The 16 Elements of a Highly Effective Real Estate Website

Of the people that go to your website, 95 percent of them are there to find out more about your business or services. In other words, virtually every visit to your website is an opportunity for you to close a new client… or lose one. Eek!

I know, I know. You’re crazy busy and your website isn’t priority numero uno at the moment. Still. If you take 15 minutes to go through this checklist and determine to fix whatever elements are lacking, you will have a healthier, more productive business when you’re done. You can handle them on your own schedule, even. But believe me: you’re losing cash-money every day you procrastinate!

Here Are The 16 Elements Your Site MUST Have:

Below I outline the 16 things you really need in your website. Without the following, you run the risk of not standing out or being the best.

1. Company Name and Logo

Make sure you have your logo in the TOP LEFT corner of the page. Users remember a logo in this location 58.4 percent more than when it is in another area, according to this useful infographic from Crazy Egg and Single Grain.

2. Call to Action

In the TOP RIGHT, you need to tell people exactly what their next step is. Maybe it’s “Call to Sell Your House NOW,” or “See Available Homes Now.” Whatever it is, make sure it’s clear and easy to find.

3. Simple, Clear Navigation

There are two main objectives for your site’s navigation:

To give visitors a clear, easy way to find any page of your website, and
To steer visitors towards the pages you want them to visit.

Any page that doesn’t help you convert a prospect into a customer isn’t important enough to be on the main navigation bar.

4. A Clear, Bold Headline

A study from the The Poynter Institute showed that “dominant headlines most often draw the eye first upon entering the page.”

The first thing visitors see on your website should be your crystal clear headline that tells them exactly what they can get from your website. Don’t get cutesy. Clarity is more important than cleverness. This is your big first impression.

5. A Graphic that Supports the Message

The main graphic on the page needs to not only match the general idea of real estate or homes but actually reinforce the headline. In other words, don’t just show a house. Show a house with a sold sign while the seller is still on the phone with you.

6. Color that Pops in the Right Places

Color matters because it helps you direct the “eye-path” of the visitor. Make sure the most important areas draw the eye first.

7. Subheads that Lead into Text

Anytime you have a bundle of text with no headline or sub-headline, people won’t read it. Generally, people skim websites. If you have no big bold way for them to discern what the text is about, they will assume it is not important and move on.

8. Benefits, Benefits, Benefits

Sell your benefits, not your features. A benefit is what a prospects gets. A feature is what you sell. Make sense? Think from the prospect’s viewpoint. They don’t care that you have a proprietary home-flipping system. They DO care that you can make them money. See the difference?

9. Your Offer

Your offer should be something specific that gets them to fill out a form or call in. FREE information pack, guaranteed buyer, complete listings, etc. You can’t reach your lead generating potential without a good offer.

10. Contact Forms

80% of sales are made on the 5^th to 12^th contact. That’s why it’s so important to collect contact info. Forms are the best way to do that on a website. You want a form on every lead generating page of your site.

11. Specific Button Copy

This is a small-but-important change. Never have a button that just says “submit” or “click here.” Instead reinforce the value of clicking the link. Say something like, “Get My FREE Info Pack NOW!” It makes a difference.

12. Reassurance Items

You need elements on your site that will reassure visitors that you are a real business with friendly staff and a good reputation. This includes elements like:

About Us Page
Office Location Information
Ratings/Reviews from Real Customers
Links to Your Social Media Pages
Security Badges (for secure forms)
Icons for Your Awards, Memberships, and Certifications
Guarantees

13. Buttons that Work

CHECK ALL LINKS ON YOUR SITE. If they don’t work, you look bad and frustrate your prospect. Not good.

14. Ways for People to Find It

I don’t have time to get into here, but your site must be optimized for search engines. If Google doesn’t know what your site is about, they won’t rank it highly. IF they don’t rank you highly, no one will ever find your site without entering the address directly (or you paying to send them there).

15. A Clear Path

This goes back to eye-path. Figure out the exact process you want your ideal prospect to take on your site, and then design it so the website funnels them in that direction. Visitors will spend 69 percent of their time looking at the left half of a Web page. Knowledge is power. Be intentional about where you are sending people.

16. Ongoing Improvement

No matter how amazing your website is, it can ALWAYS be better. To see how your site’s performing, get Google Analytics. Then keep your eye on your metrics to see what areas need improvement.

A lot of the above should be pretty self-explanatory and easy to fix, but some are harder than others. If you need any help implementing these elements, you can always speak to one of my consultants for FREE.

Just tell them you read the website design article on BIGGERPOCKETS!

Be sure to leave your comments below!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.