Why are the characteristics of a real estate portal important? Your website is often the letter of introduction to a potential customer. It is vitally important that the first impression is captivating. The goal of a real estate developer’s website is to embody the quality of the architecture and provide valuable content.
The portal should accurately reflect your company’s values and mission, as well as the style and type of projects you are known for. You have to make potential customers feel that they have just come to the right place. Here are five features your architecture website needs to be successful:
5 Characteristics of a real estate portal
1- Quality Photographs
More important than getting your logo right, it is also important to make sure you have excellent images of your projects.
The images will serve as a portfolio. Potential clients look for these images to see if it will be the right property for them. It is critical that images are designed to stand out and look stunning.
- Your design should incorporate images as the focal point of all your pages. If you use a template, look for one that focuses on photographers’ and artists’ designs – they make clever use of photo galleries and backgrounds.
- Keep the fonts and formatting simple and the background white. Let your images speak for themselves.
- Use high resolution images. If you need to hire a professional photographer to come back and take pictures of your best developments, then it will be the best investment you can make for your website.
- Add a watermark but don’t make it too big and include the name and URL of your website. This way, someone will know where the photo came from.
- Only use your best work. It sounds obvious, but many developers put in unimportant projects. Remember that it is better to have a selection of the best developments than several mediocre designs.
2- An “About Us” page
The “About Us” page is usually the second or third page on your website that a reader will visit. This site gives you the opportunity to express your personality and tell your story.
How to create an impressive About Us page? Here are some tips:
- Add images of yourself and your team for credibility and trust. This will let you know that you will be dealing with people. Especially if you are a small developer, your advantage will be “human warmth”, take advantage of that.
- Talk about achievements. You probably won’t like to brag, but the About Us page is not the place to be shy. If they have won awards, been published in prestigious publications or achieved another milestone, then talk about it.
- Be nice: don’t ramble on about your company’s history in a boring “corporate” tone. He writes in a lively tone that is easy to read and relate to.
- Answer the client’s questions: If you were a client looking for a real estate development. What questions would you have? I would like to know that the real estate development is qualified. The “About Us” page should answer all of these questions.
3- A Useful Web Site
Usability is not just a buzzword, it is the essential part of your website design. In the digital age, prospects have the opening to a wealth of information available to them. A website that is not user-friendly will quickly discourage prospects. Here are some tips to improve the user experience:
Create a responsive site. “Responsive” means that your site will change shape and dimension to make it easy to view on any smartphone or tablet. As more than 80% of smartphone users now use their devices to browse the Internet, having a responsive site is a critical factor in capturing your target audience.
Use a light background. A white background with black text is the easiest way to read. Using black backgrounds with light text makes reading difficult.
Keep the design minimalist. Minimalist design is all the rage right now. Use shapes, fonts and simple design and let the images be the focal point.
Creates descriptive tags. You may know that images are essential, but did you know that alt tags help people with low vision and reading difficulties discern what is in their images? Alt tags also help search engines help people find your images. A very important part of usability is the use of alt tags. Describe what is happening in the image in a way that creates a perspective for someone who cannot see, as well as using keywords that Google users might employ. A copywriter or SEO expert can help with this task.
Avoid Flash. A few years ago it was a very powerful tool but today it presents many usability problems, it is practically obsolete.
4- Educational Content
One very powerful thing you can do on your website to help prospects make decisions is to provide relevant and educational content that addresses issues and challenges for prospects. This content can include videos, articles, downloadables, e-books, infographics and more. The most important thing is to provide useful information to potential customers.
Why should you provide information for free? Search engines love content and providing educational content builds trust with your audience and demonstrates your company’s expertise. Here are some ideas for content that you could include on your website:
- A list of resources for local projects.
- A guide to what they might expect in the construction process.
- An infographic describing the different types of credits.
- A series of design tips for specific areas such as: “10 tips to design an excellent kitchen” or “5 aspects to consider when designing in free spaces.” Tips may vary depending on the type of experience and objective you have.
- A downloadable spreadsheet for quotes to furnish your property.
- And many other things.
Resources may vary according to your needs and experience, but it will always be important to provide free content of value to potential customers.
5- Contact Details
You’d be surprised how often companies forget to add their contact details to their website, or bury them so deep in text and images that they are impossible to find.
Give different contact options: Different customers like to be reached in different ways, so it is advisable to give options – a phone number, mobile number, email address, and even social media pages.
Include your company’s address. If you do not have an office or do not wish to include your address for privacy reasons, add a note about the area in which they are located.
Of course, there are many other elements you can use to create a unique website, including video, social networking, a blog and detailed lists of services. But it is vital to have the basics first. Whether you’re using a cheap template or a fully customized interface, with these five features in place you’ll ensure that you’re ready to receive visitors and get leads to your website.
By Alfredo Obregón
