Case study: reimagining the Zillow home detail page

Overview

The Zillow Home Detail Page (HDP) is the most important surface in real estate, driving approximately 85% of company revenue. This project transformed an overloaded experience into a streamlined, systemic design framework known as hub & spoke.

The challenge: "built by committee"

Years of unchecked growth had created the longest detail page in the industry, and users were feeling the impact.

  • Information Overload: Buyers scrolled excessively to find key details.

  • Poor Grouping: Redundant info and lack of clear sections made scanning difficult.

  • Interaction Friction: Vague labels and unclear CTAs led to low engagement.

The solution: hub & spoke system

The redesign focused on improving triage efficiency while enabling focused deep dives.

  • Hubs: High-level summaries that clearly group information.

  • Spokes: Dedicated, immersive pages for specific details (e.g., Schools, Climate, neighborhood).

  • Visual Language: A modernized, simplified UI with improved hierarchy and data visualizations.

Impact & results

The transition to the Hub & Spoke model delivered significant measurable gains:

  • Engagement: Full HDP scroll increased from 12% to 33%.

  • Modernization: Users rated the new design as more modern.

  • Accessibility: Fixed text truncation for the ~30% of users with large text enabled.

  • Scalability: The new system allowed teams to add complex data sets (Climate/Schools) without overwhelming the page.