Property Management Website Design: 8 Essential Elements

What is the foundation of your website? A strong web presence can draw in new tenants, selling them on properties even before they visit them in person. Whether you're building a website for the first time or you're renewing and rebranding an existing site, you need to consider the building blocks of a successful property management company website. Make sure that you include these 8 essential elements in your property management website design:

1. Basic Branding

Who are you, really? Over the years, consumers have gotten used to having certain elements consistently in place on a website. Without these elements, your site might feel avant-garde, but it could also subtly turn off your readers. Place your company's name and logo on the top left. Make sure that you have an About Us page and visible contact information. All of these elements are visual cues that you're a real business and can be trusted.

2. A Call for Attention

Why does your site visitor want to dive more deeply into your property management website? Often, it's because of one piece of sales copy in particular: a compelling headline. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, "the first thing people see when they visit your site should be a compelling headline that describes the most important benefit your product or service offers." If you want to say one thing about your property management services or rental properties, here's your chance: what are you going to place here?

Create a website that takes prospective tenants and owners along a path to connect more deeply with your business.

3. A Pathway to a Connection

You need to give your leads' eyes an obvious pathway to find information on your website. This includes a navigation bar that's easy to move through and speaks to the specific needs of different groups of people who might visit your site, such as prospective owners and tenants. For example, for tenants, this means including an obvious home page link to listing information that in turn leads to a contact form or phone information so that they can inquire about the listing.

Develop sales funnels that move visitors from merely visiting the site to an actual rental inquiry. You can also include website forms that begin the tenant application and screening process, so highly motivated tenants can begin the application process as soon as possible. Even if leads don't decide to commit to a listing or commit to your company as a property manager, make sure that they have an opportunity to give their contact information and demographic profile information. This will allow you to connect with them in a targeted way in the future.

4. Cohesive Graphics and Text

Your text and your website graphics must work together to create a cohesive message to your readers. Use bold headers and integrate subheadings to organize the text. Weave SEO into effective, persuasive sales copy that not only describes your product but describes the benefits of your product to your readers. Add high-impact graphics that complement the messages within your text. As you develop your property listings, remember the importance of images here as well: a picture sells a property.

5. Consciously-Branded Colors and Layout

In addition to the text and the graphics on your site, the colors and the layout that you use should reflect your brand. Consider who your target audience is and the message you want to convey. Consistency matters; ensure that your colors and layout parallel the feel of your brand. Like a logo, this subtle connection between your brand message and your property management website design reassures site visitors, owners, and potential tenants.

6. A Local Connection

When you're developing website text, you need to think about the elements that make any website effective and attractive, but you also need to incorporate a local connection as well. As a property management company, you're connected to a place. Having local SEO on your site will draw people in from search engines. Add local content to your blog, and engage more readers who may turn into tenants or seek out your property management services in the future. Work with neighborhood maps that make it easy for tenants to find listings in the places where they want to live. Get local on your website and you'll find that you attract owners and tenants who are searching for companies that serve specific neighborhoods and have strong community roots.

7. Call to Action

Do you want property owners that visit your site to decide to work with your property management company? Do you want site visitors that are looking for rental properties now or in the future to consider becoming your tenants? You need to invite them to connect with you. Make sure that each part of your website has a clear call to action. Consider asking prospects to add their name to your email list or to contact you for more information. Whatever action you want your leads to take, don't leave this to chance. Add a strong, clear call to action.

8. Offers and Benefits

What do you offer your tenants and property owners that partner with you? These are your customers. As you create your property management website, always think from the customer's perspective. According to the Bigger Pockets blog, you need to "sell your benefits, not your features. A benefit is what a prospect gets. A feature is what you sell." Before a lead leaves your site, let that person know about the benefits of your services, so that they can decide if those benefits fill their needs. Try to offer visitors something to bring with them as they leave as well. It might be an ebook about local property markets, a video that highlights attractive neighborhoods for tenants, or a subscription to a newsletter: anything that keeps your property management company in their minds.

"Without Propertyware I don't think we would have been able to add 400 units in the last 18 months." - Eric Wetherington / Carolina One Real Estates

As you create your web presence, Propertyware can help you move from vision to website reality. With our digital marketing tools, we'll ensure that your SEO and your design are in excellent shape. Learn more about Propertyware and get pricing today.