Rightmove is great, but you still need a professional website!

When we reach out to estate agents telling them about our estate agency website design services, we sometimes receive replies telling us they don’t need a website. Or that they don’t need to put much effort into their current one.

“Rightmove is our website” is something we often hear.

Estate agency businesses believe they don’t need a professional website because the biggest website portals do all of the work for them. It’s true that portals like Rightmove do help smaller estate agency businesses, but that doesn’t mean they should pass up on their own professional website.

Having a professional estate agency website will cater to more clients such as landlords, makes your business model less fragile, builds client trust and strengthens your brand. Here are the details…

Cater to all clients

Property portals are excellent for those clients looking to rent or buy a property, but they don’t usually cater to everyone. It’s more common for landlords and people wanting to sell their property to use a local estate agency by searching for them online. They’ll use phrases such as “estate agent near me” or “estate agent in [City/Town name]”.

By having your own professional website, you’ll help these potential clients find you instead of your competitors that do have a great website.

Business independence

Estate agencies can and should make the most of property portals like Rightmove. But an overreliance on getting business through these portals can backfire. You’ve heard of the phrase “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, right?

By only taking clients through property portals, you may be losing out on those clients who may have found you directly if you had your own estate agency website. And what happens if something were to happen to the property portal that generates you the most viewings and business? Your business processes are fragile when you over rely on third party websites.

Build trust with leads

Those that do find a property on a portal website often go looking for details about the estate agency behind their favourite listing. They’ll want to know more about you and see reviews from other tenants, landlords, sellers and buyers.

And the best way of providing this information and showcasing your estate agency as a reliable professional business is to have your own excellent website. Your website will build confidence and trust in your business and encourage those using property portals to make enquiries and book viewings. If you don’t have an online presence, they may look for other properties from other estate agents.

Projecting a brand identity

Every business wants to get its brand out there and increase recognition, especially estate agents serving the local community.

A website is a fantastic way to promote your brand, but also to improve the consistency of your branding. If every web page is carefully designed with the right colour scheme, tone and visuals, it can contribute to making a stronger brand identity. It’s important that you use web designers that understand branding, such as our team at WEBPRO Estate. We don’t just create websites, we also offer branding services to boot.

Website design services for estate agencies

If you’re starting to realise the benefits and business potential of your own estate agency website, WEBPRO Estate is here for you.

Our team of experienced designers and developers provide semi-bespoke and bespoke website services specifically for estate and letting agency businesses. Our websites include an array of functionality and add-ons that will make your website stand out by offering convenience to property hunters. Speak with our experts to learn more!

Recap: Some estate agencies believe they do not need to invest in their own professional website because well-known property portals are generating a lot of business for them. But not having a website on top of these channels a) can make a business model fragile, b) can reduce trust with potential buyers and sellers, c) does not cater to all clients, and d) misses an opportunity to strengthen your brand. The key takeaway is that estate and letting agents do need a professional website despite the successes of property portals.

P.S. WEBPRO Estate offers semi-bespoke and bespoke estate agency website services, catering to all needs and varying budgets!