Smith Adams Usability Review
Presented by: The Usability Review
September 7, 2010
Scott Barnard
sbarnard@TheUsabilityReview.com
415-336-6905
Key Project Challenge
Smith Adams real estate company has a very unique
business model. It allows customers to pay a fixed price on
a home purchase rather than a % commission to a real
estate agent. So, rather than paying an agent 3% on a
$500,000 ($15,000), a fixed price that was lower than
$15,000 would be charged. Unfortunately, this message
does not come through clearly on their website.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 1 of 12
1
2
Nowhere on this page is Smith Adams key
message spelled out. The headline simply
says they are different, which is what most
companies say.
1
Large flash banners are often
ignored by users in a symptom
called banner blindness.
2
Users will not often wait around for
10 seconds for banners like this to
finish loading.
3
These look like links, but they are
not.
4
These headers could be links as well.
Some users don’t think to click on
images.
4
3
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 2 of 12
1
1
These look ad-like and do not
necessarily look clickable. They
mention cost savings, but the
difference in the model is not
highlighted clearly enough on the
page.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 3 of 12
1
1
2
2
These look ad-like and some users
may ignore them
3
One might expect to click on these
and get a clearer definition of the 2
primary products the company offers
and their value propositions but a
user cannot click them. Instead the
main call to action is Search Listings
which a user can do on many sites
on the web.
4
The calculator is nice functionality if
the user already understands the
value proposition and difference that
Smith Adams presents. But maybe a
simple bar chart with a home price
and % commission showing the
different would be more effective.
3
4
Looks like a link but it’s not
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 4 of 12
1
1
Font size is very small for the
average age of this audience.
Users often don't want to read.
The steps are a nice approach, but
they should talk about the unique
value proposition of Smith Adams.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 5 of 12
1
2
1
2
“Pricing” would be a more
descriptive word here.
This all seems a little scary, like a
person might end up paying way
more than they would with a normal
agent. Isn't the key value that they
won't? This page does not allay
customers' worries about that point.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 6 of 12
1
2
1
FAQs are usually very helpful.
2
This cap line should be in big bold
print in numerous places on the site
so customers' fears are reduced.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 7 of 12
1
1
Should mention maximum cap
here.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 8 of 12
1
Seeing some faces is a common
thing for real estate sites. Also, it
might reinforce the expertise of
each person in their core
competency and the message of
the team approach to real estate.
2
Grammatical error. Icons can be
used to reinforce the text, but should
not be used to replace it completely.
1
2
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 9 of 12
1
1
Model needs to be spelled out
even more and mention team
approach.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 10 of 12
1
1
Fortunately these are links, but
you cannot distinguish them easily
from other blue text on the site that
are not links.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 11 of 12
1
1
This type of pop up notification is
becoming more and more
common and is very helpful to
users.
Smith Adams
Real Estate Company
Usability Review: Page 12 of 12
1
1
A large number of people don't
know what RSS is.
About The Usability Review
We help to make websites and applications user friendly and intuitive. Better usability leads to higher conversion rates, more
opt-ins, higher sales and more effective websites & applications. The return on investment for usability improvements is
typically very dramatic. Our services range from simple usability reviews in order to identify your key problem areas up
to full redesigns of your website or application.
Scott Barnard, founder of The Usability Review, has two degrees from MIT. Scott’s work includes the Webby award-winning HP
Creative Studio and the Addy award-winning Iron Man site for LG www.insidethesuit.com. Scott has worked with many
top web companies and Fortune 100 companies, including HP, LG, PayPal, Stryker, AIG, Bank of America, Capital One,
Emirates Airlines, Orbitz, AOL, AAA, TruGreen and numerous others. Despite the company’s maturity, the usability
redesign of PayPal’s Merchant Services website resulted in a roughly 20% increase in conversions and 40% increased
usage of the product post-conversion.
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