Web APP development
Nest 360
Browsing for all types of real estate in Montenegro made easy with a web app that offers advanced search tools and an option to view the property with the integrated 360° camera.
THE IDEA
Sokla Architects is a company with a team of experts in the architecture and real estate market. During the first COVID wave the company initiated a project to make real estate listing in Montenegro more accessible to people who can remotely view the property they are interested in buying or renting. Supported by The Enhancement of Business Environment and Competitivness of the Private Sector of Montenegro (BESME), they set out to create an innovative, reliable and transparent platform that will improve the online experience in the sale and search of real estate in Montenegro.
UX RESEARCH
Our team had several sit down meetings with the team from Sokla, to go over the full system requirements, technical specification and to draw the wireframes which would give us a good starting point on the UX. The goal was clear, make the platform user-friendly as much as possible and not overload the visitors with too many options. Also, we focused on the mobile experience by adopting the “web to mobile” principle, so the user experience when accessing the platform via browser would feel like going through a mobile app.
UI MOCK UPS
Part of visual identity (logo and colors) was provided by Sokla so we played with it while designing the interface. The background of the platform is dominantly white, giving users a clean look while browsing. Moreover, in the interface mockups we applied different types of fonts and iconography which would make key information easy to read.
TYPOGRAPHY
CENTURY GOTHIC
Bold
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss
Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
ROBOTO
Regular
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss
Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
GAME CHANGING FEATURES:
360⁰ GALLERY
One of the most important features of this platform is the integrated 360 view of the real estate, which has not been the case in other similar platforms in Montenegro. With this option the users can view the property remotely from all angles and it gives the experience of walking through the space.
RAPID SEARCH
Advanced filters that cover all key aspects of the real estate search by using a set of parameters. We implemented the “save” option as well, so the users who used the filters once and are coming back to the platform will have it displayed once again.
INTERACTIVE MAP
Using the intuitive interface and connection with the filters (map search) we made it even easier to search for properties. All listings have their precise location and the map works perfectly in sync with the parameters set in the filters.
DETAILED INFORMATION
The visitors can find all key info on the property in one place, without needing to open several tabs. We used icons to show key info about the particular real estate and a quick CTA to schedule an in-person visit for all those who are interested.
ADMIN PANEL
Custom CMS: Simple clean admin panel was designed and developed with the best UX/UI practices. It is easy to navigate and administrate even for non-technical users. The user management and CRUD process is seamless, while there is also a global search in the panel to find specific listings.
IN THE BACKEND
Nest360 has a backend developed using Node.js and Express, which we connected to the front end using RestAPI. The whole infrastructure has been set up on the AWS environment.
Also we integrated several 3rd party features.
SOLUTION
The name Nest360 derived from the fact that the platform uses a feature of 360 view of the property from all angles, just like a bird in the nest. It is the only web app among its competition in the country which has modern features, custom admin panel and a very fast performance, enabling a nice browsing experience and keeping the users engaged.
IMPACT
Since the launch of the platform at the end of the first coronavirus lockdown, there were hundreds of listings on the platform already. With very affordable fees on having the listing on Nest360 and only paying after selling or renting, the platform provides a good property monetization channel.
