While knowing that technology helps to solve problems in ways we never imagined just two or three years ago, your brain determines which issues need to be effectively solved.
What might some of those issues be that relate to your real estate business? Lead generation? Prospect conversion? Contact information? Neighborhood profiles? Showing appointments and confirmations? AI viewings? You name it and technology can likely help facilitate all and more of those issues for you and your prospects/clients.
But wait, before you start building/rebuilding your website to answer all your needs, take a look at these five website trends for 2018…and…always, always, always make your website user, your website lead, your website prospect, your website client center stage.
1. Make your website design mobile responsive and mobile centric. More than half of the people browsing, shopping and researching websites today are doing so on their phones. That percentage will only increase. (Google is doing index mobile versions of sites first and will use those versions to serve results for both website and mobile use. Make certain that your website is fully functional for mobile users.
2. Think outside the box and outside the grid. Less grid and more whitespace means your website users will be able to EASILY find what they want and be able to EASILY read what they want. More whitespace means that your users will spend more time USING your website and less time trying to find what they want.
3. Just like one-stop shopping, one-stop action rules. Make things simple; make things easy. No needless, repetitive, convoluted, endless steps and clicking for users to get what they want. Make sure your website users can EASILY explore properties, read key information and contact you. If anything is difficult or repetitive or takes too long, you’ll no longer have a website user or a client.
4. Use and learn technology you may not use or know yet…technology like AI and chatbots. They will play increasing roles in and for your website. Right now they can schedule showing appointments for you, answer basic, often repeated questions for you, screen information for you. And, your prospects/clients/users anticipate using (and liking) this technology because it’s EASY and FAST. Make sure these technologies seamlessly interact with your users on your site.
5. Make sure your users feel and are SAFE on your website. Security and hacking are big deals. Make sure your website users know what safety measures you’re taking and what they as your users can anticipate from you. Make sure all your security certificates are posted on your website and that they are up-to-date.
Here are some additional tips:
– use BIG, bold, bright typography
– use flat designs
– consider using scroll and triggered animations
– replace PNGs for SVGs
– consider using video-mapping, virtual reality, etc.
