Did you know that more than 38% of users will leave a website if they find the layout unattractive? This means that having your property web design look as good as it can is a must if you want to get new tenants.
A poorly designed property website frustrates visitors for several reasons. The main, and by far the most important one, is that badly designed websites will waste their time. Visitors want to find exactly what they are looking for as fast as they can.
They don’t want to jump through hoops to find a potential property, nor do they have to. The reality is that if your website makes it hard for visitors to find what they are looking for, then they’ll find an alternative.
That’s why focusing on your website design is not optional anymore; it’s necessary if you want to grow and get the conversions you’re looking for.
This article will help you improve your property website design by providing you with 18 actionable tips that you can start working on this week.
Are you trying to build a new property website but don’t know where to start? Let us help.
Our Top 18 Property Website Design Tips
This list is in no particular order. Every single property website design tip listed should be considered and used as soon as possible.
1. User Experience is a Priority
Usability is by far the most important part of any website. Your property website can look amazing, but if it’s annoying to go through, then it won’t matter at all. Navigation should be easy to understand and logical.
Remember, you know your website because you built it, but someone who just opened your website for the first time won’t know a single thing about it.
Use clear menus, focus on making icons recognizable, and avoid clutter as much as possible. Make sure to add important features such as a property search bar and contact forms as high up as possible.
By prioritizing ease of use, you make your website a go-to for potential renters or buyers looking for the perfect place for them.
2. Mobile-Friendly Design
We shouldn’t even question having a mobile-friendly design at this point. More than 60% of the global traffic is from mobile devices, and it continues to go up year after year.
Making it as easy as possible for visitors to use your website and schedule a property visit isn’t just for desktop users. Mobile users should also have an easy time going through your website.
Responsive property website designs should adapt to any screen size without compromising readability or usability. Designers should make buttons large enough for users to tap without issues, scale images accordingly, and ensure that written content looks well-presented on mobile.
Just as it is for desktop users, a bad and unresponsive property website will drive mobile users away and make them go elsewhere.
3. Strong Security Features
Property websites are always handling sensitive information such as payment data, rental information, and personal details.
To reassure visitors, your scaling property website should showcase what type of security it uses.
There are a lot of cybersecurity threats online that every property website should be aware of.
Your property website should always have HTTPS; for starters, secure application forms are a must, and verified payment gateways are no-brainers.
Whenever you add security features to your website, make sure to display their security seals in important sections of your property website. Trust will always be a competitive advantage, and a high-level of security demonstrates that you care.
4. Simple Online Applications and Forms
For a lot of visitors, their first interaction with your property website past your homepage is with a form they have to fill out with their information.
Most property websites out there make their online application forms unnecessarily complicated, and in turn, potential clients leave out of sheer frustration. Simplify this process with a step-by-step application form instead.
Auto-fill features are also a nice addition and can help visitors complete a form almost instantly.
The easier you make it for visitors to complete application forms and inquiries, the more likely they are to stay around.
5. Convenient Payment Options
Nowadays, a lot of property websites have integrated rent payment on their websites to make it as simple as possible to pay rent. This feature is fantastic since it can highlight due dates and provide confirmation via notifications so that they know their payment went through.
But adding this feature isn’t the only thing you should focus on.
Having several popular payment options is also very important.
Remember that your goal is to make it as easy as possible for visitors and renters to pay. By adding all of the popular payment options, you make it as easy as possible for anyone to pay on time.
6. Easy-to-Access Documents
Whether it’s a lease, welcome pack, or an owner’s financial summary, oftentimes documents get lost, especially in emails.
By adding a download feature to your website, you can ensure that any owner or tenant can find the documents they need at any time.
While this might not seem like a big deal when it comes to conversions and getting more clients, it’s a feature that will improve clients’ trust in your website as a whole.
Let them organize their own files within categories or simply make them easy to search. By creating an easy way to search for documents, you greatly reduce the frustration users often feel when trying to find the document they need.
Explore how we increased Tradewind Markets’ demo requests by 140% with a website redesign in our recent case study.
7. Clear Communication Channels
Your property website shouldn’t stop at static information. Built-in communication tools such as chatbots, inquiry forms, and even live messaging can help you convert that much more.
Creating a page where you can provide monthly or weekly reports and updates about the website and properties listed can also help tenants and owners stay informed about everything that is happening.
The more communication you have, the easier it will be to avoid big conflicts or issues in the future.
8. Personalized Homepages
Both tenants and owners should have completely different homepages with different tools and navigation.
Why?
Because tenants and owners should be using your property website for completely different reasons.
Why add more links and pages to a tenant’s homepage that they won’t ever use? The same goes for owners; why would they need tenant tools and links that they won’t ever click?
Tenants want to see available listings, amenities, rental processes, and links that take them to both payment and maintenance.
Owners, on the other hand, would prefer seeing property performance, management services, and proof of professionalism.
Creating two different homepages ensures that each visitor sees exactly what they need to, without issues.
9. Modern and Clean Design
Having a modern property website design is vital if you want to improve your credibility. Nothing screams “we don’t care” more than an outdated and bad-looking website.
Use modern typography that is easy to read and understand, high-quality images that represent your business, and make sure your branding is consistent.
A minimalist website is a perfect way to declutter and remove content that only serves to distract visitors. When reviewing if your website has too much clutter, go through every section and ask yourself, “if this section wasn’t here, would it matter?” If the answer is no, then you can cut it.
10. Multilingual Capabilities
Exceptional property websites understand the importance of having their websites in other languages. Multilingual website features are becoming the norm with important property websites because they simplify the way visitors interact with them.
Having your website in English, Spanish, and another language that is prominent in your area is a fantastic way to invite even more visitors to your site.
Even if you don’t translate the whole website tomorrow, having the important sections of your website, such as forms, payments, and FAQs, translated gives you an advantage over other property websites.
11. Owner-Focused Financial Tools
While tenants only have to focus on paying on time, owners want as much financial transparency as possible. Your property website should have dashboards and downloadable reports that include several key points:
- Rent roll summaries.
- Expense breakdowns.
- ROI and performance analytics.
Data visualization makes it a lot easier for owners to understand how everything is going and lets them know they are managing their investments correctly.
12. Accessibility is a Priority
Your property website should be inclusive no matter what. Having an ADA-compliant site lets users with disabilities use your site with little to no limitations.
ADA-compliant websites should include:
- Screen reader compatibility.
- Keyboard navigation.
- High-contrast color schemes.
- Alt text for images.
Not only will you open the doors to anyone who wants to use your website, but it also protects your company from any accessibility-related legal risks.
13. Website Speed is Vital
Slow-loading websites instantly create frustration and make visitors leave. If a visitor can’t view listings quickly or if owners can’t access reports fast, then they will most likely leave and find an alternative.
Fortunately, there are several ways to improve load speed without having to completely redesign your website from scratch.
Compressing images is by far one of the biggest changes you can make to your website. Having full-quality 4K images on your website will only slow your pages down. Instead, compress using a WebP format to lose as little quality as possible.
Hosting on a reliable server also ensures consistent performance regardless of the time of day or traffic going to your website.
A fast-loading website not only helps visitors, but it also affects your Google ranking directly. So make sure that your website is optimized for speed if you want to improve your organic traffic as well.
Learn how we increased HPI Real Estates’ MQLs by 180% with a website redesign in our latest case study.
14. Smart Notifications
Your property website should act as a notification hub of sorts for both tenants and owners. You can display and send notifications for rent due dates, inspections, lease renewals, and community events.
You can use layered notifications so that your property website is always reminding users, whether via pop-ups, banners, or even email reminders.
15. Good Brand Identity
Your property website should have a solid brand identity put together. Having a consistent logo, typography, imagery, and colors that match your brand is necessary if you want your website to look professional.
Having no brand identity shows visitors that you lack professionalism and that you are brand-new to this industry.
16. AI and Automation Tools
AI is completely changing how users interact with property websites. AI-powered search bars can now help tenants find the perfect place for them with fewer clicks. Chatbots can answer most of the questions you would have to answer manually without having to take any breaks.
Automation can also streamline a lot of the routine processes that slowly add up and take a long time. Such as confirmation emails for applications, scheduling tours, or financial summaries for owners.
AI tools are perfect for websites that want to simplify their approach and save time.
17. Simplify Login and Authentication
While security is important, logging into an account shouldn’t be an ordeal. A streamlined and easy-to-follow logging system encourages users to come back more often.
When it comes to logging in, there are several options like single sign-on (SSO), biometric logins (fingerprint and face recognition), and social media logins. These all simplify a login while still keeping the user’s security in check.
18. Continuously Improve
Your property website should never be “finished.” You should always try to find ways to improve features and make it an overall better experience for both tenants and owners.
Make sure to regularly send feedback forms and satisfaction surveys. This way, you can understand what is missing and what your website should improve.
Review your analytics to find out what pages are working and what pages have high bounce rates. Make sure to consistently A/B test different ideas so you can keep optimizing your website.
Having a property website isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon.
Get a Custom Property Website That Converts With Blacksmith
We just went through 18 of the best and most influential property website design tips we have seen so far. All of these tips should be implemented and worked on as soon as possible if you want to grow your property website.
That being said, applying most, if not all, of these property website design strategies will take a lot of time and effort. This is time that you could use to work on other aspects of your business.
So what now?
That’s where we come in. Blacksmith is a professional web design agency with a team of experienced web designers ready to create the perfect property website for your tenants and owners. We will integrate all of the features discussed in this article, plus others that will let you stand out from your competitors.
Still unsure if investing in a new custom property website is the right choice for your business?
Don’t worry, click here to schedule a call with us and we’ll show you where you are losing potential clients and what we can do to help you.
