Back To Website Reviews

SITE REVIEW: InApts.com

  • njabe567
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: Apr 18, 2007
  • Posts: 20
  • Status: Offline

Post April 18th, 2007, 6:38 pm

Real estate company in NYC looking for feedback in overall design , functionality etc

BIG PROBLEM: when clicking "search" the page that comes up, comes up fine in IE and all the areas etc are collapsed by default but on Firefox by default they are ALL expanded and that i think deters users. If anyone knows how to fix that I would be very grateful.

Other wise let me know what you think of the website

http://www.inapts.com
  • Anonymous
  • Bot
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: 25 Feb 2008
  • Posts: ?
  • Loc: Ozzuland
  • Status: Online

Post April 18th, 2007, 6:38 pm

  • righteous_trespasser
  • Scuffle
  • Genius
  • User avatar
  • Joined: Mar 12, 2007
  • Posts: 6228
  • Loc: South-Africa
  • Status: Offline

Post April 19th, 2007, 12:44 am

I think you shouldn't have a LogIn and LogOut On the same page ... that doesn't make sense ... Rather have a LogIn and Register button and then make the LogIn change to LogOut when the user is logged in ...

And I don't see a Register button anywhere ...

To be honest I don't like the borders around the main navigation buttons very much ... I think it would look very nice and clean without the borders ...

The w3c validator found 21 errors on your page ... Click here to view the errors ... Although I think if you add a DOCTYPE it could be less already, and then it could also be much more ...

Also you could maybe remove the rollover of the page that the user is on for example if the user is on "search" page then the "search" button is a fixed colour and not a rollover and doesn't link to the "search" page again ...

inapts.com wrote:
CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS ARE WHERE?
I think this should be ... "confused about WHICH neighbourhoods are where?

In the "rent amount" drop down menu's you should maybe also have a "less than $900" and a "more than $20000" item in each menu.

On the services page there is "reviews on the web" please check ... some of those links are underlined, and some are not underlined ...

Also check ... on some of your pages the "google ads are on the top (right underneath the main navigation) and on some pages it's on the right hand side ... I would suggest keeping it in the same place on all pages (I think the right would be better)
Let's leave all our *plum* where it is and go live in the jungle ...
  • njabe567
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: Apr 18, 2007
  • Posts: 20
  • Status: Offline

Post April 19th, 2007, 11:09 am

thanks for the input. Made some of those changes already
  • webia
  • Graduate
  • Graduate
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 26, 2006
  • Posts: 147
  • Loc: Romania
  • Status: Offline

Post April 21st, 2007, 12:06 pm

The design is ok. It has that kind of "portal" feeling. I`d suggest once you finish it to run lots advertising campaigns to promote it and get listings as real estate is a very dynamic market and you need to keep up with it.
  • njabe567
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: Apr 18, 2007
  • Posts: 20
  • Status: Offline

Post April 23rd, 2007, 11:29 am

what is a portal feeling?
  • SparkyPhPwithASP
  • Born
  • Born
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 18, 2007
  • Posts: 3
  • Status: Offline

Post May 18th, 2007, 9:40 am

I think the site is kinda cheezy and sucks. Too many google ads and the frames are all crooked. This is what you should do. Get rid of the google ads and put them on the page where people actually search for an apartment.
Change the template of the first page to something better. The first page really sucks and should have the best expression. hypertemplates.com is a good start. The site itself in not SEO friendly and has too many W3C violations. I have created a lot of MLX/IDX solutions and I would never create anything like this.

I think some of the best sites that I have seen so far were:

http://www.4rentinla.com/ <--- The best
http://www.sublet.com
http://www.empire-apartments.com

See what they all have and kinda put all the technologies together. Will cost you like $3000 to upgrade.

One other thing is to have people register for a free account before they even get to see any properties from a sales perspective and why don't you have online registration? Every other site does. you have a lot of work ahead of you and a lot of money to shell ou.
  • SparkyPhPwithASP
  • Born
  • Born
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 18, 2007
  • Posts: 3
  • Status: Offline

Post May 18th, 2007, 9:50 am

I also did a test to see how many links were pointing towards your site and it's kinda cheesy that you have only blogs, the NY1, and BBB. Gotta fix that.
  • TA
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • User avatar
  • Joined: May 06, 2007
  • Posts: 27
  • Status: Offline

Post May 18th, 2007, 4:26 pm

It's definitely a "portal" design as previously stated ... you didn't start your HTML syntax off with the mandatory <!DOCTYPE Declaration> thus creating the following 54 code warnings, that should be fixed for validation and to ensure your site displays properly in all browsers:

Code: [ Select ]
line 2 column 1 - Warning: missing <!DOCTYPE> declaration
line 206 column 54 - Warning: discarding unexpected <b>
line 206 column 68 - Warning: discarding unexpected </b>
line 412 column 105 - Warning: missing </a> before </td>
line 469 column 37 - Warning: missing </span> before <h1>
line 470 column 30 - Warning: inserting implicit <span>
line 471 column 1 - Warning: discarding unexpected </span>
line 489 column 29 - Warning: <br> isn't allowed in <tr> elements
line 498 column 35 - Warning: <br> isn't allowed in <tr> elements
line 501 column 11 - Warning: missing <td>
line 29 column 1 - Warning: <script> inserting "type" attribute
line 54 column 1 - Warning: <script> inserting "type" attribute
line 124 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 124 column 54 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 127 column 9 - Warning: <table> proprietary attribute "height"
line 127 column 9 - Warning: <table> proprietary attribute "background"
line 156 column 13 - Warning: <td> attribute "valign" has invalid value "left"
line 157 column 15 - Warning: <table> attribute "align" has invalid value "top"
line 159 column 216 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
line 159 column 216 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 160 column 227 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
line 160 column 227 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 161 column 235 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
line 161 column 235 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 162 column 223 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
line 162 column 223 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 163 column 233 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
line 163 column 233 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 180 column 15 - Warning: <form> proprietary attribute "autocomplete"
line 287 column 43 - Warning: <select> anchor "lowrent" already defined
line 389 column 37 - Warning: <input> proprietary attribute "border"
line 389 column 37 - Warning: <input> proprietary attribute "width"
line 389 column 37 - Warning: <input> proprietary attribute "height"
line 497 column 31 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 534 column 31 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 534 column 108 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 536 column 31 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 559 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 577 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 597 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 615 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 653 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 699 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 703 column 13 - Warning: <tr> attribute "valign" has invalid value "center"
line 713 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 713 column 54 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 727 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 727 column 54 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
line 732 column 9 - Warning: <table> anchor "footer" already defined
line 735 column 13 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
line 745 column 1 - Warning: <script> inserting "type" attribute
line 469 column 37 - Warning: trimming empty <span>
line 479 column 43 - Warning: trimming empty <p>
line 666 column 35 - Warning: trimming empty <tr>
  1. line 2 column 1 - Warning: missing <!DOCTYPE> declaration
  2. line 206 column 54 - Warning: discarding unexpected <b>
  3. line 206 column 68 - Warning: discarding unexpected </b>
  4. line 412 column 105 - Warning: missing </a> before </td>
  5. line 469 column 37 - Warning: missing </span> before <h1>
  6. line 470 column 30 - Warning: inserting implicit <span>
  7. line 471 column 1 - Warning: discarding unexpected </span>
  8. line 489 column 29 - Warning: <br> isn't allowed in <tr> elements
  9. line 498 column 35 - Warning: <br> isn't allowed in <tr> elements
  10. line 501 column 11 - Warning: missing <td>
  11. line 29 column 1 - Warning: <script> inserting "type" attribute
  12. line 54 column 1 - Warning: <script> inserting "type" attribute
  13. line 124 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  14. line 124 column 54 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  15. line 127 column 9 - Warning: <table> proprietary attribute "height"
  16. line 127 column 9 - Warning: <table> proprietary attribute "background"
  17. line 156 column 13 - Warning: <td> attribute "valign" has invalid value "left"
  18. line 157 column 15 - Warning: <table> attribute "align" has invalid value "top"
  19. line 159 column 216 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
  20. line 159 column 216 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  21. line 160 column 227 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
  22. line 160 column 227 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  23. line 161 column 235 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
  24. line 161 column 235 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  25. line 162 column 223 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
  26. line 162 column 223 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  27. line 163 column 233 - Warning: <img> proprietary attribute "onload"
  28. line 163 column 233 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  29. line 180 column 15 - Warning: <form> proprietary attribute "autocomplete"
  30. line 287 column 43 - Warning: <select> anchor "lowrent" already defined
  31. line 389 column 37 - Warning: <input> proprietary attribute "border"
  32. line 389 column 37 - Warning: <input> proprietary attribute "width"
  33. line 389 column 37 - Warning: <input> proprietary attribute "height"
  34. line 497 column 31 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  35. line 534 column 31 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  36. line 534 column 108 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  37. line 536 column 31 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  38. line 559 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  39. line 577 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  40. line 597 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  41. line 615 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  42. line 653 column 80 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  43. line 699 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  44. line 703 column 13 - Warning: <tr> attribute "valign" has invalid value "center"
  45. line 713 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  46. line 713 column 54 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  47. line 727 column 7 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  48. line 727 column 54 - Warning: <img> lacks "alt" attribute
  49. line 732 column 9 - Warning: <table> anchor "footer" already defined
  50. line 735 column 13 - Warning: <td> proprietary attribute "background"
  51. line 745 column 1 - Warning: <script> inserting "type" attribute
  52. line 469 column 37 - Warning: trimming empty <span>
  53. line 479 column 43 - Warning: trimming empty <p>
  54. line 666 column 35 - Warning: trimming empty <tr>
  • alexandra
  • Born
  • Born
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 20, 2007
  • Posts: 3
  • Status: Offline

Post May 20th, 2007, 7:09 pm

I think it's good to have the apartment search function on the right. It needs to say on the homepage if and how ou can register.
  • njabe567
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: Apr 18, 2007
  • Posts: 20
  • Status: Offline

Post May 21st, 2007, 4:15 pm

SparkyPhPwithASP wrote:
I think the site is kinda cheezy and sucks. Too many google ads and the frames are all crooked. This is what you should do. Get rid of the google ads and put them on the page where people actually search for an apartment.
Change the template of the first page to something better. The first page really sucks and should have the best expression. hypertemplates.com is a good start. The site itself in not SEO friendly and has too many W3C violations. I have created a lot of MLX/IDX solutions and I would never create anything like this.

I think some of the best sites that I have seen so far were:

http://www.4rentinla.com/ <--- The best
http://www.sublet.com
http://www.empire-apartments.com

See what they all have and kinda put all the technologies together. Will cost you like $3000 to upgrade.

One other thing is to have people register for a free account before they even get to see any properties from a sales perspective and why don't you have online registration? Every other site does. you have a lot of work ahead of you and a lot of money to shell ou.


Thanks for the comments guys, as far as sparkys comments, well I dont think Empire is good, they are a KNOWN scam so I dont want to model after them.
  • SparkyPhPwithASP
  • Born
  • Born
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 18, 2007
  • Posts: 3
  • Status: Offline

Post May 21st, 2007, 10:26 pm

I dont know anything about these scams but websites like these are created correctly. As far as coding is concerned. 4rentinla.com and Sublet.com are the best and rent-direct.com always seems to come up first for some reason and they too have a cheesy site. Have you considered switching over to PHP or Colf Fusion by any chance?
Much better then ASP. And don't be too hard on your competitors dude.
  • bibel
  • Newbie
  • Newbie
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 08, 2007
  • Posts: 8
  • Status: Offline

Post May 22nd, 2007, 4:31 am

I think you need a bit more SEO, since you appear to rely on google for traffic. You could start with an url-rewriting technique. Query strings are so 1999 ...
  • njabe567
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: Apr 18, 2007
  • Posts: 20
  • Status: Offline

Post May 22nd, 2007, 10:24 am

Thanks guys
  • XHA
  • Novice
  • Novice
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 22, 2007
  • Posts: 21
  • Status: Offline

Post May 22nd, 2007, 3:16 pm

I like the general concept and the colour scheme, but I do however see a couple of flaws. I'm in FF, XP SP2 at 1400*1050.

- Gap between the 'search for apartments' header and the content below it. Not sure whether that is meant to be there, but if it is, I don't think it looks right.

- Gap in the drop shadow to the right of the footer

- Drop shadow comes to a too abrupt stop

- I don't think the logo and favicon really work, what are they meant to be?

- In my opinion, a professional site shouldn't have adverts of any kind, especially not to that extent

- Looking at the code made me want to crawl into the corner and cry, slit my wrists or inflict some other kind of pain upon myself...sort it! Get it validated, and please, at least XHTML transitional. A design like that doesn't need any JS!


Overall I like the design, but it needs to be polished and the code needs to be completely rewritten. Although I like the design, I do not think that it fits its purpose.
  • bilgil
  • Newbie
  • Newbie
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: May 23, 2007
  • Posts: 12
  • Loc: Springfield, Mo
  • Status: Offline

Post May 23rd, 2007, 7:58 pm

Hey,

The over all design style is pretty clean. I personaly like the colors you are using. There might be a few spacing issues through out the site that you might want to take a look at.
  • Anonymous
  • Bot
  • No Avatar
  • Joined: 25 Feb 2008
  • Posts: ?
  • Loc: Ozzuland
  • Status: Online

Post May 23rd, 2007, 7:58 pm

Page 1 of 1

Post Information

  • Total Posts in this topic: 15 posts
  • Moderator: Website Reviewers
  • Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 62 guests
  • You cannot post new topics in this forum
  • You cannot reply to topics in this forum
  • You cannot edit your posts in this forum
  • You cannot delete your posts in this forum
  • You cannot post attachments in this forum
 
 

© 2011 Unmelted, LLC. Ozzu® is a registered trademark of Unmelted, LLC.