The property industry is constantly changing, with the introduction of new PropTech and online agents, traditional agents are finding themselves under increasing pressure to have an online presence, to market themselves and their services effectively. In a world where over 90% of property searches start online, your website is no longer a second thought, it needs to provoke interaction, tell your customers who you are and provide key information to meet their needs. Which is why it’s important to make sure your website stands out and does its job.
The right approach to creating a great estate agency website, is to work backwards and answer these questions:
Who will be coming to my site?
Your website needs to take your customers by the hand and help them find exactly what they are looking for. Within a few seconds of visiting your site, your customer needs to know what to do next, should they sign up to a newsletter or do they want to click a link to learn more? The homepage is the most important part of your site and you need to get it right. The best way to do this is by determining what visitors are coming to your site, and what you want them to do when they get there. Once you know that, tailor the site to meet their needs and liven it up with some compelling content, interesting images and clear call-to-actions.
Tip: Don’t try to please everyone, or your website could end up looking busy and be difficult to navigate. Focus on the key elements that your visitors will want and benefit from.
What questions does my site need to answer?
Think about how clear your site is in providing information. Your customers need to know if they’re in the right place, details about your business, whether they can afford your services, how to contact you and whether your service is what they are looking for. Make sure it’s blindly obvious what you do, how you do it, and how you do it differently from your competitors.
Tip: Clear, short messages work well.
Is my content relevant?
Websites don’t just require great content at the start, they also need ongoing maintenance to ensure it remains fresh. Nothing is going to make customers leave your site quicker than outdated information. So, take the opportunity to revisit it every 6 months and make sure your content is still fitting.
Tip: If you have a blog, keep it updated regularly with engaging content.
Is my site easy to use?
According to the experts in estate agency website design, at TechnicWeb, the lifespan of a website is around 2-4 years, at a push. If your site is 3 years old, you should already be considering your next investment. You’ll get left behind if you wait any longer than 4 years. Keep your website up to date with a responsive design. Responsive designs make sure the site is able to adapt to the screen it is being used on, regardless of the device type. Giving visitors a better experience that is suited to their device, as well as making sure your site is in line with Google recommendations. Responsive websites are no longer an option, it’s a necessity.
Tip: Keep up with what your competitors are doing, have a look at their sites or other successful industry sites for ideas on how to improve your own.
Think it’s time for a new website? Why not find out more information on the importance of website design from the experts at TechnicWeb.
Check out their collection of studio website templates which can be tailored to suit your agency.
