What Makes a Good User Experience on a Real Estate Website?

A good user experience on a real estate website is crucial for converting visitors into clients. Today’s tech-savvy buyers and sellers can tell, almost immediately, if a website will provide what they are looking for, and they will not waste time on one that will not provide the experience they expect.

A positive user experience can help establish trust with potential clients, differentiate one real estate agent from another, improve engagement and lead generation, and establish long-term relationships with clients. But what makes a good user experience on a real estate website? Here are some key elements to consider:

In today’s digital world, a good user experience, first and foremost, requires a responsive design. With more and more people accessing the internet on mobile devices, it is essential for real estate websites to be optimized for smartphones and tablets. Websites should be responsive, meaning they adjust to the screen size of the device being used, and load quickly to avoid frustration for visitors. Even more, your real estate website system should provide the same functionality across all platforms. Having buyer or seller tools that are difficult to use on a mobile device will cost you when it comes to both lead generation and conversion, as the majority of your website visitors will undoubtedly be accessing your site via their phone or tablet.

Once you capture a lead on your mobile-responsive site, the next level of a good user experience starts with having a well-designed website that is easy to navigate. Visitors should be able to quickly and easily find the information they are looking for, whether it's property listings, market data, or contact information. Navigation menus should be clearly labeled and easy to use, and search functionality should be intuitive and efficient. You also want a website that is professional and visually appealing. This means using high-quality images and videos that showcase properties in the best possible light, and using a color scheme and font that is easy to read and consistent throughout the website.

One of the most important aspects of ensuring a good user experience is all about the level of value that you are providing to your website visitors. Your website should be chock full of useful and informative content, in addition to buyer and seller tools. This can include informative blog posts, market reports, neighborhood guides, home valuation tools, and more. Visitors should be able to find the information they need to make informed decisions about buying or selling real estate while coming to rely on you, as the agent, and your market expertise. This is essential to enhance your lead conversion potential.

A commonly overlooked, but incredibly vital, aspect of user experience is the importance of persuasive navigation and consistent calls to action. Funneling each lead to easy and convenient ways to contact you, combined with a layered registration approach, will lead each website visitor to the next step - continue their real estate journey with you as their buyer or seller agent - and will culminate with more lead conversion for you.

When it comes to lead generation and conversion and how it relates to a good user experience, one of the fundamental requirements comes back to relevancy. Whatever your marketing strategy, you want each unique website visitor to land, first, on the page on your site that will be the most relevant to them. This means employing landing page technology so that you have thousands of niche-landing pages organized with a hyper-local focus. When a buyer or seller searches for a specific keyword, for example “homes for sale with a pool in South Miami,” you want the first page on which they land to display these listings. This is not only important for organic traffic, but also for your paid marketing efforts. You do not want to waste money on a click, only for the visitor to leave immediately because the search result does not display what they are looking for.

If you want to increase your conversion rates, you need to focus on the user experience of your website system. By investing in key elements, real estate agents can create a website that provides a positive user experience and establishes trust with potential clients, ultimately leading to more business and success in the competitive real estate industry. Read more on why user experience is so important for a real estate website.

Realty Net Media has put user experience at the forefront of every design and feature in the development of our innovative real estate web platforms. Contact us to learn more about how our systems can help you grow your business.