Hi everyone! 👋
I am currently studying software development, and alongside my studies I enjoy designing and building my own projects.
Over the past few weeks, I built ZoekUwMakelaar.nl, a Dutch platform that helps people request support when buying or selling a home.
What is ZoekUwMakelaar.nl?
Users can submit a free, no-obligation request for several real estate services:
- 🏠 Selling a home
- 📊 Requesting a property valuation
- 🔑 Buying a home
- 💬 Arranging an appraisal or receiving real estate advice
The user selects a service, enters a location and provides some information about their situation. Based on the request and location, a suitable local real estate agent may contact them.
The website is written in Dutch, but the design, responsiveness and user flow can still be reviewed without submitting a request.
You can explore the request flow without completing the final submission, so please avoid sending test requests.
Building the project
I worked on the project from concept to deployment, including:
- Designing the user interface
- Building the responsive website
- Creating the request forms and user flows
- Setting up the database and lead handling
- Implementing email notifications
- Adding location autocomplete
- Connecting analytics to cookie consent
- Improving technical SEO, performance and accessibility
- Creating automated UI and end-to-end tests
Tech stack
- Next.js 15 with the App Router
- React
- TypeScript
-
Custom CSS in
app/globals.css, without Tailwind CSS - Supabase for the database and lead storage
- Resend for email delivery
- Netlify for hosting and deployment
- Google Analytics 4, connected to cookie consent
- Google Search Console for indexing and SEO monitoring
- PDOK for Dutch location autocomplete
- Playwright for UI and end-to-end testing
- Lighthouse for performance, SEO and accessibility checks
Some of the challenges
One of the main challenges was creating a platform that feels trustworthy enough for users to share their contact details.
I wanted the request process to remain simple while still collecting enough information for the request to be useful.
Another challenge was combining location-based SEO pages with a clear user experience. I wanted the pages to be discoverable through search engines without making them feel overloaded with repetitive SEO content.
I also connected Google Analytics to the cookie consent system, so analytics is only activated after the user has given permission.
Feedback I am looking for
I would appreciate honest feedback on:
- Is it immediately clear what the platform does?
- Does the website feel professional and trustworthy?
- Does the request process feel simple and logical?
- Do you notice any responsive, accessibility, performance or SEO issues?
- What would you improve first, either technically or from a UX perspective?
This is still an early version, so constructive criticism is very welcome. I would rather hear what is unclear or not working well than only receive positive feedback.
Thanks for taking a look! 👨💻
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