When the country's largest private home builder approached our team, they were on the third iteration of a community portal website for their Trilogy (age 55+) communities. The website was to allow homeowners to communicate with neighbors and keep up with the schedule of events and classes happening at the communities' resort clubs, restaurants, and spas. By the launch of the third version of the site, it was clear that Shea's vision for a best in class, unique online experience was still not met.

Our team decided to start with a clean slate. While most homebuilders leverage off-the-shelf software or semi-custom products that result in a typical one-way push of information, we knew that Shea wanted something that aligned with their philosophy of going the proverbial extra mile for their homeowners. A resort style community with plush amenities and high quality homes deserved an equally well planned web portal to mirror the day to day activities and interactions of the real-world community.

Looking at the needs of the members and staff at the communities, we realized that a social networking platform would suit the scenario perfectly. The challenge was to provide the features of a Facebook or MySpace, while ensuring that the usability was sufficient for the end user demographic (people aged 55+).

In the period of just 7 months, we planned, designed, developed, and launched what has become the heart of the Trilogy brand online.

The new, custom MyTrilogyLife.com site launched complete with

Individual profile pages for each and every homeowner, where he/she can keep a blog, upload photos, list contact information, and share interests with their neighbors

A fully interactive online magazine, with custom written articles specific to the Trilogy community lifestyle. Homeowners can interact directly with the magazine's editor, post comments in response to articles, and even compose articles themselves as contributing editors.

An Interactive Events Calendar with online event registration

A full Member Directory with optional privacy settings, and a tool for bookmarking your favorite blogs and profile pages.

Individual 'club profile' pages for all community clubs ("poker club," "billiards club," "walking club")

A Homeowners Association page for posting notices, meeting minutes, guidelines, and contact information.

A Bulletin Board discussion forum that allows homeowners and staff alike to interact and discuss everything from politics to community news to the latest specials at the on-site golf courses and restaurants.

A fully custom CMS ("Content Management System") that allows Shea Homes staff to update all areas of the site, from the event calendars to restaurant information, community alerts, staff listings, fitness class schedules, HOA information, and more. In addition, the site is 100% scalable, so that when Shea opens a new Trilogy community, the staff can create an entirely new portal for that community in just minutes.

E-Newsletter distribution tool, list management tool, and full metrics system for measuring homeowner response to notices

AND THE RESULTS...

The new community portal has seen exponential month over month growth of active users, roughly triple that of the previous versions of the site. Pageviews and repeat visits have tripled, and E-Newsletter delivery rates have jumped from 70% to 99.9% with the launch of a new custom list management and distribution tool tied into the site's Administration system. Members are using their blogs to post movie reviews, bird sightings in the community, travel journals, neighborhood watch information, and more. Due to the incredible success of the site, Shea has expanded its usage into non-Trilogy branded communities, allowing for a much larger population to enjoy the benefits of a fully integrated community portal. BIMCOM continues to manage the site, providing support and analytics to Shea leadership and building new applications, including advanced full site search apps and photo sharing tools.

Brand/Client: Shea Homes
Location: Walnut, CA
Industry: Real Estate / Customer Relations
Scope: Website Strategy, Design, Development
Time Period: 7 Months
View Live Website: www.MyTrilogyLife.com

From The Client:

"We had a mess with our previous web developer, and BIMCOM swooped in and saved the day. With their leadership, we involved our customers, brainstormed, and developed websites that our customers and managers now love. Our website customer satisfaction level went from an 'F' to an 'A' in very short order."

- Tim S., Vice President
Shea Homes / Trilogy
Scottsdale, Arizona