As you may know, both Diverse Solutions and Killer IDX provide free web tools for all ARMLS members. The tools are similar in that they are webpages for searching homes listed for sale in ARMLS and they are similar in cost, $FREE.99 - but this is where the similarities end.
Diverse Solutions
vs.
Killer IDX
Diverse Solutions’ Strengths:
• Its look and layout. The look has a more Web 2.0 feel (if that even makes sense), it’s more interesting, and has more user options.
• The search by map feature.
• The ease of use for the consumer to request more information about a listing or to contact you.
Killer IDX’s Strengths:
• The format is familiar. You and your clients have seen it before, nothing new to get use to.
• The site adjusts automatically to your browsers’ window size, which makes it easy to use as a framed page in your website.
Diverse Solutions’ Weaknesses:
• Does not work well framed. This site likes to stand alone. Most of the time when it’s framed, it requires you to scroll up, down, right, left to see all information. Lame.
Killer IDX’s Weaknesses:
• Cannot be a stand alone website. It must be framed due to lack of agent/brokerage information.
• No instruction for consumers to receive more information.
Based on this writers’ eyes only, the winner is the Diverse Solutions product. But please, don’t take my word for it. Sign-up for them both and let us know what you think.
I’m actually a software engineer for Diverse Solutions, so if anyone can address those weaknesses, I can!
Regarding the horizontal resizing issue, our IDX will actually automatically resize from anywhere between 720px to 900px wide. We found that the usability becomes pretty poor below 720px, so we locked that in. Above 900px seems to blow out the IDX and make it less user friendly. Ergo, we implemented those minimum and maximum widths. We’ve only ever had a very small fraction (< 1%) have an issue with that though.
Regarding the vertical resize issue, we actually are beta testing a solution right now where the IDX itself will automatically resize the IFRAME that it sits in depending on the height of the content. We plan to release it soon to the public, but in the meantime, you can contact your CS rep and they’ll be able to give you the instructions necessary to do this.
Any other feedback is welcome. Although I can’t personally address every one of our clients, I’ll do my best. Additionally, I promise that we read all suggestions that you (or any other client) sends in as well.
Your product IS NOT very compatable on Window IE7. In fact it is unusable. Also I noticed Safari for Mac OS can not function either. The search button is missing and nothing works. Firefox for both platforms works well, however. In stead of iframes, maybe you should just provide a better product for all platforms (especially those with considerable market share)Thanks.
Andrew – Thanks for the comment. (Another point for DS
I hope Killer IDX will address their weaknesses as well. And, I have another question for Killer IDX (if you are out there!) or for any agents using them. If an agent has multiple websites, can Killer IDX work with all of them or only the primary one?
If you make a small change to the height of your iframe to 2700, it will eliminate the scroll bars on the Diverse Solutions map program.
I found this major flaw on dsSearch that Diverse Solutions will have to address sooner or later. This applies not only to the specific community mentioned below but to a lot of communties. First and foremost, this is a search engine for homes so it should do just that. A phone with all the bells and whistles but dials poorly is no good.
On dsSearch: I found this major flaw in having to select just on the pop-up menu when typing on City, Community, Tract, Zip. I’ll give an example.
Subdivision: Fishhawk (refer to: http://idx.diversesolutions.com/search/460)
A competing IDX: Here is another IDX MLS link provided by Realestatewebmasters for searching by subdivision in the same area:
http://www.tampahomes24-7.com/idx/search_sub.html
Type in Fishhawk and hit enter on the above link. 134 listings shows up.
Now, type Fishhawk on the dsSearch link (http://idx.diversesolutions.com/search/460) and select all the available items on the pop-menu. 45 listings will show up.
This new fancy MLS search engine can’t find all of Fishhawks listings? How else will the visitor see all the 134 listings in Fishhawk without the assistance of an agent doing it manually for them thru the association MLS or thru admin links? Not to mention it takes a lot more time to click each and every pop item on the menu because you have to type “Fishhawk” every time for the menu to pop. Whereas on the competitor’s site you just type in Fishhawk, enter = results.
It’s nice to get carried away with all the bells and whitles but it should do it’s job as a search engine first.
[...] an online profile from linkedin, twitter, or facebook. I’ve also seen agents sign up for the free Diverse Solutions website and use the unique URL that comes with it. And now to the actual comment. You must contribute to [...]
Killer IDX is great but. The founder Kurt Valdes’ wife is a Realtor and competes with the Prescott Arizona Realtors that bought the platform. She just worked a deal with another broker to put it under there name but to compete with the agents that pay you isn’t the right thing to do.