Create Beautiful, Effective Real Estate Sites with Jetpack

Long before signing a contract on their new property, nearly half of all potential home buyers turn to the internet to start their search. This means that, for both agents and brokers alike, there’s real opportunity to attract new clients and streamline the process for existing ones. 

But to be effective, real estate sites need to have reliable, up-to-date information and be well designed to capture and keep attention. WordPress, with the help of Jetpack, is the perfect platform for any agent looking to boost their online presence.

Key features of successful real estate websites

Creating a visually-pleasing and easy-to-navigate site should be your first priority. Your homepage should display everything your customers need and convince them to access other features on the site. Here’s how to make that happen:

1. Responsive web design

With people using more types, shapes, and sizes of devices than ever before, you must ensure that you have a responsive layout that works well on each one. If not, you could be missing out on a significant chunk of incoming traffic. Using a responsive WordPress theme is a great place to start.

2. Advanced search 

Search is incredibly important for real estate sites. Add an advanced search bar where users can filter results to find listings and compare them based on price, number of rooms, building size, location, or backyard space.

3. Informative guides

Establish your business as a trustworthy source for information on your area to draw in customers who are skeptical about relocating. Buyers will be curious about the neighborhood itself, so providing them with a thorough guide on local attractions is a great opportunity to establish expertise and attract new clients. 

Beyond neighborhood guides, walk them through the buying and selling process. Position yourself as an authority by sharing home improvement tips and helpful advice on topics like financing or taking out loans.  

4. Photo galleries and virtual tours

Stellar image galleries keep users engaged with your property listings. Upload high-resolution images or video tours of well-furnished interiors to get homes on potential buyers’ wishlists. They can preview a wide range of properties without having to step outside their house. 

5. Contact forms for lead generation

Set up a contact form so people can ask you for an in-depth overview of the properties on your site. Encourage visitors to join an email list to receive important notifications and updates on new listings. And remember, clients prefer working with agents who respond in a timely manner. 

Build an amazing real estate website with Jetpack 

If you own a WordPress site, or are starting one, plugins are a natural way to extend functionality and optimize the visitor experience.

But installing too many plugins can be detrimental, which is why Jetpack is a great all-in-one tool to boost performance, marketing, security, and design. Start using these Jetpack features.

1. Video hosting 

Videos convert on-the-fence customers by supplying them with easily-digestible information they can watch anywhere and any time. And videos are perfect for hosting virtual tours when people are reluctant to attend in person. 

Unlike other services, Jetpack’s video hosting for WordPress feature lets viewers watch clips directly on your site without the distraction or interruption of ads. Its high-speed CDN ensures your site visitors won’t leave because of long load times. And there’s no need to pay for additional bandwidth, because it includes unlimited storage. 

2. Jetpack Backup

User error, hackers, or updates gone wrong can result in a crashed site. Buyers looking for your listings and potential clients seeking to work with you will be met with an embarrassing error message. With all of the work put into your site, you’ll want to keep a copy of it on-hand in case something goes wrong. If it does, restore it with a single click using Jetpack Backup.

3. Activity log

The activity log displays every action that takes place on your site, along with who took them and when they occurred. Monitor what happens even while you’re away negotiating contracts with soon-to-be homeowners. 

4. Jetpack Search

Jetpack Search is a smart, effective tool that lets users retrieve the content they need from your site. Instead of digging through hundreds of  listings, visitors can find the right house in an instant. 

It’s easy to set up, so you can focus on making each listing attractive with beautiful images and great descriptions. You can even create searchable tags for pricing, beds, baths, and more.   

5. The Map Block

With the Map Block, you can quickly add maps to any page or post. 

This compels visitors to look up the exact address of available properties and gives them directions on how to get there. You can edit markers to make them more visible and prevent listings from blocking each other. 

Another feature of the map block is the ability to zoom out of an area, in case users want to survey nearby towns and cities or determine if a house is within driving distance from where they currently live.  

6. Calendly Block

The Calendly Block offers convenient calendar solutions for coordinating business activities. List open houses or book showings, meetings, and appointments. Easily coordinate times with clients and never double-book again.

7. Contact forms

Visitors often prefer to send a contact form rather than write an email or call. Your professional site shouldn’t settle for basic, insecure forms, but you also need a tool that’s easy to set up and maintain, so you can stay on top of new leads. 

Jetpack’s contact form collects customer responses and delivers them straight to your email. You won’t have to learn any code; it comes with a drag-and-drop editor and the ability to create custom fields. Pair it with Jetpack Anti-spam to save time fielding fake queries. 

8. Image Compare

The Image Compare Block has a slider that lets users toggle between two different pictures, both horizontally and vertically. It’s a handy tool for promoting your staging services or featuring the before and after of a recent remodel. Or, show what a room looks like with and without furniture.

9. Tiled Galleries 

Many real estate sites employ beautiful galleries to display their listings in the best possible way. Tiled Galleries add a unique style to your image layout, transforming ordinary photos into head-turning previews. Create stunning layouts to enhance your real estate marketing and display properties from every angle. 

Tiled Galleries work the same way as image blocks, except you can assign a gallery type, choosing between square, circular, or mosaic tiles.

10. Slideshows

You need to make a glowing first impression on your clients. This means displaying attractive visuals they won’t be able to resist. Of course, do this tastefully, with the right balance of interactive elements, images, and text. 

Jetpack’s Slideshow Block is the perfect solution: It has the ability to change slide transition effects for dynamic showings and includes an auto-play function to move images along for easier viewing. 

Conquer real estate with Jetpack

Owning your own WordPress site can take your real estate business to new heights. But you don’t want it to take too much time to manage, or become burdened with dozens of different plugins and services. That’s why Jetpack’s suite of all-in-one solutions is loved by so many WordPress experts and site owners around the world.

Get started with Jetpack. 

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