Updated 13 Nov 2015
Choosing the best estate agent web designer
Here are a few pointers of things which will hopefully help people when choosing which web developer to go with when getting a new property oriented website, it may even help some 'developers' when putting together their proposal.
Have a realistic budget
OK - The first and most important thing from everyone's point of view is your budget, don't expect to get the best, most functional website out there that will blow your competitors away for a few hundred pounds - sorry but this just isn't going to happen, you may get someone who seems really keen & promises the earth but once they have had the deposit just watch how their interest in your project dies when you start asking for the extra this and the extra that you hope you would get for your cash.
Feeding to property portals
If you are a start-up & are looking for a new site with features that the majority of your competitors have you will need a budget starting in the region of £1500+ This is a realistic price for a good looking site that should do pretty much exactly what you need to get going - there may be extra things you require built in such as property feeds to Rightmove, Zoopla etc which your developer can sometimes build in if they have the knowhow but not many do at the moment. (We, however do offer this service if needed) You can also use a software provider for feeding to these portals such as
PortaHub - Estate & letting agent software which is based on a monthly fee of around £35 per month and helps to spread costs as well as offering other useful tools.
Key features & pre-requisites you really need...
A database driven site:
DO NOT go with a developer who says they will show you how to create a HTML page for each property using a CMS system such as Wordpress, you need each property to be stored in a database for searches, automated alerts & all round easy management of your properties - Ask your developer what they think is the best way to do it, if you're talking to an experienced developer you'll get the right answer straight away.
A clean, easy to navigate, professional looking site built 'in-house':
This may seem obvious but you are advised to look at some of the developers other work before you even contact them - you should usually be able to find a portfolio of work on any reputable web designers' site - If you're happy with what you see this is a good start but doesn't always mean they can build good sites behind the scenes, try looking at the functionality on the sites & also ask them if they outsource any work. There are a lot of good designers who can build great looking sites, but have to outsource the scripting side of things elsewhere -This isn't always a bad thing but could sometimes lead to communication issues, especially if the person you get to build your site does not have a full understanding of things, for example every change you ask for then has to be relayed on to the third party and then the game of Chinese whispers begins...(A lot of outsourcing companies have many staff on low wages in other countries so you have language barriers, as well as people being issued work in emails & online notes).
A good search facility:
This should allow visitors to locate properties quickly & easily by several specifics such as: bedrooms, location, property type, price range, keyword and any other specifics you feel relevant to your market.
Maps, driving directions & local information:
These are useful for when someone has found a property they are interested in so they can see at a glance where it is, view the local info & even look at the street as if they were standing in it using Google street view.
Customer enquiry forms:
Obviously people want to get in touch with you, so as well as ensuring your contact number is prominent on the site, having an 'enquire now' button next to each set of property details will only help people more, by allowing them to fill out a contact form you can get enquiries even when you are closed & acquire other details such as customer preferences & requirements.
An easy to use admin area:
If you are running an estate agent or letting agent business the last thing you want to be doing is spending all day try to figure out how to get your new properties on your website, so you need a fast & easy admin area that will allow you to enter the property details & upload your images without a hitch - I would also recommend ensuring your site resizes the images for you as you upload them, saving you time & also making sure your website runs fast as (most estate agents have high mega pixel cameras for good pictures - but these are huge and can cripple a website if not dealt with correctly)
You'll also want the ability to edit your site content & probably send out newsletter & alerts to customers too.
Search engine friendly pages:
In order to keep your business going you'll need 2 things the first is properties to rent or sell & the second is people to buy or rent them so ensuring your site has pages that will be easily indexed and categorised in the search engines is very important.
You can find out more about SEO (Search engine optimisation) below:
About Search Optimisation
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