Websites article are essential for reaching new clients for Real estate developers. On the other hand, they can also act as a conduit between the buyer & the seller or the lessor & the lessee. With increasing internet penetration and soaring advertising costs in conventional media, an effective website is a cost-effective fand efficient tool to reach the customer and build traction in the business.
Having a website is viewed as the basis of a sturdy foundation for a real estate company. For a successful website for a real estate business, it is very important to have featured so that prospective customers will visit, & stay for a longer time & eventually convert into a sale.
Here are 5 key features that are required for running a successful real estate website:-
Revenue Model : Every successful business centers around money and profit. It is necessary to define revenue streams so that that expense of the business can be met on a long term basis. Thus it should be clear as to the eventual inflow whether from advertising/ commissions/ clicks etc.
Searchability WITH Good Navigation : Navigation on any website is of utmost importance. You might have a creative website with attractive fonts and pretty images and high-tech videos, but if it lacks this simple yet crucial feature, it’s of really no use. It also nullifies all the effort, creativity and hard word gone into its appearance.
With the huge number of listings of properties for sale or rent, it can be a mind-boggling task for the user visiting the site. The website should have a search button that makes navigation easy.
Filtering has become a very important tool for the e-commerce user and often neglected. Having easy to use filterability can be of immense help to users to get to the properties that meet their needs. A good design with efficient navigation will help the user to get all the information in the shortest possible time. A ‘Save Search’ option works like a bookmark and would make it easier for the user to revisit the desired property again later on. Websites with Area profile pages provide a chance to capture some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with the help of URL & keywords both.
The logo of the website should be linked to the main page of the website i.e. the home page. So, if by chance th visitor is lost and needs to go back to the main page and start navigating again, he is just a logo away from the home page.
You could have a few links on the navigation bar. Curate between 5 – 10 most crucial webpages on the website. Not too many as that would become monotonous and also make the webpage look unstructured. Especially, in case of a Real Estate site, where there are numerous lists, segregation of those lists into relevant categories can be considered in order to reduce confusion and chaos.
Search facilities can also be quite helpful to your visitors as it’ll push them towards what they’re exactly looking for and probably even land them onto their required page.
Having smooth navigation can make your visitors stay longer on your website and explore it further and also possibly increase their trust in your website and brand.
Quality Information through regular Blogs and Articles : Engaging with prospects is the hallmark of a successful website. Engaging could be achieved through various means such as Community Information (area information with facilities etc), Financial Resources ( Emi calculators, market-rate information, etc.), Relevant Resources (Home financiers, Interior decorators, etc)
It should be able to provide ample information to the buyers to make it easier for the purchase decision and a smooth transition to moving in.
Community information has an important role here and could include data on recreation centers, education centers, hospitals, restaurants nearby. Feature heavy, it should also include crucial information about the basic facilities available in that house like security system, lift, parking, water, electricity etc.
Agent profile : The Agent Profile does more than just simply introducing the employees/ agents to the potential clients. It provides details of the agents that are working for you or have registered with the website. A proper background check through their registrations will eliminate trust issues between the buyers & the real estate agent. Testimonials, sold & active listings, any link to their social media handles & contact info. Can also help here. There should be proper transparency that will help your website to grow in a positive way & will attract your clients besides an active word of mouth.
Even though your website might be providing a specific product or service, the bio would talk more about your qualifications, your work experience, your projects and your success story. This might seem like an unnecessary add on, however this can help the clients decipher who might be the best person to take an advice from/ or to get done job done.
Mobile Compatible : Smartphones have become such a significant part of our daily lives that we, before leaving our homes, check our pockets for the phone because we have now have even our wallets in there.
Almost all the work these days is done through mobile phones and thus the site should be compatible with a mobile view. A design that is mobile-friendly will also be user-friendly. The texts, fonts, colors should be so chosen so that they can go well even if the website is opened from phones. If you using high-quality images & videos, then make sure you optimize your website for your mobile that it can open easily there without taking much time for loading. This becomes crucial as a major part of the website traffic comes via smartphones and if your audience is unhappy with the appearance of the website on their phones, you might possibly be losing out on a huge proportion of your potential customers and also have a bad impact on your search engine rank.
Deepak Sharma is the Founder and CEO of with Startups.com – A Digital Marketing Company in Gurgaon for startups. As a serial entrepreneur, Deepak has worked across sectors and countries, and loves using technology to solve branding and customer acquisition problems. He is a published author and mentor to many startups.