A real estate website isn’t like any other business website. It has needs specific to the industry, with property listings that are changing constantly and the need to develop a personal relationship with clients quickly. With more than 25 real estate and development websites under my belt, I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes a real estate website profitable and easy to work with for clients. Whether you’re an agent, a group or a developer, these are the features I’ve found to be most beneficial on real estate websites.

As a business, there are some things that are okay to skimp on. Maybe your office doesn't need to supply employees with some small work necessities such as pens, notebooks, or snacks. Your business might choose not to get certain time-saving programs like Quickbooks and do the accounting by hand instead.

Depending on size and structure, your business may be able to manage cutting some corners to save money or hypothetical time. However, when it comes to your website, there should be no skimping. Your website is easily your most important asset as a brand. Need proof? Here are some compelling stats:

• 93% of business purchase decisions start with a search engine search of websites
• 0.05 seconds is all it takes for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they’ll stay or leave
• 38% of people will stop engaging with a site if it has an unappealing design
• 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile

These are all great examples of why a custom website should be a top priority with any business. Here are 5 reasons you should consider investing in a custom website.

With an uptick in internet usage over the last year, your website has never been more important as the face of your brand. The modern buyer will often use a company’s website as a first impression – a strong indicator of whether or not he or she will engage with that business. In fact, 85 percent of B2B customers search the web before making a purchase decision. And when it comes to making that decision, design and usability are the biggest factors. More than 75 percent of users admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based on their website’s design. 

If you’ve been working in the real estate industry for long, you’re probably quite familiar with your local MLS (Multiple Listing Service). An MLS is a data feed of property listings in a particular area, generally managed by a real estate association. It’s a way for real estate brokers to share information about available properties so that selling and buying agents can both benefit from selling a property.

With fully digital banks like Chime making their way into the top 10 list of banks in the U.S. and 80 percent of Americans preferring online banking to visiting a brick-and-mortar branch, online and mobile banking are top-of-mind. People rely more on their phones and laptops for banking, but that doesn’t mean they’re 100 percent happy with their online banking service. Only 66 percent of customers say they are satisfied with their bank or credit union’s digital services. The bottom line: there’s room for everyone to do better.

Your website's UI (or User Interface, a mix of visual and interaction design) functionality is imperative to a healthy functioning website. It doesn't matter how pretty your graphics are, how great your brand photos turned out, or how on-point your copy is if your functionality is lackluster. It's been a few years since the ideas of UI and its friendly cohort, UX (User Experience, the way the user interacts with the interface), have been regular parts of web design, given their success in product design the last decade. A user-centric model has become the mainstay of design and development. While engineers and graphic designers debate what's more important, function or beauty, less than pretty function regularly beats out beautiful confusion.

When it comes to a website, many companies either tend to either hammer something out themselves, buy one, and then let it sit. But your website isn't a succulent you buy at the market, set on display, and ignore for months only to find it's blossomed beautifully. Think of your website instead as a garden, one that needs constant tending, with different needs and changes arising with the changing seasons. Likewise, if you ignore its existence, it won't bare you much fruit. But hey, we know you're busy. You don't have time to comb through every possible web factor that could require maintenance.

Today we continue our saga into good website practices with PRIME's Director of Digital Development and website guru Ben Fjare. And while this topic is a multifaceted one in which each facet is a critical part of a well-oiled machine, today's topic stands out especially. Perhaps that's because today's topic is one that anyone who has ever tried to whip up a website—from Wix to Wordpress—knows deep down: your site is never really finished.

In this episode of PRIME's Wheelhouse, we will look at reasons why this is true, and more importantly, what you need to do to make sure your website is always the best (for the moment). To make life easier, Ben broke things down into five bitesize chunks for a more straightforward understanding. Let's dig in.

Today we're talking firsthand with a professor, technologist, and all-around website guru, as well as PRIME's Director of Digital Development, Ben Fjare. With countless custom web designs under his belt from clients across the globe, he has more than his fair share of experience in walking clients through the process of upgrading their websites. Upgrading your website is a process that can really only be understood by doing it.

We're kicking off a new series talking with PRIME's Principal and Digital Development Director, Ben Fjare. Ben is a professor, digital experience expert, dev-tech influencer, and all-around website guru. In this week's offering, we will learn about all the ways you can keep your website in its fittest form. As a professor, Ben offers tips and tricks that leave you feeling a little more empowered than overwhelmed.