Are real estate websites a one-time investment?

Many business-owners believe that the first website they invest in will stand the test of time, and that is simply not how it works. It has been said that a website can become almost obsolete after approximately three years.



When was the last time you updated your website?

Think about your top website from three years ago - does it still look the same? Chances are that unless they have undergone changes and updates, it is no longer the website it once was.

The reasoning behind website updates should be obvious, however so many real estate agents and agencies continue to hang on to outdated sites. As technological innovations dictate trends, websites have to evolve to keep up with users’ demands.

Things such as SEO is a continuous evolution and minor tweaks to searchability are always at the forefront of our development work, this is to ensure that minor tweaks do not become major redesigns.



However, things like interface design may simply become outdated over time. For instance, a real estate agency which built its site in 2012 may not have felt the need to prioritize responsive viewing on mobile. However, 2015 saw mobile traffic taking over and now in 2017, with the imminent mobile first indexing from Google, a site that is not responsive will not only be outdated it will hurt your business.

Signs It’s Time for a Redesign

While 3 years is not a hard rule, a check-up every now and again will ensure that your site is always in great shape. When reviewing your site, there will be a few red flags that will indicate an overhaul is necessary:

  • You’re not getting leads. If you are not getting leads, there are a few ways to determine where the problem lies. Is your content fresh and updated on a regular basis? Do you have updated and correct contact information? Or is it a more technical issue? Remember the easier you make it to find you on Google the better your site will be able to generate leads.
  • You are sticking out like a sore thumb. While visibility is always good, there is also standing out for the wrong reasons. Take a look at some of your favourite websites and assess why you like them. Is it the sleek, uncluttered look or the clear branding? If your site doesn’t give you the same “WOW” feeling then it is time for a redesign. 
  • The page is slow or difficult to navigate. If the page takes more than a few seconds to load on various devices, it won’t be an effective tool for garnering new business. Likewise, if visitors are unable to follow a logical path through the site to find the information they need, it’s time to rethink your design. Both of these aspects determine user experience, the most important component in a website’s success.

Crafting a site that can stand the test of time requires an ongoing partnership with a web development company that understands your unique needs as a real estate agent. At Entegral Technologies, our team of digital experts is ready to build you a professionally crafted and beautiful responsive site and work closely with you to ensure it stays ahead of the competition. Contact us today for a quote on your own Flex responsive site and office management system.

Popular posts from this blog

Easily link Base with external CRM systems

Image
What is the Base Zapier integration? The Entegral Base system was recently improved with a native Zapier app integration . This allows estate agents to exchange data and create automated workflows with over 2000+ popular apps, including all the leading CRM specific apps.  Why even link a CRM system? Although Base has contact management, contact categories, automatic lead import, and other great CRM features , users sometimes require very specific CRM functions that we don't (yet) cater to. With our Zapier integration , we allow agents to link any popular app with Base. Once linked with your app, you can for instance automatically synchronise your contacts from Base to the external app or vice versa.  The added benefit is that you can create automated workflows and link more apps (e.g. insert contact details into a Mailchimp drip email campaign  and ZOHO CRM at the same time). This makes the Zapier fee irreverent compared to the derived benefits.  Automated portal l...
Read more

Property24 acquires Private Property, what do estate agents think?

Image
Property24.com, South Africa’s largest property portal owned by Naspers, has bought rival Private Property . The deal is likely to come under the close scrutiny of competition authorities as it involves the two biggest property portals in the country. Due to the impact of such an acquisition on the industry, Entegral was interested to find out what the perceived advantages and disadvantages of such a deal would be, both through the eyes of the consumer and the estate agent.   Here are the results from around 250 responses received on a survey done over a 2 day period , mostly from agents and agency owners. While the survey presents a small portion of the market (a ccording to the EAAB's latest annual report there are 19,424 registered agents and agency owners, excluding intern estate agents, in South Africa) , f eedback has been received from well-respected agency owners and agents, and we believe this gives a good indication of the current view of agents. The fear from estate ...
Read more

New Flex integrated tenant application module launched

Image
Tenant applications can take up a considerable amount of admin time. This includes getting the application, managing it somewhere centrally, and keeping it safe for further access. We had a look at how we could not only streamline and optimise this process but also develop an integrated tenant application module. The result of this is our newly launched optional tenant application for your Flex website (available in standard and premium packages). Integrated  Tenant Application wizard for Flex Once enabled, an integrated tenant application link will show on all your rental listings like this: You can see it in action on this sample rental property on our Flex Bold demo site. It takes you through a wizard where all application details including personal contact, bank, and supporting documents are captured. Since Flex is responsive, the application is seamlessly integrated and will work on any device. With 100% uptime and SSL security as standard, tenants can capture in confidence....
Read more