Real Estate
Drupal 9 Upgrade for Great Southern Homes: Better Search, a Site Teams Can Run
THE CHALLENGE
A lead-generating website that couldn't keep pace with rapid growth
Great Southern Homes is one of the fastest-growing home builders in the US. Their Drupal 7 website was a crucial lead generator, but it was struggling to keep up.
- Page-load time was slow, making it hard to convert visitors into customers and hard to track leads
- Launching new marketing campaigns required weeks of custom work for every new campaign page
- Navigation and site organization were rigid and confusing, working against the marketing message
- The search function was frustrating for buyers trying to find a property, leading to a low conversion rate
THE SOLUTION
Faster platform, rebuilt property search, and a CMS that doesn't need a developer for every community update
Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 upgrade with performance focus
Specbee began with a thorough website audit covering architecture, performance, UX, and search. The upgrade to Drupal 9 followed, with Redis in the stack to support performance, hosted on AWS with CircleCI for deployment.
- Full website audit of architecture, performance, UX, and search before work began
- Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 migration
- Redis added to the stack to support performance
- Page-load time reduced by 40% after launch
Property search rebuild
The property search experience was rebuilt using Drupal 9's SearchAPI, an Elasticsearch connector, and the Geolocation module, replacing a search function the client described as a major pain point.
- Search rebuilt with SearchAPI and an Elasticsearch connector
- Geolocation module added to support location-based property search
- Search now returns fast results, improving the buyer experience
Stakeholder CMS empowerment and brand redesign
The new design brought Great Southern Homes' focus on quality, affordability, and energy efficiency to the front of the site. Layout Builder, Media & Media Library, and Business Rules modules gave stakeholders the tools to update content themselves.
- Complete website redesign reflecting brand values (quality, affordability, energy efficiency)
- Layout Builder and Media & Media Library modules for stakeholder-driven content updates
- Business Rules module supporting content workflows
- Stakeholders able to update and maintain the site without developer requests
Research-driven, Agile design process
The design process moved through four stages: research, pencil sketches, wireframes, and final visual design, developed alongside Great Southern Homes stakeholders. The team used an Agile (SCRUM) approach, working in iterative sprints.
- Four-stage design process: research, sketches, wireframes, visual design
- Agile/SCRUM delivery in iterative sprints
- Stakeholder engagement throughout the design process
Delivered on time and on budget, with measurable results
The project was delivered on time and within budget. Beyond the page-speed improvement, the redesign produced a measurable jump in new visitors within the first month.
- Delivered on time and within budget
- 10% increase in new users one month after launch
- Page-load time reduced by 40%
- Faster search results improving the overall user experience
BACKGROUND
Great Southern Homes' digital presence is a direct contributor to their sales pipeline. When a prospective buyer compares home builders, the website is often the first and most sustained interaction with the brand. A slow, outdated site loses leads to competitors whose sites load faster.
KEY INSIGHT
A home builder's site has to serve two audiences.
Buyers need to find the right home quickly. Stakeholders need to keep community availability current without a developer ticket for every update. The redesign addressed both.
"Specbee looked at our needs & delivered both what we wanted & what we needed."
The Results
A real estate platform built for buyers and the teams serving them
Performance improved, search rebuilt, stakeholders empowered.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Drupal 7 | Drupal 9 |
| Page-load time | Slow | Reduced by 40% |
| New users (1 month post-launch) | Baseline | +10% |
| Property search | Slow, frustrating | Rebuilt with SearchAPI, Elasticsearch, Geolocation |
| Stakeholder editing | Developer-dependent | Self-serve content management |
| Brand design | Dated | Full redesign delivered |
40% faster
Page-load time
Reduced by 40% after launch.
+10%
New users
Increase in new users one month after launch.
Rebuilt
Property search
Faster, more relevant results for buyers.
Drupal 9
Modern platform
Drupal 7 replaced with a current installation.
Self-serve
Stakeholders
Teams update communities and content without developer requests.
Work With Us
Talk to the team that delivered this
Most conversations start with a 30-minute call and a look at where you are today. No pitch deck. No pressure. Just clarity on what the right path forward looks like for your platform.
Typically respond within 1 business day · 100% Drupal-focused team · No generalists