Gallagher Group Marketing Suite (GGMS) is a digital marketing agency for real estate agents in the USA. They serve a variety of clients across the country. The agency approached KIJO and tasked us with two projects. The first was to create a set of website templates to cover a variety of property and real estate agency types. These would form part of their marketing suite for their clients. The second was to utilise our team’s expertise in developing a custom property platform. This would show property listings and allow users to register their interest or book a property tour.
GGMS’ existing platform didn’t offer the level of flexibility their clients needed to easily adapt design elements. In addition, whilst the platform they were utilising could dynamically display data, they wanted to refine and elevate the user experience (UX) overall. This was necessary if GGMS were to solidly push past their competitors and cement them as a market leader. The agency also required a system that allowed their clients to switch templates easily, to better cater for their clients’ varying needs.
In response to these identified areas of need, KIJO set out to create the website design templates and design the UX in order to improve GGMS’ service offering. We also aimed to ensure ease of customisation of these templates, and optimise the custom property platform to drive users to take action.
Users Requested a Tour When Tested
Users Thought the Platform Offered a Good Experience
Property Widgets Created
One of the primary goals was to enhance flexibility and customisation options for GGMS’ clients. To solve this issue, we introduced a WordPress multisite. This would house all of the templates and demo websites, including the 3 themes we created, as well as enabling scope to develop more in the future. The multisite set up allowed clients to access each environment and switch over at any point.
We integrated the themes with Elementor’s global styles system. This meant users could implement site-wide styling changes easily such as updating colours and switching font styles. This was valuable because it meant that they could adapt their template to different business needs or branding preferences, and not have to involve a website developer at a later stage.
To showcase this properly, we created a demo website which was a restyled version of one of the three themes. This meant GGMS were able to demonstrate to their clients how they could be used for different purposes. We utilised all the customisation we had implemented, including the global styles and the layouts/blocks we had designed for the themes. We also added in a live client’s brand and content.
We then needed to enhance the customisation of the three flexible template designs. We did this by creating custom Elementor widgets. These are an interface component that enables users to perform a specific function.
Firstly, we created static html versions of each widget. The range of widgets included an Advanced Search widget, a Login widget, a Saved Properties widget, and a Dashboard widget. Then, we utilised Elementor’s API (application programming interface) to develop these into custom widgets. From here, we created settings within the widget to allow for the customisation of fonts, colours and styles. Each widget was then able to be dropped onto a page and moved around to suit the client’s needs and preferences. This would empower GGMS’ clients to easily customise their selected template, incorporate their branding and reduce reliance on external web developers.
The team then needed to ensure a seamless connection between the templates and the custom widgets. In order to achieve this, we need to connect the widgets with GGMS’ back end API and systems. We started by developing a test API (also known as a mock) using Postman (the world’s leading API platform) so we could trial the connection in a sandboxed environment. This simulated dynamic data retrieval and then served as a guide to the GGMS team on how to structure their API and make any required changes.
We structured endpoints for Omni Search, Search Results and Single Property. Single Property had multiple end points within it to return different data. These included the actual property information, tour request information, messages, open houses and similar listings. We then connected this mock API to the widgets that we created and successfully returned the mock data we had inputted. Once we completed testing and development with a mock API integration, this would set the guidelines for integrating with a live API.
In order to build a market leading property platform, we worked collaboratively with Mike Gallgagher – the CEO and co-founder of GGMS. We collaborated on mapping out the features of it, drawing inspiration from some of the USA’s big players such as Redfin, Zillow and Realtor.com. At first, we worked closely to build a design system. Then, we developed the impressive library of 25 widgets which Mr Gallagher had unique expertise and insights on, particularly in regard to their specific functionality requirements. We then conducted in-depth competitor research and created a set of UI conventions that we would emulate, but improve upon.
To then properly solidify the UX, we prioritised the principles of Minimalism, a Clear Hierarchy of Information, and Browsing Choice. For example, at the top of the property page, we ensured users could scroll through the images using the sequence arrows or by clicking on an image. This would open a full-screen pop up, with the images displayed in a grid format. Users are also able to scroll through images directly from the card on the results page. Multiple navigation options like this enhance usability and the experience ten-fold.
We then refined the property platform’s design and interaction flows which also significantly improved usability. However, we ensured it maintained dynamic integration. For example, we created a sticky ‘Book a Tour’ widget on the property pages which encourages users to convert quickly. Because this widget is ‘sticky’, this means it follows the users with them as they scroll down the page. This allows users to seamlessly choose a date to tour a property (via the user-friendly date picker) whenever they’re convinced by the content. If the user is logged in, the widget is also designed to let that user know the specific agent’s details; the one that’s looking after the property.
This feature delivers an even more enhanced personable experience for the user. Implementing details like these drives user engagement and lead conversions.
Our work with GGMS directly addresses the key areas their team wanted to improve on. These were enhancing the marketing suite on offer to their clients, and elevating their user’s experience via the development of the custom property platform.
KIJO has delivered a polished, user-friendly platform that significantly improves upon GGMS’ previous system. This helps them toward their strategic objectives as a business.
And, the results speak for themselves. When it comes to the goal of improving the GGMS service offering via stronger design and enhanced UX, 66% of users now feel that the property platform offers a good experience.
The templates that are now available to clients were designed to nurture and convert leads. A successful lead was considered to be a booking of a property tour. So, we ran a user test on the single property page. When we tested the templates, 79% of users requested a property tour.
We undoubtedly delivered on GGMS’ ease of customisation requirement too. The KIJO team created 25 property widgets, providing a variety of options for GGMS clients to build custom layouts and user experiences.
In summary, our collaboration with GGMS has resulted in a significantly improved platform that enhances user experience and supports business growth. We’re proud to have contributed to their continued success with innovative design, seamless functionality, and customisation capabilities.
Corinthia Hotel – ESPA Life
