Riverstone Builders Web Site Easily Navigated
by February 19, 2001 12:00 am 68 views
Bentonville
www.riverstone-builders.com
One of our reviewers who uses a Macintosh computer could not get the menu bar on Riverstone Builders Inc.’s Web site to work. But it was still easily navigated through hyperlinks to informative areas, including a mortgage calculator, a guide on local property taxes, and examples of projects that the Bentonville company has handled.
Two other PC users had no trouble with the menu bar, leading us to believe it may have been a minor browser compatibility complication that only affects Mac users.
Riverstone’s www.riverstone-builders.com was obviously developed to be primarily an informative site, but we found several potential e-commerce opportunities while clicking through its pages. And the artwork really is nice.
We were wowed by the subdivision plats of Kristyl Heights, Turnbridge Wells and College Place showing Riverstone’s available lots and floor plans at each location. What a great opportunity for prospective home buyers who want to get in on the ground floor of the construction of their home.
Customers can easily click on Riverstone’s “contact us” page and submit an inquiry or even an offer on property. But a link for each lot that says “make an offer” might be a nice prompt to speed things along.
We also noticed that Riverstone uses only GE appliances and Therma-Tru doors in its homes. Riverstone may not be interested in the volume, but it would be handy to have several kitchen and door plans listed so that customers and others who are just remodeling could shop and select online.
NWA Business Online, which developed and maintains the site, was responsive to an e-mail inquiry submitted through its hyperlink. And all of our reviewers thought Riverstone is well-served by its attractive homepage logo and slogan, “From our house to your home.”
One reviewer, an opponent of sites that employ frames, said the Riverstone site nevertheless is “clean” and includes lots of great information.
We concur that www.riverstone-builders.com, which gets 14,000 hits per month, is superior to most builders’ sites that we’ve seen. Many firms in the industry are behind the curve, and Riverstone shows initiative with this effort. It looks as if Riverstone had an online game plan that has been well-executed.