A few weeks ago, we updated the home shopping search experience on Zillow with the intent to give our users better shopping tools to find the home of their dreams. We added a more usable map area, added keyword search to the list of filters, and also changed the format of the list so that the map stays in view when you scroll through the homes.
No one has ever accused us of being complacent; we are constantly working to improve the Zillow site, and we’re certainly willing to take risks and learn from our mistakes.
Well, it turns out that we underestimated how much all of you like our old list format. We started to hear from you immediately after we upgraded to the new layout. An important part of taking risks is knowing when you’ve made a mistake. So, by popular demand, we switched the default list format on our search results page back to the old format this evening. That’s right, we switched back to what you have referred to as the “classic Zillow look.”
While our classic look is back (image at bottom of post), we are keeping the other improvements we made (like keyword search), so you now have the best of both worlds. For those of you who preferred the new search page that allowed you to scroll the list without losing the map, you can still switch to that view by clicking on either the “List” or “Photos” buttons underneath the map. For the classic Zillow look, click “List + Photos.” (see image left).
We really appreciate all the feedback you sent us. While it pained us to hear that you weren’t happy with the changes, it also showed us how much you care about Zillow. Thank you for being such loyal fans of Zillow!
Now, please check out Zillow’s search functionality and let us know what you think. We are always listening.
