Related to the previous review (today I have a thing for mortgages) I give you now a more informative mortgage website: 1mortgagesuk.co.uk.

As you can see from the URL, this site is based in UK too, but it is worth your attention, no matter where you live, because it has a very good structure, abounds in relevant information, has clear terms of service, and much more.

What still bothers me, but it looks like no mortgage website has such a page, or if they do, they write nothing on it, is the absence of the “About us” page. I still don’t know whom am I dealing with? In Germany I’d never even contact a company that lacks this important (to me) information. I am wondering: when are business owners going to learn that the about page is vital, especially for businesses that deal with money?

Anyway, what is good about this site is that it is really written for the users and not only for the search engines. The owners generate enough buzz through blogs and sponsored reviews, which is a smarter technique than by spamming the search engines.

It doesn’t happen often to get the chance to review a site with good web copy. For example, when you read the secured loans page you’ll notice (if you are SEO savvy or if you pay careful attention) that the copy was written by an SEO. But this is irrelevant. What is notable at this page is the secured loan search form, which enables you to find the best lender for your needs. On the same page, scrolling down, you’ll find articles on personal loans and other topics (including homeowner loans).

From a technical point of view, (here I go, obsessing about W3C and DDA compliancy again) the site is excellent! It does validate, it does pass the Cynthia tests.

To make a long story short: this site scores excellent at all my criteria except the “about” category. There’s a real need to know whom we are doing business with. Mortgages are serious stuff: to apply for loans we have to entrust a company with our personal data, private information on our financial status and so on. If we don’t know the people behind a business it is hard to trust the business itself, no matter how great the site, no matter how aggressive the buzz.