Why do you think that having a stellar website design matters if you want to boost your real estate business? Simply put, it acts as a traffic magnet. And when you have a surge of website visitors, lead and conversion rates automatically soar high. So now, do you understand why you must build a real estate website with a one-of-a-kind design in place? Make no mistake! It’s not just about aesthetics; rather, it’s an integral component for attracting, engaging, and converting visitors into clients in the highly competitive real estate industry.
More so, as we enter 2024, the mighty digital realm continues to play a significant role in the success of real estate ventures. As a result, after going through the market trends, we have curated this comprehensive workbook so that you can seamlessly learn how to build a real estate website that dominates the online space. You will always need this knowledge even if you team up with a seasoned real estate website design industry. But before delving into the process, here’s a simple stat just to show you that the importance and the need to build a real estate website cannot be overstated.
As per the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, a whopping 51% of homebuyers reported that they found their home on the Internet. 29% purchased a home with the help of their realtor, and 4% from a yard sign.
Learn the latest trends in real estate website design
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – A famous quote by Abraham Lincoln that never fails to establish its relevance, regardless of how many centuries pass by. True to the idea depicted through the quote, if your goal is to increase your customers, first sharpen the axe by making a killer real estate website design. Surely you can achieve it. We will help you out. So, without further ado, let’s read on.
The very first step is to have a clear idea of the specific features that you would like to include in your real estate website design. This would be based on the scale and focus of your business. If you identify these prerequisites beforehand, then you can save a lot of valuable time in the long run.
This is a very critical step where you have to carefully gauge the pros and cons and decide whether you should build the website yourself or collaborate with a real estate web design company. Once you decide, it will influence the platform you select for your real estate site. This is the next step in how to build a website for real estate.
Obtain a domain (website address) and hosting (online home) for your website. If using a free website builder, these are often included. Otherwise, purchase them separately and connect them. We will give you an idea of how much to build a real estate website in terms of price at the end of the blog.
Settle for the best method for adding property listings to your site. Small agencies may manually input listings, while larger ones might automate the process by pulling data from a central service. If you are to build a property website then this is crucial information for how to build a real estate property website.
You have to make sincere efforts to rank organically for specific cities or regions. Only then would you be able to get quality leads. Given the geography-driven nature of real estate, focusing on local search engine optimization (SEO) and doing it in the right way can be rewarding. Hence, if you are to build a website for a real estate property, be mindful of the SEO factor.
Needless to say, the importance of a site being mobile-responsive can’t be overstated. A huge number of millennials search for homes on their mobile devices. This is why it’s imperative that your real estate website design offers a well-formatted and visually appealing mobile view to boost the user experience.
What is the best website builder for real estate? We can help you out with the answer. So once you’re done with the groundwork, the next step is to find your best-suited real estate website builder to host your site. This is the time when you have to make the selection carefully. Therefore, to make your selection process easy, we have made a list of some popular website builders that can help you find an answer to what is the best website builder for real estate and simplify the process of creating a real estate website on your own.
WordPress is a really popular real estate website builder that's super easy to use. It has templates you can customize easily, and it gives you detailed info about who's visiting your site and how they're interacting with it. Also you might think how much it cost to build a real estate website through wordpress. So if you're on a budget, you'll be happy to know that WordPress has plans that start at just $4 a month and go up to $45 a month, depending on what you need. And if you don't want to pay, you can still use WordPress to make a real estate website for free.
Squarespace, renowned for its stylish and contemporary designs, is a comprehensive solution for crafting your website. Offering around-the-clock award-winning customer support, Squarespace caters to all your website creation requirements. Before you again ponder on how much to build a real estate website on Squarespace, let us tell you that the plan options begin at $12 per month for basic websites and go up to $40 per month for robust business sites equipped to meet your e-commerce demands.
Now if you think about how to build a real estate website using Wix, then you should read this. Creating a real estate website is a breeze with Wix. It provides customizable templates, drag-and-drop formatting, and handy SEO tools to enhance your site's visibility. Wix offers premium plans, starting from $14 per month, which eliminate ads and let you use your personalized domain name. The plans go up to $49 per month, giving you flexibility based on your needs. This answers how much does it cost to build a real estate website on Wix.
For those keen on crafting a real estate website, Weebly stands out as an affordable and user-friendly choice. With pocket-friendly paid plans starting at $6 per month and going up to $26 per month, Weebly offers features like video backgrounds and integrated analytics. This makes it a great cost-effective option for individuals looking to learn the ropes of how to build a real estate website.
Duda offers a distinctive array of options, allowing users to handle their client base efficiently while providing powerful marketing tools to enhance web traffic and more. With plans ranging from $14 to $44 per month, Duda caters to diverse needs. For those with more intricate or specific requirements, custom plans are also available.
As a result, our curated list features popular options like WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, and Duda, each offering unique features and pricing to suit various preferences and budgets. So this pretty much answers your questions: what is the best website builder for real estate, and how much does it cost to build a real estate website? There’s no specific answer to what is the best website builder for real estate. It solely depends on your preferences, types, and features you want to integrate into your real estate website design. Now, let's delve into what essential elements to include in a compelling real estate website to effectively showcase your properties and engage potential clients.
In this section, we will let you know some of the inevitable features that must be included in your real estate website during real estate website development. Without these elements, your website, regardless of a top-notch design and UX, will fall apart, and your objectives won’t be met. So, let’s read about those elements and their importance.
Showcasing your properties is a must especially if you are trying to learn about how to build a real estate property website, whether you want to catch the eye of buyers, sellers, or both. Make it a breeze for visitors by including lots of great pictures presented in a neat and attractive way—enough to impress but not too much to overwhelm. Enhance the experience by adding bonuses like maps displaying property locations. The more search and filter tools you provide, the happier potential buyers will be. Let them easily pinpoint the properties from your list that match their needs. This is a crucial thing if you want to build a website for real estate agents.
Don't let potential leads slip away – leverage the power of enticing call-to-action buttons on your real estate website design. These buttons prompt visitors to take direct actions that can convert into future sales. Whether you choose to reveal select property details and encourage visitors to contact you for more information or provide multiple options for scheduling tours or making calls, incorporating clear and inviting action buttons is an effective strategy to keep visitors engaged and increase interaction on your site. Hence, always check this before choosing your real estate website builder.
In your journey of finding guidance on how to build a real estate website, it's crucial to ensure that visitors interested in touring a property or discussing a potential sale find it effortless to connect with you. Dedicate a section on your website that is easily discoverable, providing clear instructions on how, when, and where visitors can reach out to you. Some real estate website builder even offers pre-made contact forms, allowing visitors to inquire without the need for phone calls or emails. The simpler it is for visitors to ask questions and get in touch, the more likely you are to enhance engagement and generate valuable leads.
Offering visitor registration on your website is a powerful way to convey professionalism and a commitment to privacy and security. Numerous real estate websites enable registration via email or social media accounts, granting registered users access to features like property viewing, sharing details about properties for sale, and more. Beyond enhancing user experience, maintaining an organized client base on your website facilitates growth tracking and enables seamless outreach to buyers and sellers through various marketing tools. Embrace user registration to foster trust and efficiency in your real estate endeavors.
Exploring homes online differs greatly from in-person experiences. Conveying the charm of a property through photos can be challenging, and potential homebuyers might struggle to envision life in a new home solely from images. This is where high-quality visuals play a crucial role: the better and more plentiful your photos, the more likely potential buyers will be inclined to schedule an in-person viewing. This element plays a pivotal role when you are to build a commercial real estate website. Anything you can do to capture the essence of your properties on your website significantly contributes to turning visitors into enthusiastic clients. Elevate your visuals to make a lasting impression on potential homebuyers.
While you are learning about how to build a website for real estate, there’s another crucial element that you must ensure. In the current landscape, ensuring your real estate website is mobile-friendly is a necessity. With busy clients frequently searching for properties on the go, it's crucial that your website and property listings display seamlessly on mobile phones, just as they do on laptops and desktop computers. This ensures you retain visitors who may be browsing your site during a subway commute or late-night sessions. By optimizing your website for mobile access, you not only expand your reach to more people but also retain a higher percentage of visitors who explore your site.
While ads are an optional feature for your real estate website development, they can serve as a valuable revenue source. Opt for relevance and moderation to avoid overwhelming visitors with a barrage of ads. Strategically placing a few header, footer, or sidebar ads can enhance your revenue while potentially guiding clients toward products or services beneficial to them.
In the 21st century, content is key for brand engagement. Creating marketable content, particularly through blog posts, can significantly drive traffic to your real estate website. Well-crafted blog posts focusing on topics of interest and incorporating SEO keywords not only attract new visitors but also generate leads, providing a powerful tool to advance your career. Regular updates and thoughtful content can establish your blog as a go-to resource in the real estate sphere.
The above are some inevitable features that need to be included while you are in your real estate website development phase. However, in the realm of real estate website development, securing success involves more than just incorporating the right functionalities into your app. Below, you'll find a concise inventory of supplementary features that have already been integrated into various other real estate platforms. So now let’s tell you about 3 unique features that would provide an edge to your real estate website over your competitors.
1. Favorites Section
Here's a personalized functionality that lets users cherry-pick certain choices from the search results and tuck them into a 'favorites' list—similar to adding items to a shopping cart on a typical online store. The 'favorites' section empowers users to deliberate on their options, avoiding hasty decisions when buying or renting a house. Moreover, data gleaned from the favorites list can be utilized for analysis and to generate fresh property recommendations. This is critical for how to build a real estate website that would be attractive too.
2. Messaging Solution Within the App
Once users reach a decision, they typically desire direct communication with a realtor or home seller to delve into details. The most efficient means for users to communicate is through in-app chat functionality.
Creating a new messaging app demands considerable effort and financial resources. Alternatively, you can seamlessly incorporate pre-existing real-time messaging solutions.
3. Appointment Booking Calendar
After users finalize their choice of an apartment or house, arranging a visit becomes essential. Instead of reaching out to a realtor, a more convenient option is to check the app's calendar for available time slots. Therefore, integrating a dedicated calendar for appointment scheduling can significantly streamline the search process and reduce the need for unnecessary coordination.
Also, creating a compelling landing page for your real estate website is equally important since it impacts your conversion rate.
So you did a robust groundwork, integrated the necessary features for your real estate website and also included unique elements. But what is the ultimate benefit of robust real estate website development? Well, there are lots of. They offer a space for potential customers to discover the business, explore property listings, and reach out for additional details. A website also aids in building trust and showcasing professionalism, making it effortless for the business to be discovered online via search engines. Let’s decode some of the most prominent benefits one after another:
1. Ease of Use
There are several positive aspects of having a website that can be summarized into one benefit; for instance, potential buyers get the opportunity to browse property listing on line. A website enables clients to see pictures of available houses, review the characteristics, features, and amenities related to them, as well as to compare and contrast the options before deciding to go and physically view the properties. This helps them save time and increases the efficiency of the home buying or selling operation.
2. Build Trust and Professional Image
Also, a website for a real estate business helps establish trust and build the company’s professional image. The first impression is always made by a good website with user-friendly design and high-quality photographs. It builds confidence and trust with the consumers and the business, which might eventually increase sales and customer loyalty. In addition, a website is an online flag, which helps in finding a business through search engines. This will help in optimizing content and use of relevant keywords, leading to the achievement of high ranking in search results, more traffic and many leads.
3. Effective Property Promotion Through Marketing and Advertising
The marketing of property through the use of a website is very effective. A real estate website could provide detailed property information, including pictures, videos, computerized floorplans, and interactive tours. A dynamic presentation helps bring the properties alive to potential buyers and renters so as to ensure that they find them appealing. In addition, a website could provide beneficial information for customers including neighborhood insights and home buying/selling tips. These resources position the business as reliable and knowledgeable, hence building trust and generating leads. So these benefits can be enjoyed once you clear your concept on how to build a real estate website.
4. Enhanced Search Visibility
Building a site with custom content targeted at specific keywords boosts the company’s presence in search engine result pages. The higher ranking of the website drives more traffic therein to translate into leads in the long run.
5. Informative Hub
A website also serves as a valuable hub, offering clients essential resources like neighborhood insights and tips on buying or selling homes. This establishes the business as a trusted and knowledgeable source of information for clients.
6. Lead Generation Boost
A website plays a pivotal role in increasing visibility and generating leads for a real estate business, essential for business growth. To fully leverage a real estate website, collaborating with a seasoned real estate web design company is crucial. Their expertise in constructing real estate websites ensures a tailored approach aligned with your specific needs and goals.
This guarantees a website that is not only easy to navigate and visually appealing but also optimized for search engines. Furthermore, professional designers from a good real estate web design company offer insights on effective marketing and promotion strategies to attract more leads and, consequently, elevate your business. Now let’s know about the types of real estate websites that can be built.
The term "real estate website" encompasses various types of businesses. Below are some prevalent examples of real estate websites.
Have you ever browsed pictures, information, or videos about a house on the internet? Therefore, if you have found any such website then it’s a property listing website that you’ve encountered. There is a list of homes for sale or rent in your desired location on these platforms. Filter results easily according to the price, size, amenities, and so on. You can view pictures of a property and even connect with an agent if that particular property catches your interest. If so desired, you can also set up an appointment for viewing on the website. For example, Realtor and Zoopla are these types.
An agency website serves as a promotional tool for the entire real estate firm. While property listings take center stage, you'll discover more than just homes. Additional content delves into the agency's mission, vision, an About Us section, agent bios, contact details, and supplementary marketing materials like a blog.
Examples such as RE/MAX and Keller Williams, with a global presence, utilize their websites not only to showcase current listings and agent profiles but also to promote the agency as a cohesive entity.
A real estate marketplace functions as an intermediary connecting property owners and potential buyers. It serves as a platform where property owners or their agents can list properties and oversee bookings while buyers can conveniently explore properties from various sources in a single location. Some real estate marketplaces even provide useful tools like mortgage calculators to assess affordability. Zillow and Redfin stand out as prominent real estate website design examples of real estate marketplaces.
Property managers are integral to the daily functioning of multifamily residences, such as apartment buildings, and property management websites streamline their operational responsibilities. Beyond showcasing the property manager's reliability and trustworthiness, these websites serve as a centralized portal for residents. Denver is an example of property management website.
These represent just a few popular categories of websites, each tailored to distinct facets of the real estate industry. From property listings to agency hubs and management platforms, the digital landscape offers diverse online spaces to cater to various real estate needs. Get in touch with a professional real estate web design company to build a real estate website catering to your needs.
So, when you are to determine the cost of a real estate website, it hinges on multiple factors, such as size, complexity, and the chosen developer. Engaging a professional real estate website development agency typically involves an investment ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 unless the website is extensive and intricate. Various cost brackets apply to custom websites: $5,000 to $8,000 for a simple, informational site; $9,000 to $15,000 for a mid-sized one with interactive features; $16,000 to $30,000 for a large corporate site with advanced functionalities; and $31,000 to $100,000 for extensive database-driven sites with intricate requirements and bespoke back-end development.
Hence, whether opting for a straightforward informational site or a comprehensive database-driven platform, understanding these factors helps navigate the investment landscape. Also, it's always beneficial to collaborate with seasoned professionals who would ensure tailored solutions aligned with your specific real estate needs. This is all about how much does it cost to build a real estate website.
1. Why do real estate companies need websites?
Real estate companies need websites as essential tools for establishing a strong online presence, enhancing credibility, and reaching a wider audience. In the digital age, potential clients increasingly rely on the internet to discover and evaluate real estate options. A well-designed website showcases property listings, offers valuable resources, and facilitates seamless communication. It not only builds trust and professionalism but also serves as a powerful marketing and lead-generation tool, ensuring real estate businesses stay competitive and accessible in the modern market landscape.
2. How can I get more leads with a good real estate website?
A well-optimized real estate website with engaging content, intuitive navigation, and clear calls to action can attract more leads. Implementing effective SEO strategies, showcasing compelling property listings, and providing valuable resources can enhance visibility and encourage visitors to inquire, generating more potential leads.
3. What features should I include in my real estate website to get maximum visibility?
To maximize visibility on your real estate website, include features such as a user-friendly design, high-quality visuals, mobile responsiveness, local SEO optimization, and clear calls to action. Implementing these elements enhances user experience, boosts search engine rankings, and attracts more visitors, ultimately increasing the potential for lead generation.
4. How Much Does It Cost To Build A Real Estate Website?
The cost to build a real estate website varies based on factors like size, complexity, and developer choice. Engaging a professional agency typically ranges from $5,000 to $15,000, with different brackets for simple, mid-sized, large, and database-driven sites.
5. Which website builder should I go for?
When choosing a website builder for your real estate site, popular options like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace offer user-friendly features. For a tailored and professional touch, consider consulting with a specialized real estate website development agency like JanBask. Their expertise ensures a customized and effective online presence for your real estate business.
6. How to build a real estate investor website?
To build a real estate investor website, choose a user-friendly platform like WordPress, select a responsive theme, and customize it with relevant content and property listings. Integrate essential features, such as contact forms and analytics tools, to enhance user experience and track performance. Get in touch with a professional real estate web design company to know more.
Hence, a compelling website is not just a tool; it's the cornerstone of success for real estate agents. Use this guide as a handbook, go with the emerging trends, and integrate key features as per your website types to create your one-of-a-kind website amid the crowd of other competitive real estate platforms. Get in touch with us to give a professional touch of experienced hands to your precious website. At JanBask, we have an in-house team of seasoned real estate website developers who strive to make your website standalone in this present-day cutting-edge real estate digital market.
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