Building a multifamily real estate website that is up to industry standards and ready to compete for leads is no small task. The internet is a constantly changing and evolving beast, and staying up-to-date on best practices can be difficult. At J&J, we make that our job so that you don't have to!
In this post, we will examine some of the best multifamily real estate website examples and the practices they use to rank higher on search engines, deliver a high-quality user experience, and capture more leads.
You'll find what pages you need to have on your site, what information to include, and some best practices to make your user experience the best it can possibly be.
Top website pages you need on your community website:
Home Page (Landing Page)
Your home page should be the most comprehensive landing page on your multifamily website. Users should be able to find links to anything they might want on your home page - photos, tours, floor plans, etcetera. These can be found via the main menu on this multifamily real estate website example, but you will find more information as you scroll through their home page:
These sections are a great opportunity to include keyword-rich copy as well as inform your website visitors of why they should rent one of your units. This apartment community even includes a testimonials section on their front page. There is no better person to "sell" your units than those who live there and love it!
Amenities
Prospective tenants make their decisions on where to live on many factors, not the least of which is the amenities offered by the apartment complex, both in and outside of the unit. Be sure to have an exhaustive list of why your units are great, and include pictures of whatever you can.
Floor Plans
Another important factor to a potential renter is the floor plans available in your apartment complex. Keeping an up-to-date, searchable database of all your available units is an invaluable addition to your site. In the multifamily real estate website example above, they also include 3D renderings of the unit with furniture, so prospective tenants can better envision their future space.
Photo Gallery
Your photo gallery should include pictures of your units, both staged and vacant, as well as photos of community amenities such as a pool, fitness center, laundry facility, dog run... any facility that your tenants might use should be included in your photo gallery.
Additionally, your photo gallery should include professional-quality photos that are optimized with keyword-rich alt tags that not only help with user experience, but also with ADA compliance and SEO performance.
Virtual Tours
A virtual tour allows prospective tenants to view your units from the comfort of their own homes. This is especially helpful if you tend to house city "transplants" - people moving to a new city may not be able to make the trip for an in-person tour before moving.
If you haven't set up a virtual tour for your multifamily website yet, check out this guide from Forbes to get started.
Schedule a Tour
Having a digital appointment setter for people to schedule appointment tours with you is not only convenient for them, but also for you! It helps them find, at a glance, a time to meet that works for both of you.
As you can see in the example above, this apartment complex included office information on this page, including office hours, contact phone number, and address - everything a potential renter might need to know if they need to reschedule or have any questions.
Contact Us
A contact form is a great way for people to directly contact you straight from your website and keeps requests organized on your end.
Since most people contact an apartment leasing office with the intent to schedule a tour, inquire about rates and specials, or ask questions about when they can come visit the office in person, this example multifamily real estate website includes all of that information on the contact page as well, including a clear button for them to schedule a tour via their online appointment setter.
Map & Directions
Another important factor renters consider when looking at potential apartment homes is location - where is your complex located, and what is nearby?
This apartment community includes an interactive google map on their map page. It allows users to use street view, look at surrounding businesses and landmarks, and get directions from wherever they need.
Other desirable features and website functionalities used by our Multifamily Real Estate Website Examples:
Chat bot for instant answers to prospect questions Notice the orange circle hovering on every page of our multifamily real estate website examples? That is a chat bot with canned answers to most questions that prospective renters have. It is just another way to make the answers to their questions easily accessible. Plus, you (or your web developer) gets notified when it gets used, so you can answer any questions the bot doesn't have answers for.
Accessibility widget for ADA compliance ADA compliance is a big deal not only for users on your site, but for SEO - algorithms hold ADA compliance as a major ranking factor. It is important to stay on top of how accessible your site is (make sure your colors are high-contrast, all images have alt text, and your text is large enough in a legible font), but sometimes things can slip through the cracks. Depending on where you built your site, you can find accessibility widgets or plugins (such as UserWay) to scan the code on your site to find holes and patch them up.
Pop-up for move-in specials If you regularly run move-in specials, one of the best things to do is to run a pop-up window on your apartment website. That means that the first thing a user sees when they land on your site is your special move-in offer, which encourages them to act quickly before the special is over. A pop-up is perfect for intermittent specials because you can easily turn it on and off - have it active while your offer is running, and deactivate it when it's not.
Interactive community site map for specific unit selection Including a map of your apartment complex where potential residents can click into and look at, or schedule tours of, specific units can hugely impact the user experience on your site.
Mobile and Tablet optimization Did you know that 50.48% of searches are done on a mobile device? If your site is not optimized for use on a mobile device, you could be missing out on capturing 50% of your leads. Today, most website builders and themes are mobile responsive, but they still require some adjusting on the mobile side.
Updated Policies The laws surrounding data collection on the internet have morphed significantly over the past few years. Make sure that your cookie policy is up-to-date, consider using a cookie opt-in banner, and if you have an email list, that your sign up forms are GDPR compliant as well.
Ready to level up your multifamily real estate website design?
J&J Creative specializes in providing multifamily real estate companies with a framework to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their websites and digital marketing strategies as well as the opportunities and threats present in the multifamily industry. From high-converting web design, copywriting, SEO, website analytics, and ongoing maintenance, we are passionate about leveling up the digital presence of our clients to help them attract better leads and increase their digital footprint. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation!