Real Estate Web Design - An Agent's Guide

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by Brandon Cornett

In all the time I've been teaching and writing about real estate marketing, one topic comes up consistently -- real estate web design. So in this tutorial, I'll share with you everything I know about successful real estate website design.

What is Real Estate Web Design?

In reality, real estate website design is not much different than any other kind of web design. All of the basic principles of marketing and usability apply. The only thing that's unique about a real estate website is the audience (home buyers or sellers) and the objective (client acquisition). Aside from that, a real estate website benefits from all of the best practices of Web Design 101.

Do I Need a Real Estate Web Designer?

In my opinion, any qualified web designer can build a real estate website. Despite this, some designers would have you believe that real estate web design is some kind of specialized science. Real estate web design is simply website design applied in an industry-specific way.

Now don't get me wrong. There are certainly some advantages to hiring a web designer familiar with real estate websites. For one thing, they'll be familiar with real estate-specific applications and "add-ons" like IDX. I'm just saying you should choose a web designer based on several criteria, not just because they're familiar with the real estate industry.

Bottom line -- It would be better to hire a top-notch web designer with no real estate expertise than a lackluster designer with real estate smarts.

Fundamentals of Real Estate Web Design

When choosing a web designer for your real estate website, keep the following fundamentals of good design in mind:

1. Visual appeal - Even though design is largely subjective, most people can agree on which websites look nice and those that don't. Visual appeal (or the lack of it) has both a conscious and subconscious effect on your website visitors. Whether they realize it or not, their first impressions of your website are transferred to you. Real estate web designs should be clean and well-organized to suggest the same thing about the agent behind the site.

2. Usability - Website usability refers to the level of ease with which visitors can move around the site and find what they need. When usability is high, your visitors will move easily through your site and be more likely to find what you want them to find, or to respond in the way you desire. When usability is low, people will leave your website in frustration. Real estate web design and usability are inseperable elements.

3. Manageability - Do you plan to add content to your website after it's built? Will you need a page where you can update listing information? What about a blog, do you want to integrate a real estate blog within your website? These are all aspects of website manageability, and they need to be answered before you choose a real estate web designer.

4. Visibility - Website visibility refers to ease with which people can find your website through major search engines by entering relevant search phrases. For instance, if you're a real estate agent in San Diego, you obviously want to be visible for the phrase "San Diego real estate agent." Most web designers only have a partial understanding of search engine optimization (SEO), but they should at least know to avoid certain design techniques which can actually harm your search engine visibility.

Questions About Real Estate Web Design?

If you'd like to learn more on this subject, or if you need help finding a web designer, feel free to contact me.

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