(Don’t) Get On the Net: Point2.com

By Joel Burslem on Thursday, August 24, 2006 Filed Under: Internet

It was all going so well.

I’d created my account. Entered in all my personal information. Walked through the steps to get my site up and running. And then it happened.

“Incorrect Browser. You require Internet Explorer version 5.5 or higher to use Point2 Agent.”

WTF.

I wanted to like Point2Agent. I really did. I like their Point2 Homes search site, despite its eye-burning color combinations. The fact that you can create RSS and Google Earth feeds of any of your searches is very cool and something that all real estate search engines should emulate.

I like fact they give away their basic package for free as a way to get agents into their system, and that they don’t cripple the feature set in the process. I was even willing to overlook the hyperbolic suggestion that they are “The Most Popular Real Estate Software in the World.”

But alas. I couldn’t even try their system. So Point2 gets no points from me.

Forcing your customers to use a single browser, particularly one as security plagued as Internet Explorer, is a serious impediment and makes Point2Agent a no go. Frankly, I’m a little surprised that a company that supports cutting edge technologies on its consumer site, is still forcing customers to use an antequated browser like IE to access its agent side.

I would urge Point2 to make its software more accessible. Until it does however, if you’re a Realtor looking to take your business on to the Web, I’d say you’re better off sticking with a competing platform like Ubertor.

Finally, if you’re still using IE - dump it. You don’t know what you’re missing out on - tabbed browsing, plugins, themes and most importantly a far more secure Internet experience. Try any of the alternate browsers out there, my personal favorite is Firefox, but Camino or Safari are good alternatives on the Mac and the latest version of Opera is pretty slick too. You’ll be glad you switched.

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10 Comment(s)

CJ in LA | Aug 24, 2006 | Reply

For whats it worth, Version 7 of IE (beta) has tabs.
Jason | Aug 24, 2006 | Reply

I’d love to see your review on Top Producer 7i. Same deal there. IE only, enterprise unfriendly (picky java requirements, high-level permissions required to run).

In fact, many of the “older” applications I’ve seen are very IE specific. People talk about “other browsers” being a small minority so not worth developing for. Unfortunately various stats I’ve seen show how this is quickly changing. Some of the big dogs need to start looking forward (and dump some of their old code).
Bill Nadraszky | Aug 24, 2006 | Reply

I have to agree. The point2 agent websites are nice and customizable but they all look the same. I am not sure if these sites are any good for most Realtors as they seem to rank poorly in the search engines because of the template driven design that they have.

I set one of these up with a decent domain name for my mother the Realtor a couple of years ago and the basic website that I had created from scratch easily out performed it for the year that she used it.

I did and still really believe that having some kind of interactivity whether it be a blog or fomrs that give info for an email address are much better in the long run for any Realtor
Justin | Aug 25, 2006 | Reply

Dude, you need to get the ie plugin for firefox.
Joel Burslem | Aug 25, 2006 | Reply

I have the IE plugin for Firefox, but my point is I shouldn’t have to. As Jason points out it’s Point2 that should update its code. I would argue it’s sloppy not to and that it turns off any power users from using their product, especially since there are much better alternatives on the market.
Jay T. | Aug 28, 2006 | Reply

Bill N. wrote: “I am not sure if these sites are any good for most Realtors as they seem to rank poorly in the search engines because of the template driven design that they have.”

My Point2 site ranks very well in Google. But I’ve spent a LOT of time on it.

Joel wrote: “especially since there are much better alternatives on the market.”

Such as… (other than Ubertor. Not that there is anything wrong with Ubertor)

P2A sites display fine in all browsers. Personally, I’d rather have them focus their efforts on adding features for the end user rather than working on the back end. I despise IE, but with the FF IETab extension, I can edit my P2 site just fine with Firefox.
Kalpa | Aug 30, 2006 | Reply

Hi again. Just got here from your old site. This new design you have here looks clean & sharp (read smart!) Congratulations.
About Point2Agent, I was kind of impressed by all their capabilities initially but then, like Bill Nadraszky says, they tend to all look alike. Haven’t actually tried them though. Talking of new website designing, I’m anxiously waiting for ours to be revamped for look and feel. Well, thank you for all the information your site provides.
Ginger Fawcett | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

I beg to differ. Point 2 Sites do NOT all look the same and they do rank well. I launched my site:

http://websterkirkwood.com

just this past month. It is not even complete but I had to go public because it was mentioned in another site. IN any event, I spent months customizing it myself and decided to use Point2 because I didn’t want to have to reinvent the backend stuff that they offer.

I also am currently ranked #1 for Kirkwood Listings and #2 for WEbster Groves Listings in Google. I also rank for several other terms. All this in less than 30 days and I haven’t even worked on my SEO and linking strategy.

Most of the agents using POint2 don’t customize it or use all it’s features. If you do you’ll rank well. It’s all up to the user.
Suzanne Stephens | May 22, 2007 | Reply

I agree with you that Point2Agent’s use of ASP technology and the subsequent necessity for using an IE browser or FF with IE extension is a pain. Now that I can run Windows on my Mac, I’m a little happier, but I would still prefer to use a better browser.

However, I strongly disagree with the idea that Point2Agent sites all look the same. To the contrary, they are amazingly customizable. I have worked on the development of competing systems, so when Point2 asked me to consider designing for their members and I began exploring the system, I was stunned by the degree to which their sites can be customized. Point2Agent’s system is really quite amazing. Point2 sites can be strong lead generators and can also rank well in the SE’s, but like any web site, they require lots of hard work.

Suzanne

Suzanne Hathcock Stephens
Point2Agent Design Partner
william | Jun 6, 2007 | Reply

We also have thought about putting our homes on there, but we could not find a link on the listings to refer to the site where the original listing was. If we could link back to our site, we might put our homes on there too.