Having a website is becoming an essential element for businesses. A significant number of people who need something likely search for it on the internet first, rather than visiting a physical market.
The same applies to the real estate profession. People looking for a real estate agent or agency usually start their search on the internet by typing in their needs.
And in the results, what do they see? Real estate business websites.
And they only engage (contact) with those whose website loads instantly, is catchy, and easy to navigate. So if you are in the real estate profession and looking to set up a website of your own, this blog post is for you.
This post will guide you through the technical aspects that you should consider while setting up a real estate website (suitable for a non-techie real estate professional).
Technical Checklist for Real Estate Websites
Having a good design for your website doesn’t mean that it will work as you desire. There are many other crucial elements that you have to take care of. Otherwise, your website on the internet will be like an old document lying in a store for years that no one cares about.
To make it easy for you, we have prepared this checklist. Below, we are going to walk you through it. All you need to do is follow the instructions mentioned. It will help you set up a real estate website that clients will love, ultimately driving more business your way.
1. Secure Your Online Identity
The first thing to check is whether the domain name you want for your website is available. If you already have one, simply try checking its availability using a domain registrar. Popular options include Namecheap, Hostinger, GoDaddy, and many more reliable alternatives.
If the domain name you have in mind is available, register it immediately; if not, try a different TLD (but “.com” should be the top priority). Or you can also brainstorm for new names. Once you’ve found a time that suits you, secure it by registering instantly.
Tip: Keep the auto-renewal turned on; it will help you avoid losing the domain if you forget to renew.
2. Connect Your Domain with Hosting
The next step on the checklist is to verify that the domain is correctly associated with the hosting.
FYI: Registering only for a domain name doesn’t mean that you can make your website live on the internet. You need to connect the domain to a hosting service to make it live on the internet.
Many of the domain registrars provide hosting services. However, you can also use the hosting from other providers.
While choosing a hosting plan, there are some things that you should take care of:
- Uptime
- Server location
- Security
- Speed and bandwidth
- Backups
- Ram and drive
After registering for hosting, you need to connect it to your domain name. The process may vary slightly depending on the provider you have registered with, but the key elements remain the same: adding values to the DNS records.
Typically, you need to update the “A” and “NS” records in the domain’s DNS setup to point it to the hosting. Know that, once you add new values in the DNS records, they will not propagate instantly (it can take up to 48 hours).
This means that you cannot start further working on the site unless the records are propagated successfully. To verify if the records are being propagated across global servers, use a DNS propagation checker.
If a problem persists in the connection, check your DNS records. Consider performing the DNS lookup. It will show you the DNS records of your domain. You can cross-check the values one by one to spot any mistakes/typos.
3. Build the Website
Next, you’ll need to get your website built. Make sure to hire a professional developer with good skills. While getting your website built, you have to check the following things:
- Design is responsive
- Theme is lightweight
- Essential pages are live (Homepage, About, Contact, listings)
- HTTPS is enabled throughout the website
Once you have cleared this checklist, you can move forward with making your website live.
4. Optimize for Mobile
Another technical, but one of the most crucial elements that many ignore is optimizing their website for mobiles. They only focus on having a lusy and attractive design. Such designs often look great on wide screens, i.e., laptops, LEDs, but when it comes to small screens (smartphones), their structure breaks.
Know that a significant part of the website traffic now comes from mobile devices. So, make sure that your website is well optimized for small screens as well. Not only the design, but also other elements such as:
- Videos
- Font size
- Font style
- Paragraph sizes
- CTA buttons, etc.
5. Check the Site Speed
Next, move on to checking the website speed. No one likes a website that loads too slowly. Firstly, assess the speed of your website. For this, you can use a free tool from Google named PageSpeed Insights.
Run your website URL through the tool, and it will show how your website is performing, including the speed. Aim for an 80+ score here. If the score falls below, contact the developer to optimize the speed as well. Mostly, the speed occurs due to incorrect cache and delay settings.
Sometimes, a poor website structure or a heavy theme can also impact the site speed. But these are not the only elements. Your hosting plan is also what affects the website speed. Whatever the cause is, get it resolved. Otherwise, do not expect your website to appear on the top pages.
6. Submit to Search Engines
Once your website is live for users, you should next check analytics and search engine submissions.
Make sure that your website is submitted to popular search engines like Google and Bing. After submitting the site to search engines, proceed with setting up the analytics.
Connecting to analytics, particularly GA4, will help you with:
- Tracking website traffic
- User behaviours
- Traffic sources
- Locations
- Conversion rates, etc.
7. Final Checks
Now that your website is live, you need to submit it to the search engine and perform some final checks. This includes:
- Cross-browser testing.
- Testing all the forms on the site is working.
- Checking whether the emails are being received at the attached email address.
- Checking whether the site is working smoothly on different devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop).
These checks will help ensure the site is ready for clients, allowing you to focus on your core business – real estate.
Protecting your brand’s online reputation is just as important as functionality, and utilizing a website takedown service can be an effective way to handle any unauthorized copycat websites that might appear as your business grows.
Now, all the remaining tasks will be marketing the website. The decision on whether to do it organically (SEO) or utilize paid marketing is up to you.
Paid marketing involves running ad campaigns on various platforms, i.e., Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Organic marketing involves SEO (search engine optimization), which is suitable for long-term benefits.
Whatever choice you make, ensure you hire the right professionals.
Tip: If organic marketing is your choice, having a blog page on your website will be a plus. By publishing localized helpful content for your clients, you can build your topical authority in the eyes of search engines. Ultimately, you get better organic positions (if done right).
Wrapping Up
Having a real estate website in 2025 is a good approach. But while setting up the website, there are certain things a real estate professional should take care of. By following the checklist we shared above, you will be well on your way to building a website that not only looks great but also helps attract and convert potential clients.
