Yes, websites sell property and real estate! It’s true, and it’s effective and successful. If you’re a land owner, represent a corporation, or sell houses as a realtor, this article is for you. We’ve put together everything you need to know to create successful property websites; websites that help sell your property.
Start Here: Property Website Strategy
First things first. Let’s talk website strategy. That simply means let’s define why we’re building your website.
- What is the purpose of your website?
- What do you want your website to do?
If you’re selling land or real estate, you want to sell properties. Your website can be designed to do exactly that! But let’s get a little more specific. Is this a website for the sale of one property? Or do you need a large-scale website with property listings?
Based on what you’re selling, you may need a website that sells one, expensive property. That website will be different than a website built to list multiple properties on an on-going basis.
The strategy for your property website may look like this: attract local website visitors who are actively seeking to purchase property, capture their e-mail addresses, and nurture them through a marketing campaign.
When we understand what you want your website to do, we can plan for the execution of those items. (i.e. bring in local traffic or capture e-mail addresses).
Next Step: Property Website Scope
Once you’ve determined the purpose of your website, you can then define the scope. That means: types of content, features you want, software integrations, and other technical concerns.
Popular Property Website Features
- Contact Form
- Videos
- Photography
- CMS (content management system)
If you want a large real estate website, you’ll need to add several items to your website scope. A website with the ability to list multiple properties for sale is a much bigger project with a bigger scope than is a one-property website.
- Custom Admin Tool
- Integration with Zillow
- Live Chat
- Marketing Automation
When determining the scope of your website, think about the features you want and the needs of your users. It’s important to consider both these items so that you can integrate or build the best feature or tool possible.
Property Website Structure
The structure of your website can also be called your sitemap. It’s an outline of the pages on your website, usually written as a hierarchy.
You can see the structure of a small website in the navigation, usually found at the top of the website.
This website includes the following pages: Home, Local Area, Sunrise Lake, Sunset Lake, Contact Us. This is a basic website structure.
- HOME
- Local Area
- Sunrise Lake
- Sunset Lake
- Contact Us
This is a small website with a simple structure, as you can see above. Were you to build a larger website, the structure would expand.
- HOME
- Properties
- Includes a custom filter system
- Individual property websites
- Locations
- Adrian
- Tecumseh
- Saline
- Ann Arbor
- Toledo
- Latest News (blog)
- About Us
- Careers
- Contact Us
The website above has a larger structure. It includes top-level pages and sub-pages. This is a mid-sized website structure, but can be easily expanded or evolved to include many more pages.
Build a Website Skeleton
You’ve figured out your website strategy, scope, and structure. Now it’s time to build your skeleton.
Your website skeleton is a blueprint of your website. At Artonic, we call it a wireframe or prototype. We build wireframes for lots of reasons, but mainly to save time and improve communication.
We save time by making major edits in the wireframe, before the website is designed or developed. Communication is better, because everyone involved in the project can view, use, and comment on the wireframe. This helps us to make edits efficiently and ensure quality control.
Let’s Design Your Website’s Surface
The surface of your website is referred to as its graphic design. This is the thing you see. The website surface is the top layer of your website, built on the foundation we just constructed: strategy, scope, structure, and skeleton.
Must Have: Property Photography
To create a stunning website, you need custom photography. For one of our most recent projects, we were onsite several times, in different seasons, to capture images of the property.
The photography was used on the website and in digital and print marketing and advertising, The photos were featured in print magazines, on social media, and in digital advertisements. Needless to say, the images played a major role in selling this website.
Must Have: Property Videos
Videos are excellent for property websites. People love to watch videos, especially when they’re entertaining and easy to understand. When selling property, consider investing in video to boost engagement.
Artonic employs a videographer who uses multiple cameras, including a drone, to shoot videos.
Your Custom Property Website Design
If you’re creating a website, it’s important to get all the details right. Need help? That’s why Artonic is here – to support your goals and make your website a success.
Each website we build is completely custom. We do not use templates. (Find out why a custom website design matters). Every piece of your website is created specifically for YOU – your goals, your audience, your strategy, and your brand.
Find out what it’s like to work with an agency to create the website of your dreams: View videos and read case studies about stories from our clients.
Say Hello!
Give Artonic a call or email us if you’re interested in website design, development, or marketing.
Michigan, USA