It’s essential for a real estate business to be competitive and highly profitable, which means there’s no room for error when it comes to its website. Unfortunately, too many agencies resort to using ready-made templates and website builders that can’t stand up to the competition and fail at meeting customer demands.
The best way for an organization to excel in this field is by outsourcing the development of their site to companies and investing in reliable back-end systems that include custom features that make. Doing so will result in an astonishing website that users love to visit and share with others.
Introduction to Product Design
Working in real estate can be a challenge, especially with the considerable shift toward protection. For agents to maximize their potential, they must be comfortable with product design a process that looks to create a tangible digital platform from an idea. However, this isn’t taught in traditional real estate classes. Ultimately there are two major forces that push digital products and ideas forward: technology and demand. Technology advances undergo rapid change, setting the stage for innovations in business models or substantially increasing existing ones. Meanwhile, demand is pulled by consumer needs — what they desire to see in the industry and how they want it delivered. The challenge of utilizing advances in product design no doubt requires understanding these two forces– something real estate agents must understand if they hope to stay ahead of the game.
5 Steps to Product Design
When creating a design, you need to focus on competitors and try to surpass them in those places where they have weaknesses. One of the flagships is the Zillow vendor application, which is a good example of a decent application. However, you should consider other projects like the Opendoor app and have your own vision. Product design is often depicted as 2 diamonds that help divergent and convergent thinking. The following 5 components will help you design your real estate website and app.
#1 Empathize
Solving a problem starts with recognizing what the problem is, and then doing extensive research to fully understand it. This research should illuminate how pressing of an issue it really is, as well as what steps people are taking now to address it. Once you know that this is an issue that needs attention and input, it’s time to get creative. Brainstorming solutions – no matter how farfetched or impossible they may seem – can be a great way to arrive at new methods and options for tackling the problem head-on. Through research and creative thinking, any problem can be met with the perfect solution.
#2 Define
Defining problems within a team or organization should not be taken lightly. Failing to properly identify and define all the issues can create a ripple effect of disastrous consequences that can hinder future success. To make sure this doesn’t happen, it’s important to take the second step of clearly outlining and documenting all problems that have been identified. By doing so, the whole team will come to an agreement on what needs to be solved and how it can best be accomplished. Thus, defining is an essential yet often overlooked component when attempting to bring about positive change for an organization.
#3 Ideate
Ideation can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to real estate software development. Generating quality ideas quickly and efficiently is key, so it’s important to brainstorm as many possibilities as you can to increase your chances of hitting the mark. Ultimately, real estate software development relies on coming up with ideas that are not only numerous but also of high quality, while taking into consideration the different stakeholders involved. It’s in the ideation process where the real challenge lies; combining creativity and collaboration to develop innovative solutions that work best for everyone.
#4 Prototype & Test
With the potential of an idea fueling you, it is always wise to consider the feasibility from both a technical and user perspective. To enable maximum success, you must also be aware of the current real estate trends in your particular market. Thanks to these mindful steps, you will effectively be able to start testing your ideas early on in their lifecycle. This would involve building a prototype for users to interact with, thereby gathering valuable feedback which can be used to tweak or pivot elements of your design as required. As such, by combining creativity with data-driven insights, you should be well-placed to put together a trial that puts you one step closer to launch.
#5 Iterate
Iteration is an important step in the product development process for building real estate software. When you iterate, you make small changes to your product design, gradually improving it based on customer feedback. This cycle of refine-test-improve can be repeated until the app reaches its optimal design and functionality. Through thorough iteration, developers can create a real estate app prototype that meets user expectations and effectively serves the customer’s needs. By engaging the users throughout this process, you will have identified any issues early enough to craft a quality product that provides genuine value to real estate businesses. Iteration is therefore essential for creating successful software products in this field.
Why is it better to outsource the development of a real estate website?
No matter what kind of business you’re in, having an effective and properly built real estate platform is essential. If not, it can have drastic effects on your overall sales. Despite this, unfortunately, there are still some business owners who think that outsourcing the development of their real estate platform won’t be beneficial, opting instead for subscription-based ready-made software or cheap freelancers from the Eastern Hemisphere. However, this can easily lead to a variety of issues such as:
- limited functionality and lack of features;
- no customization options and scalability abilities;
- dependence on less-than-reliable providers for tech support;
- limited range of filters;
- currencies and languages available etc.
Before going for the easy option, business owners should consider the negative implications and potential hazards associated with ready-made software. Those who want to build a website like Zillow should look for developers of the same level. Read here about what to consider when designing websites like this. An ordinary development team will not cope with such a task.
Final Thoughts
Creating a successful real estate software platform requires an in-depth understanding of the industry and its ever-changing trends. From ideation to iteration, developers need to have a comprehensive strategy for both building and maintaining their products. By outsourcing the development process to experienced professionals, businesses can benefit from extensive market knowledge and reliable support services that will help them.