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Zillow Home Loans Landing Page
A customer-facing experience created to generate awareness of Zillow Home Loans and help home buyers navigate its ecosystem with ease.
Overview
DETAILS
ROLE
Lead Product Designer
TIMELINE
4 Weeks
COMPANY
Zillow
YEAR
2022
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE
Generate awareness of Zillow Home Loans (ZHL) as a competitive financing option for financially eligible homebuyers through a marketing landing page.
DUAL AUDIENCE CHALLENGE
The landing page needed to serve two distinct user needs: helping ready buyers understand the value of Zillow Home Loans and meet their financing needs, while also offering informed guidance to help aspiring buyers become financially prepared for home ownership.
THE SOLUTION
I designed a modular landing page with progressive disclosure that guided each audience toward their appropriate next step. Ready buyers encountered upfront loan value propositions and clear CTAs to begin applications, while aspiring buyers accessed educational content about financial preparation—increasing home loan conversions by 26% and reducing pre-qualification letter attrition by 15%.
Design Strategy
I led a series of workshops to align stakeholders on an approach and define the landing page's scope.
DEFINING BUYER READINESS
While "Ready Buyer" and "Unready Buyer" were common terms at Zillow, they lacked clear definitions around affordability and financial preparedness. I led a workshop to align stakeholders on what buyer "readiness" actually meant by mapping what buyers say, do, think, feel, see, and hear at each stage of their home-buying journey.
Ready Buyer
Someone financially capable of purchasing a home and eligible for financing with ZHL. Typically, this person can buy in 3 months or less.
Unready Buyer
Someone incapable of financing through ZHL due to high debt or low credit. This person is typically early in their home-buying journey and lacks knowledge about the process.
ORCA FRAMEWORK
To understand Zillow's complex mortgage ecosystem, I applied Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) methodology. I mapped all objects users interact with during their home-buying journey—including BUDGET, LOAN, and APPLICATION—then plotted their relationships to one another. For example, an APPLICATION is required to determine LOAN eligibility. This relational mapping revealed what affordances (CTAs) and attributes (metadata) the landing page needed to serve both ready and aspiring buyers.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
I created design principles that acted as decision-making criteria throughout ideation. These principles kept the team aligned on serving both audiences effectively, ensuring we didn't prioritize ready buyers at the expense of aspiring buyers' educational needs, or vice versa.
Solution
HERO SECTION
Provides a streamlined conversion path for ready buyers who know they want Zillow Home Loans, enabling quick application initiation and reducing friction in the funding process.
TESTIMONIES & OFFERINGS
Builds trust and credibility with ready buyers who are unsure about Zillow Home Loans by showcasing competitive rates, transparent processes, and clear value propositions.
AFFORDABILITY CALCULATION
Equips aspiring buyers with financial readiness tools and education while positioning Zillow Home Loans as their trusted guide throughout the home-buying journey.
Project Outcome
The landing page successfully balanced dual-audience needs while driving business results. Ready buyers found clear loan value and streamlined application paths, while aspiring buyers accessed financial readiness guidance—resulting in 26% higher conversions, 15% lower attrition, and $2M in operational savings. The design proved that serving users at different journey stages strengthens both trust and conversion.
CUSTOMER QUOTES
Novice Buyer
1
"I didn't know Zillow even did home loans but, if I saw this page, I think I could trust them more to lend me money"
Mid-Stage Buyer
2
"The interactive calculator section is cool, I love how it tells me what I can afford and also shares articles that compliment where I'm at in the process."
Advanced Buyer
3
"I like how the landing page gives quotes from other customers who've gone through the process before. If I were looking to buy, I would want to learn more about Zillow's mortgage business."
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