There are some general best practices for modern web design, which you may already be aware of. But there are also some web design best practices for home builders to implement in their website design to ensure that their sites are reaching their ideal clients and converting them to leads.
Images of Your Homes—Front and Center
Beautiful homes are going to be what’s compelling to your prospective clients, so put high quality, professional photography of some of your best homes right in front of their noses.
Images of gorgeous homes are going to be attractive to your website visitors, since what they want to see, and ultimately, what they want to purchase, are gorgeous homes.
Good photos of the homes you build should be the center of your design, and your content should support that, rather than the other way around. Plus, images are easy to share on social media platforms, which is the new word-of-mouth.
Social Media Integration
Ensuring that your site integrates social media can increase the buzz about your homes and can make your site more user-friendly. People are going to want to share images of your homes via social media.
Make sure that you not only have those attractive, high-quality images, but also social sharing buttons. Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Houzz are all possible mediums that visitors might use to share your photos.
Additionally, if your company is on any of these social media platforms (and it should be, especially Houzz!) they should be integrated into your site so users can easily navigate to your company’s profile on any of those platforms so they can engage with you there.
Mobile-Responsive Design
Any site in 2019 needs to be mobile-responsive. More than 60 percent of all web searches are done on mobile devices, which means that there’s a big chance that your website visitors are looking at your site on a smartphone, tablet, or other small screen.
If your site is difficult to navigate for mobile users, you’ll miss out on a lot of valuable mobile traffic. Google penalizes sites that aren’t mobile-friendly, and mobile-friendly sites are easier for users to share, getting your name in front of more potential future clients.
Quick Loading Time
Since people are going to be visiting your site on mobile devices, on the go, a quick load time is essential. While your visitors are going to want to see gorgeous images of your homes, they don’t want to wait for tons of pictures to load.
If it takes more than 3 seconds (just 3 seconds!) for your site to load, more than 50 percent of visitors will navigate away from your site to somewhere else. Keep them on your site and off your competitors' with a design that facilitates quick loading.
Explain Who You Are and Why You're Different From the Competition
If there’s something you can do to ensure that your site isn’t just generating leads, but quality leads, it’s to explain who you are, what you do, and why your company is different from the other home builders in your area.
Your niche and market need to be clearly outlined on your website. If they're not, you’re going to miss out on calls from your ideal clients—and get a bunch of calls from people who aren’t good fits for the homes you build, such as people outside of your location or looking for a home that’s not in your price range.
If you’re a luxury home builder in the Grand Rapids area, make sure you specify that clearly on your site in a place that’s impossible for site visitors to miss.
Calls to Action
Calls to Action (CTAs) are crucial design elements for home builder sites. Why? Because you want visitors to your site to take action… by getting in touch with you. CTAs make it easier for people to do just that.
CTAs are usually bright-colored buttons that invite website visitors to click on them. They usually have text that asks a user to do something specific, like “Request a Quote” or “Schedule a Consultation.”
Landing Pages
Landing pages are pages where a visitor “lands” after clicking on a CTA or a digital ad. It restricts their navigation options and allows the visitor to complete a form with their contact information in exchange for information that you provide them.
That information needs to be something of value to your visitor, to make giving you their contact info worthwhile. Things like ebooks and guides offering information about “How to Design Your Dream Home” or “Everything You Need to Know About Home Design,” motivate visitors to convert by completing the landing page form.
Landing pages are a critical design feature for home builder websites because they can help you:
- Convert qualified visitors to leads
- Direct visitors to information relevant to them
- Build your authority and credibility by providing valuable information to visitors
- Track where visitors are coming to your site from
- Capture analytics that you can use to determine marketing ROI and optimize your digital marketing efforts
Check out this blog for more information about optimizing landing pages.
Outline Your Homebuilding Process
Also, explain your process. Prospective home buyers are going to want to know how you build homes, how long it takes, and what else they should expect before they will put down any money on their new home.
Outlining your process right on your website is transparency that your clients will value, and it can head off a lot of the initial questions you frequently receive from interested parties.
Don’t Over-Focus on Content
Content definitely matters, on any site, and we’ll always say that, but content shouldn’t be the centerpiece of your home builder site. Images and calls to action are going to be center-stage on your site, so don’t write 2,000 word essays for each and every page.
Using good SEO practices and keyword optimization are essential, of course. But long blocks of text are going to turn away site visitors who don’t need to read in so many words that you build homes—they need to see what your homes look like, and know how to request a site plan or pricing.
As a home builder, your website is your digital portfolio—it's what potential clients look at to see if your houses are what they're looking for. If you don't have a stunning website that's image forward, let's chat. We can build you a site that's not only beautiful but also functional.
And if you'd like to know more about our experience with home builders and real estate developers, be sure to check out the case study below:
