Having a top-notch property website can make a huge difference when it comes to the number of tenants and prospective tenants your property has.
But what should you include on your property’s website? Starting with a blank slate can feel overwhelming.
Read Next: What Type of Website Should You Build for Your Commercial Property?
When our marketing team shared our favorite commercial property websites, we explained our favorite elements of each property website. And now, we’re sharing all of the elements that are essential for a successful property website. This time, we decided to use our own property websites as examples to be sure we are practicing what we preach.
In this article, we’re highlighting seven must-have elements for your property websites, featuring two property pages, Eastlake at Tillery and Four Points IV, that we recently completed with Misfit Brands.
7 Things That Should Be on Your Property Website
1. Professional Images and Renderings of the Property
The images of your property are going to be the first thing the user notices on your website. This will be their first impression of your property and ultimately lead them to form their initial opinion about it. The images you place on your homepage will be the reason the user continues to explore your site or simply exits. Make sure these professional images or renderings are compelling and make the user feel as if they are actually at the property.
Renderings on the Mueller Business District website.
You should show different angles of the property, the interior and exterior, and any elements that make the property unique.
Read Now: Things to Consider When Creating Renderings for Your Commercial Property
GIFs can also be a powerful tool to show different aspects of the property, an animated map, or a slideshow showcasing the property’s amenities. GIFs can bring the property to life quickly and give a visual snapshot of the area without the need for audio or elaborate video.
2. Property and Neighborhood Videos
Video is essential when it comes to property websites. Property tour videos allow the user to feel like they are actually at the property when they aren’t or even allow them to experience a project that hasn’t been built yet.
Videos that highlight the culture of the neighborhood and other surrounding areas are also important. By highlighting local restaurants, entertainment hubs, parks, and other spots of interest, you can attract tenants to your property. This can be especially effective when appealing to out-of-town decision-makers, who are less familiar with the city and its neighborhoods.
Read Now: Best Examples of Commercial Real Estate Video Marketing
For example, on the Eastlake at Tillery website (below), there are two videos featured. One focuses on highlighting the culture and neighborhood surrounding the property and the other focuses on the building and its unique aspects.
Videos featured on the Eastlake at Tillery homepage.
3. Engaging and Interactive Maps
No matter what kind of property you are showcasing or where it is located, it is essential to include maps on your website. These maps can include:
- Property location
- Neighborhood amenities
- Campus layouts
- Access – ingress and egress
- Surrounding developments
- Nearby employers
An interactive map showing the local amenities and points of interest with an easy-to-navigate interface on the Four Points website.
4. Content About the Property
A press page can help you keep all the recent press and news about milestones for your property in one place. This allows your website visitors to find all the most up-to-date news from third-party sources about your property easily.
The Press page shows the latest news about the property on the Eastlake at Tillery website.
You can take this a step further by producing content to educate potential tenants about your property and the surrounding neighborhood. This can take many shapes, from a dedicated blog (just be sure you continue to keep this updated – nothing worse than a blog page that has one or two posts but hasn’t been updated in months) and videos to event calendars and neighborhood checklists, etc.
Producing videos can make the content more personal. For example, on the Eastlake at Tillery website, there is a video featuring a local Austin influencer and food blogger, Jane Ko. By using well-known people in the community, you can create more buzz and lend authority to the story you’re telling around your property.
5. Testimonials About the Property
If your property already has happy tenants, you should leverage this and ask for testimonials from them. These can be effective as videos or as quotes on your website.
When people are shopping online, one of the first things they look at is the reviews for the product. The same process applies when buying or leasing property, but with much higher stakes.
6. Highlight What Makes Your Property Unique
One of the most important aspects of your property website is to highlight what gives your property value and sets you apart from the others.
Read Next: The Ultimate Guide to Commercial Real Estate Marketing
This should be a focal point on the site and should be easy to access. This could be amenities, location, parking, or anything else that makes the building unique.
For example, for the Eastlake at Tillery property, one of the aspects that sets it apart from other properties is the neighborhood it’s in. On the website’s “The Neighborhood” page, the neighborhood and its advantages are highlighted.
The Eastlake at Tillery website highlights the surrounding community.
7. A Clear Call-To-Action
Finally, your website should have a clear call to action. This could be a link to download a brochure or to schedule a tour and fill out a contact form.
Your CTA should be clearly visible throughout the user’s journey on the website. This means that you should have at least one CTA on each page and your contact information should also always be visible at the top or bottom of your web pages.
The brochure button, as well as the contact button, appear at the bottom of every page on the Four Points website.
It’s important to have your CTAs on each page because you never know when the user is going to want to take the next step in their buyer journey. If the location is important to them – it could be on the location page, if the testimonials are important to them it could be on the testimonial page – the goal is to keep your website customer-focused and user-friendly.
Conclusion
These are just a handful of important elements that all property websites should have – the best ones do more than give you the facts – they allow you to step into the property and experience the surrounding culture without ever leaving your desk.
To continue learning about marketing your commercial property, check out these articles:
- Best Firms for Photorealistic Renderings of Commercial Real Estate Developments
- Things to Consider When Creating Renderings for Your Commercial Property
- Best Commercial Property Websites
- Best Examples of Commercial Real Estate Video Marketing
