A website property search function is usually found on estate agency websites. As the name suggests, it allows prospective buyers, renters and even sellers to search for properties. This is a key step in the estate agency website experience because it is what leads to enquiries and viewings. Without a property search function, an estate agency website is likely to receive much fewer leads than it otherwise would.

A property search tool on your website has additional benefits too. This sort of functionality encourages website visitors to spend more time on your site and engage with different pages. This reduces your website bounce rate which is the speed at which someone lands on your website and then leaves without taking action.  Improving your bounce rate is great for Search Engine Optimisation and can help your site be visible to more people.  

Not all website property searches are created equal

One thing to keep in mind is that not all property search tools offer the same functionality. There are good and bad estate agency website examples across the property industry. The most common problem with poor website property search functions is that they aren’t specific enough which frustrates website visitors and causes them to leave without taking further action. They can also be too restrictive and specific – which we will return to later.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying or renting a home such as property type, size, budget, location, distance to transport hubs and amenities, parking, outdoor space for pets and much more. Your website’s property search functionality needs to help users zone in on all of these things and effectively return the most suitable options. However, the search function needs to balance this specificity with efficiency and user-friendliness which isn’t always easy…

Make sure your property search tool is user-friendly

You want to offer users a way to be specific in their online property search however, you also want to make that process quick and easy. There are several ways to do this such as:

• Not making fields mandatory, allowing the user to set the levels of specificity in their property search. Alternatively, make only a small number of fields mandatory.
• Offer drop-down boxes or tick boxes as well as keyword searching as people see this as more convenient.
• Allow users to save their favourite searches and name them for future re-searching.

WEBPRO Estate web development services

WEBPRO Estate is a team of industry-specific website designers and developer, serving a wide range of boutique and large estate agency businesses across the UK. Our experienced team can help create a better website or simply upgrade aspects of your existing website’s functionality like your property search function. Speak with our team to learn more!