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Having a strong online presence is crucial for real estate professionals who want to expand their client base and reach more potential buyers. 96% of all buyers used the internet during their home search process, and 51% found the home they ultimately purchased online, according to the National Association of Realtors' 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. For real estate professionals, this means that a well-designed website is essential to showcase your listings, build trust with potential clients, and streamline your business operations.
How can you make sure to check all your boxes for potential buyers and sellers? Here’s what you need to know.
1. Define your digital identity
Your journey begins with choosing a domain name, which is your online business identity. A domain is the custom URL people use to find your website, like squarespace.com
Opt for something easy to remember and relevant to your real estate business, like your agency name, your name, the areas you represent, or some combination of those. Real estate-related keywords can make it easier for users to find you through their searches too.
You may be able to search and register a domain directly with your website building platform. Squarespace offers this option, plus a free custom domain for the first year with an annual plan.
2. Build and customize your website
Your website design is one of the biggest pieces of your digital identity. Choose a website builder that makes it easy to create a professional site with all the features you need. For example, on Squarespace, you can choose a pre-designed template made with a real estate business in mind or follow simple prompts to generate a custom starting point.
Once you’ve chosen how you want to start, focus on making design choices that reflect your brand. Consider the impression you want to leave on clients—your website should reflect that feeling. For example, if you want people to feel you’re trustworthy and warm, an open, lighter color palette is better than a moody one, and a simple, legible font is preferable to a script font.
From there, you can turn to the details and content that make up the rest of your web pages.
3. Highlight your properties
Showcasing your properties effectively is one of the core functions of your real estate website. Think of this like a portfolio—you can show off properties in a gallery or go more in-depth with blog posts for certain homes.
Start with the features and images that help a property shine and allow them to guide you toward the right website design to show them off. Use galleries to display multiple high-quality images of each property, and take advantage of videos to embed virtual tours or property walkthroughs. Consider incorporating 360° photography, drone footage, and interactive floor plans to give potential buyers a comprehensive view of the properties.
Make sure to think about how your clients may be using your site, knowing that they often search for properties on the go, meaning mobile optimization is key. Website builders like Squarespace automatically create mobile friendly versions of your site, but do your own testing to ensure your design is reflected correctly to all devices and audiences.
Learn more about optimizing a website for mobile visitors
4. Add key website pages and features
You’ll want to include key features and pages on your site so it’s easy to navigate and visually appealing. Showcasing your properties is important, but be sure to include pages and tools that make it easy for your clients to take action based on what they see.
Beyond easy-to-navigate listings, consider adding:
Call-to-action (CTA) buttons: Place these strategically on your site to make it seamless for visitors to reach out to you, set up a showing, or list their property with you. Many people place CTAs in header or footer navigation or in listing descriptions.
About page: Buying, selling, or renting a home is a big commitment, and a personal one. Whether you work solo or with a team, including details about the people behind the business and their experience helps build trust and relationships.
FAQs: Covering some frequently asked questions not only helps potential clients feel more confident working with you, it also saves you time by cutting down on answering common questions individually.
Contact page: A page with a simple contact form can help you keep track of potential clients. With a customizable form, you can also collect details upfront about someone’s search or property, so you can offer them more personalized service when you meet.
Scheduling information: This can live on your contact page or on its own. Use a booking tool to give potential clients an opportunity to schedule an initial conversation when it’s convenient for them.
Resources: Link out to your other online channels, like social media accounts, or create a page to host customer resources like blogs and buyer/seller information.
5. Stay connected
Providing information on navigating real estate can establish trust with potential clients and enhance your professional reputation. This has an additional benefit of opening regular communication between you and current, past, and potential clients. Staying top-of-mind for them makes it more likely that they’ll refer others to you or work with you.
Consider including a blog to share local market insights, providing potential buyers and sellers with valuable information about trends in your area. Create posts that offer home buying or selling tips, positioning yourself as a knowledgeable guide in the real estate process. You can also showcase neighborhood profiles to give potential buyers a feel for different areas in your market. Or offer downloadable resources like home buying guides, which can serve as lead magnets—ways to collect contact details of potential clients—while providing value to your audience.
You can also expand on these resources by adding a newsletter sign-up on your website. Use the newsletter to summarize your blog posts and other news so people can stay connected with you even without visiting your site.
Finally, if it feels like a natural addition, establish a social media presence, and link those pages in your navigation and website footer so users can find and follow you. Visual platforms are a great way to show off your latest listings or share advice.
6. Optimize for search engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) is extremely important for helping users find you in their real estate searches. Search engines consider how relevant the site content is to a specific search term when ranking pages, so consider how a client might search to find you and try to make your website copy relevant to that.
Make use of SEO title and description fields for each page and listing, incorporating relevant keywords and location information. Create unique, keyword-rich descriptions for each property listing to improve its chances of appearing in specific property searches, like terms around location, amenities, size, or type of home. Consider creating dedicated pages for different neighborhoods you serve, which can help you rank for location-specific searches.
You can also use image alt text fields to describe your images, which not only helps with SEO but also improves accessibility for users who use screen readers.
7. Continue to market and improve your site
Creating your website is just the beginning of your online real estate journey. To maximize its effectiveness, commit to continuous improvement and active marketing.
Regularly update your content, keeping your listings, blog, and market information current and relevant. Take a deep dive into your website analytics at least twice a year to see what pages are most popular or where people are finding your website. This will help you develop a sense of the platforms or types of listings that are most successful so you can double down on them.
And don’t forget the value of word-of-mouth feedback. Your clients are a great resource for details on what’s important to them in a home search or sale, or in a real estate agent. Make sure to ask them for a testimonial to feature on your website, and ask them to refer you to friends and family to continue growing your customer base.
Real estate website examples
Squarespace has a number of great templates that offer prominent space for property listings, areas for agent profiles and testimonials, and high-quality image galleries. Each of these templates provides a solid foundation for showcasing properties and real estate services. Plus, they can be customized to better fit your specific needs, ensuring your website truly reflects your brand. Here are two favorites to get you started.
Cailles
This template design has a real estate team in mind, but can be customized for one person too. The full-screen homepage image sets the tone for the type of properties you represent and includes space for featured listings and a newsletter sign-up.
Hidano
The Hidano website template is designed with a single property in mind. This is especially helpful if you represent individual buildings, or have a particularly exciting project to feature. It offers clear navigation to highlight the location, availabilities, and features. If you like the design, it can be easily updated to feature multiple listings, neighborhoods, and teams.