5 Common Website Mistakes in Real Estate

Nowadays, everyone begins their property search online, so it’s important to have a quality real estate website. Brokerages, offices, and agents need websites to do their jobs. In our increasingly digital world, more and more website platforms are becoming available. However, this does not mean they are all platforms we, as real estate professionals, should be using. 

Although many of these platforms allow you to build and operate your own website at a much lower cost, they have their own set of drawbacks.

Continue reading to learn what to look out for when building your real estate website. 

1. Not using real estate website platforms 

Although many website-building platforms are available, not all of them are built specifically for the real estate industry. Unlike other industries, real estate requires high-quality images and videos, CRM functionality, the ability to connect to listing data and property search, an option to offer reviews, and more. 

Some platforms, though easy to use, may underperform with slow loading times or low-quality plugins that make your website less than optimal. Creating a website with a purpose-built platform from the start will save you from the headaches of trying to make a site work that just isn’t built for you.

2. Ignoring SEO

Your website may look amazing and be extremely user-friendly, but this means nothing if searchers cannot find it. It’s important to prioritize search engine optimization (SEO) in order for your site to show up when users search for related information. 

Creating a website with optimized SEO can be a daunting task, and outsourcing your SEO responsibilities can be expensive. However, neglecting it altogether won’t bring traffic to your site and will prevent you from generating quality leads. 

3. Using cheap IDX Solutions for your property feed

Users come to your website to look for properties that are on sale; without reliable, searchable data, they will quickly leave your site to find a more useful one. Although some IDX providers may try to sell you at a discounted price, it would be worth your money to invest in a quality solution instead. You should feel secure knowing that your MLS data is accurate, updated, and compliant. 

4. Low-quality images

Leveraging images on your website will direct users' attention to the right spots and encourage them to spend more time on your page. A website with only text will quickly lose users' interest, especially when they are expecting to see what a house looks like. 

To increase views and clicks, make sure your images are:

• Relevant 
• Properly sized 
• Tagged 
• Credited (when possible) 
• Clear 
• Properly formatted
  
  

5. The long-term costs of cheap website hosting providers

Hosting providers give you space on their servers to allow your website to be viewable online. Cheap hosting providers are known for their poor customer service, potential downtime, security flaws, slow loading times, and more.

Although you may think you are saving money by choosing a cheaper option, you will end up spending more as these issues continue to arise. Invest in a quality hosting provider so your website can run efficiently and continue to bring in new leads. 

How to build a successful website with Constellation1

We understand that building a website on your own can be extremely overwhelming. That’s why we have created our solution, Constellation1 Websites. As the industry’s most powerful real estate website platform, it includes features like a drag-and-drop website builder, IDX, property search, and more. 

With the ability to easily customize, update, and optimize your site, you will be able to rank on search engines. Not to mention a fully integrated CRM so you never miss a lead. Try our Constellation1 Websites solution today to begin building your real estate website.