There’s no doubt that brand image is an incredibly important element in real estate.

From the agency, to the agent, and all the way down to the listing and the way a home is presented, a first impression is incredibly important in trying to convey what you, your business or your listing are trying to say.

As we know, you only get one chance to make a first impression and for many people the first introduction to an agency is often through the company website. It’s for this reason that you need to have a professional website that is both practical and conveys your company’s image in the right way.

Brand Building

The first time someone visits your website, it should immediately show the client who you are, along with your values, what you do, and who you serve.

If your target market is high-end luxury real estate, your website is going to need to convey that to the viewer through sophisticated, modern font and colouring choices on your website. Similarly, if you are operating in a working-class area or looking to sell commercial real estate, you’re going to be focusing on a website that promotes your individual brand in your own way that resonates with your target market.

Your site should clearly show your company logo and the colour schemes should be representative of that brand as well. Clear, quality design helps establish trust and credibility which are both critical elements within the real estate industry.

Functional

After you’ve established the visual elements that you need in your website to build your brand and establish trust, the next equally important element is functionality.

It’s no surprise that most people will simply leave a website if they find it too hard to navigate and can’t easily source the information they were initially looking for. Not only do you risk losing potential leads for your own business, but you increase the likelihood that they leave your site to go to a competitor.

If your goal is to attract people to your site and build leads, you need to have all the elements working together effectively. For these elements to work cohesively, it’s essential that your website is up to date with new and relevant information for consumers. This might include recent listings, current events within the real estate industry, as well as accurate and up to date contact information.

An important element of functionality that many websites overlook is their mobile capabilities. In the current market where many real estate agents are on-the-go, it is absolutely essential that your website is not only mobile compatible, but mobile optimised, to ensure that your customers are getting the best possible experience. This includes quick loading time, images and text formatted correctly to maintain brand synergy, and ensuring all calls to actions and buttons are clickable.

Should the site be outdated, or not mobile-friendly, it’s likely that not only are you losing credibility, but you’re also losing leads and views on your listings which hurt both the vendor and the agents.

Functionality is a key part of your website and should be considered the same way as the visual design, as website with little to no functionality is essentially rendered useless.

Content

Having relevant, informative and easy to read content is an important part of the first impression you’ll make with your viewers.

While it’s easy to focus on the visual elements such as beautiful real estate photography, you also need to be very clear with your content and all the messaging that you’re using.

Content should be informative, and used to help generate leads as well as other benefits such as practical considerations including SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Great content will not only help your website gain traction, but it will also solidify your position in the field as an expert, and improve your reputation through providing an extra benefit to your audience.

Your site should have a clear “About Us” section and also have details about each of the agents and property managers along with other key staff, be sure to keep this updated as staff changes occur.

It’s also important to include other things such as testimonials, which can give an immediate positive impression and start building trust and credibility right away.

Making that strong first impression is critical in an industry where image plays such an integral role. By taking care of these three important elements of your website, you’ll be well on your way to making a great first impression.