen to gentleman’s voice over.
Video 2: Within Party Wall Surveyors 1.54 min video, again with strong graphics and describing in simple terms Party Walls and Party Wall etc Act 1996 Award – use of text “a guiding hand” is reassuring.
Video 3: Within Leasehold Valuations section 2.07 min Good use of icons to explain how the valuation is calculated, emphasis on their services will advise their clients of a Fair and Reasonable price
Blog:
Latest 22 February 2018, regular posts 1 or 2 a month
Good layout with Categories menu to allow website visitor to navigate to particular area of interest such as Surveying
Social Media:
345 Twitter followers, following 13, 40 Facebook followers
Schedules of Condition:
A small amount of information with the Other Services section that leads to a link to a Blog page all about Schedules which has a small example of how a Schedule of Condition is set out.
Keywords:
None available
Above the fold:
Large dominating scrolling images
Navigation and User experience:
Interesting division of two navigation bars at top of the webpage
Often information is found within the Blog section rather than a sub menu leading you to find what you are looking for an example is Schedule of Condition.
Would benefit from a search facility
Load Speed:
3.35 s
Negative areas:
No specific page dedicated to Non Traditional properties
Age of website:
Domain registered in Sept 1998
Position of website on Google search page:
Number 2 natural search
Date reviewed:
22 March 2018
Website developer:
Not identified
Website Three
Features and Benefits
Sticky, pop in pop out Quick Contact very prominent
Search facility on Blog site – when searching non traditional 15 Blogs are shown however not all are entirely about non traditional buildings.
Online chat facility
E-book: Guide to buying property in Cornwall
Badges:
RICS and ISVA
Example Surveys:
Several example surveys, require Adobe Flash player to open
Specialist Equipment:
This page identifies drain kits, 5m pole cameras, boroscopes and thermal imaging although the layout of the page could be improved as there is a large amount of white space
Mundic Problem
As the surveying practice is based in Cornwall the website has a very informative page regarding the Mundic problem
Blog:
Latest 19 March 2018, regular posts 2 or 4 a month
Social Media:
879 Twitter followers, following 594, 152 Facebook followers, Youtube videos, 76 Google + followers,
Keywords:
architecture post modern, types of cavity wall insulation, measured building survey, measured surveys
Above the fold:
Dominance of RICS and ISVA logo although obscured when the Quick Contact box is open.
Navigation and User experience:
Emphasis on top navigation bar to Terms and Condition and Payment
Main navigation to left side divided clearly into three areas of their business Surveying, Architectural Design and Additional Professional Services
Load Speed:
6.79 s
Negative areas:
No Call to action top right – website viewer has to scroll to bottom of the page to find phone number
Come to Cornwall video does not load and play
Some images are not loading on the blog part of website as on for example on the Defining Postmodern architecture and its characteristics page
Quite a lot of error pages – particularly when on RICS Homebuyers Report page when you click on the images
Some pages have a large expanse of white space such as Residential Surveys page
Would benefit from a Q&A section
Very little information on pages such as Building Survey, Residential Surveys, RICS Homebuyers Report etc.
Age of website:
Domain registered in Mar 2010
Position of website on Google search page:
Number 9 natural search
Date reviewed:
22 March 2018
Website developer:
Alrayes Web Solutions
Review
Website One 6/10
Website Two 8/10
Website Three 4/10
Key Points
Key points to bring to the attention of our Non Traditional Buildings website viewers are:-
- Surveyors who specialise and are experts with Non Traditional buildings
- Types of Non Traditional Building surveys – both residential and commercial
- All Era’s, types and styles of Non Traditional Buildings
- USP’s –
- Independent Surveyors working for you and only you with your best interests at heart unlike the estate agent who is working for the vendor
- Meet your Surveyor at the property to discuss any issues or plans
- Free Example Surveys – so you can see the depth of our reports before you buy
- Tailor-made Survey Reports ensure you are provided with the best survey for your requirements
- 3D models can be provided as well as help and advice on extending or altering the property
- Large quantity of high quality photos including aerial view 360 photos
- Unique survey sketches to ensure you fully understand any issues or characteristics
- System of coloured circles and ovals to pinpoint any areas of concern
- Highly qualified Independent Chartered Surveyors with many, many years of experience
- Clear Call to Action to Phone Us on our Free phone 0800 298 5424 number
- Fast load times
- Clear, easy Navigation
- Testimonials/Reviews
- Ensure keywords are included on strong, relevant pages.