The time of big bulky yellow pages have long gone. Now a day’s people search online for businesses, products and services. For any business regardless of industry having an excellent online presence is critical for its reputation, brand image and also to generate leads and conversions. In Dubai and in fact all around the UAE the internet penetration is almost 97% which is staggering, everyone have access to the internet either by their computers or by their mobile phones. This has drastically changed the marketing and communication landscape. The websites are not important because your competitors are having them but they are important because your customers expect you to offer them a website. And for real estate businesses in Dubai or anywhere in UAE the websites have become a necessity. People tend to look up in online for the properties and rentals before making a decision. In fact people prefer to get initial information from an online channel as no one have time to visit tens of properties to make a decision. People usually short list several properties than they compare them and then shortlist only a few to actually go there and visit the property. And then they make the decision.
The modern age of internet and digital made it essential for a real estate businesses to build a strong online presence to reach out to their targeted audience. The UAE is known for its lavish and luxurious properties and booming real estateindustry. This has attracted too much attentions, which not only raise the competition but also raise the customer’s expectations and their standards. For any customer there are too many options available, they can easily choose from a long list of realtors and real estate brokers. This means that in order to stay ahead of the curve a real estate business doesn’t only need a website, but it needs an extremely effective website which can attract prospects, offer them engaging information and simplify the customer journey to boost the leads and conversions. A great real estate web design can provide you a much needed advantage over your competitors. A professional real estate web design ensures the prospects consume the right information and have supportive functionalities to encourage them to select you for their real estate needs. In this blog we will tell how important a web design and its features are for a real estate business and how the business can boost their online leads and conversion through their website by simply making iterations or changing their web design.
Real Estate Web Design: Add Credibility and Build Brand Image
Chances are all of your real estate competitors operating in your targeted regions are all having a website. In order to stand out of the crowd you need a great web design that cater the required information in a very simple and elegant manner. The web design of a real estate company is responsible for building the first impression of the brand. The brand image and brand reputation is measured by the user experience and user satisfaction of a real estate website. All real estate businesses have all the required details and information that a prospect could be initially looking for. It is the web design which makes the difference. The real estate web design determines how easy or difficult it is to access to the required information. The web design and user interface (UI) is responsible for the user experience. If the web design is prepared carefully it provide all the required information, features and functionalities easily else it makes it difficult to navigate through different information and content on the website.
Studies have shown that it take only a fraction of a second to build an image of a brand in visitor’s sub-conscious mind. Which means the real estate web design is mainly responsible for that image. The rest depends on the content and actual information that you are offering them. However, the information itself could not be so effective unless it works in harmony with the web design. If the users get required information easily they start trusting the brand. Moreover a professional real estate web design also help businesses to project their value proposition and convey their message clearly. It is the web design that prevents the visitors to get distracted from the main subject and also help businesses to boost the visibility of certain information and key selling points. A good real estate web design also help businesses to highlight the trust markers which further help businesses to earn trust of the visitors.
Real Estate Web Design:Improve User Experience and Boost Online Conversions
A real estate web design is not just responsible to present certain information in a user-friendly manner. In fact a real estate website must have to offer a lot many interactive features where users/prospects can find search and find the information they are looking for. These all features and functionalities should be very simple and easy-to-use and should ensure a unique and very pleasing user experience. The most appealing feature of any real estate website is its search engine. The visitors who come to a real estate website always use the search engine to search for the desired properties. A simple search engine with a text query is not enough, a real estate website needs a smart search engine which allows the users to narrow down their search easily and to look up for only their targeted properties. This is done by adding several search filters and controls to the search engine. A professional real estate web design place all those controls and filters on appropriate places along with a visually appealing and simpler appearance which makes them easy to use. That is what the user interface is and that is how it simplifies the user experience and improve user satisfaction.
The real estate web design is also responsible for the user experience on the search result page. It ensures the users can get the basic information of each search result without going to the landing page of a property. This will not only make the user experience easy but it will also increase the chances of conversions. A real estate web design enhances user experience by providing additional features and information which can convince them to convert or move to the next step of the customer journey. For example when a user searches for a rental or for sale property, the basic things they need is to choose the accommodation, select the locality, price range or other specs such as view and floor, etc. This not only simplify the search process but also provide only the most relevant properties in the search result page which also increase the chances of conversion. The search result page could also provide basic information which further help the users to narrow down their search and only choose to click on the properties that they are most likely to purchase. This all can be done by the UI which is controlled by the web design of the real estate website.
Real Estate Web Design:Aid Marketing to Drive Sales
A user-friendly real estate web design is equipped with certain tools that facilitates the user experience and customer journey. Along with that the web design also enables the businesses to integrate several other tools/features which can be used to boost marketing and to capture user information. The real estate websites can track user activity using the cookies and other techniques. Which can help them suggesting them the properties as per their past searches and past page visits. Another technique that is used for suggestive products/services is based on the category and specifications. For example if a user is searching for a 2BHK apartment, the website can suggest them other available 2BHK in the same area in the suggestion section of the web page. Usually such suggestion sections are added on the side panes in the search pages and at the bottom of the property detail page. This is a great technique to keep users engaged and it also increase the chances of conversion.
Furthermore the businesses can collect customer data when users are requesting for a visit schedule or during the registration process. The real estate websites can also offer email subscription to let the user get updates about the new properties of their interest in the future. These techniques can provide a very concentrated data pool which can be used for marketing purposes. A good web design use such tools strategically to increase the response rate. For example if the email newsletter subscription is provided on a contact page the chances are the response rate will be lower, if the same is also added on the footer section the response rate will be increased. The same can be added in the pop-up windows which can be opened when a user reached to a certain place at the web page by scrolling or any other mechanism can be established to boost the response rate and to collect more user data. This all can be achieved with the help of the web design and the designing strategy.
Real Estate Web Design: Interactive Features to Increase Conversion Rate
The real estate web design plays an important role in the online conversion rate. In Dubai and all around the UAE the competition is very high in the real estate sector. The users always admire a unique and easy user experience. Innovative features and interactive tools can enhance the user experience. For the real estate business the photos or videos and even virtual tours are key selling points. More information a website can provide it get more conversions and leads. The information should be realistic and should be provided in a way that the user like them. There are many real estate businesses who put images of the property and other details on their property detail page. Some we designs use modern image galleries and tools which can improve user experience. A real estate web design should be able to offer interactive image viewer tools with basic functionalities. Along with that the additional information such as the details about the maintenance and near-by places could be an added advantage. The map is one of the most important feature of a real estate web design. If a website is offering interactive maps and location sharing features the users will prefer to use them. And the next time they will have a real estate need they will prefer to go the site which is offering them a better experience while going through the details of the property. This can only be possible if the web design you are creating is supporting these interactive features and functionalities.
Real Estate Web Design: Mobile Experience
These days the mobile phones have become a necessity for a digital experience. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are responding differently to this need. Some businesses are offering responsive or mobile friendly web designs and some are offering dedicated smartphone application to improve their customer’s mobile experience. However for a real-estate website the responsive or mobile friendly web design is a must have feature of the website. Although some companies are also offering mobile apps, but mostly the purpose of mobile apps is improve the service experience of the customers. The responsive or mobile-friendly web design means a web design that can re-render itself as per the size of the mobile screen. That is what we called a responsive web design. However, for a real estate business the responsive web design approach is slightly different. For a real estate website the main objective is to provide information about the company and provide property listings and relevant tools to boost online conversions and leads.
For a real estate website the businesses must have to understand that the mobile experience is very important and crucial. The stats and studies have shown that the mobile searches have already surpassed the desktop/laptop searches. This means that a real estate business will definitely receive a good amount of its traffic from the mobile users. For mobile users it is crucial to maintain the features and UI as it is in the main website. When someone access the website from their smartphone they should be able to access all the features that are available in the main website in the similar or even better way. For mobile phones people behave slightly differently, mostly people use one finger or a thumb to scroll and navigate through web pages. All the buttons, search engine, its controls and everything else should be optimized to support a simple and easy mobile experience. This way a real estate business can utilize the potential of the smartphones and mobile channels. Which will definitely boost their online leads and conversions.
Real Estate Web Design: SEO Friendly Web Design Drive Organic Traffic
By making a web design SEO friendly or as per the guidelines by the search engines the real estate businesses can tap into a huge amount of organic website traffic. The organic website traffic is the website traffic that is coming from the free sources and the real estate business doesn’t have to pay for it. The SEO or search engine optimization means that the design is prepared by methods and technologies that support search engines and the web design prepared as per the search engine standards. According to stats the Google is the most used search engine in UAE with having almost 96% of the search traffic share. That is why it is important to for a real estate business to have a SEO friendly web design. When someone searches with a key phrase or keywords about purchasing or renting a property in a certain area the Google pull out all the web pages that are having the information which are relevant to that specific search. That is why it is crucial that a web design allows the search engines to scan through its content. Such designs are called search engine friendly web designs.
Moreover when people will search for a property and they find a business listing on the top they immediately build a positive impression of that business in their minds. Which add to reputation and brand image as well. Collectively the search engine optimization and SEO friendly web designs could be a great source of free traffic which can be translated into conversions and leads.
Conclusion
The online presence and a digital experience is a must to have in the modern times. For a real estate business it is crucial to offer a great user experience with their website. The web design is what determines the user experience and also contributes to brand image and brand reputation. The web design can help real estate business to boost user interaction and user engagement by offering them a great experience, information and content. The real estate web designs are slightly different than a regular business website. It is because the real estate websites provide different type of information and a slightly different type of user interaction is required to boost conversions and leads. In this blog we have briefly discussed the importance of the web design and its various effects on the business’s reputation and online conversions. If you need more information on the subject or need our help to boost your user’s online experience, feel free to write a comment in the comment box below or contact us through our Contact Us page and we will soon be in touch with you.
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