ByTheProgrammer

Major upgrades to the search tools

The past few weeks at ByTheOwner’s web development offices were focused on upgrading the search tools available under the Find a property tab. The advanced search, map search and search by phone number (which becomes the search for a specific property) all received important changes.

Advanced search

This page’s layout has been re-designed so that you can get a quick look of all the parameters chosen without having to scroll down. Instead of displaying a long list of checkboxes for the cities and types of properties, we’ve decided to roll back and use a control we had in the past : The available cities are displayed in a list-box. The visitor then clicks on the cities he’s interested in and sends them to a second list-box, using arrow buttons. Note that you can send multiple properties using the CTRL and SHIFT buttons or by clicking and dragging your mouse over the cities.

A keyword field was also added just below the options so you can be even more specific in your search. Simply type in the words you search for, separated by spaces and click on the search button.

Google Map search

The map search also received a lot of upgrades.

The provinces, regions, and cities markers were all replaced by a red target icon whose size represents the number of properties available in it. Keeping the same marker icon for those 3 steps makes it clearer and more intuitive to use.

The posted markers adjust themselves now automatically according to the zoom level and the map movements. In the past, it was necessary to click on the markers to enter a province, then in an area, a city, etc… Now, if a visitor uses directly the google maps controls to explore the map, the areas, cities or properties are displayed automatically.

A Jump to city field above the map makes it possible for visitors to quickly position the map on a city of their choice. Simply type in the city name and push Enter.

The filters you can apply to the map are now available under the button Modify my search criteria.

We have also decided to double the size of the map. This makes the map a lot more interesting to use.

Finally, a maximum of information on the properties is now available directly in the map. When you rollover a property, you get it’s photograph, price and city. When you click on the marker, an infoWindow containing part of the listing, the 320×240 pictures, the owner remarks and contact information opens. The visitor does not have to go back and forth any more from the map to a listing, the map, the listing, the map…

Also, in each search mode, a navigation bar allows the user to go to the other modes quickly in order to use that one that is appropriate to his needs.

Your comments?

Frédérick Dubois, ByTheOwner.com
Web development and programming