Wednesday Website Wisdom: 4 Ways To Improve Your Residential Real Estate Website 

Story by: Zander
July 16, 2025

Charleston-based online marketing agency Colophon New Media has unique insight into how to optimize business websites for specific industries, from commercial real estate to homebuilding to boat brokerage, to name just a few.

Today, we’re turning our attention to the fast-growing world of residential real estate as we launch our new Wednesday Website Wisdom feature.

Going forward, keep your eye out on Wednesdays for blogs and social media posts sharing Colophon’s — you guessed it! — website wisdom.

The keys to success for a residential real estate website are not unlike those in related industries like commercial real estate, but there are some key differences. 

Before we go any further, you can check out a few of the many examples of the top-notch residential real estate websites built and hosted by Colophon below:

• Carriage Properties
• Luxury Simplified
• Scenic Custom Homes

4 Keys To Success For A Residential Real Estate Website

We see no need to beat around the bush any further, so let’s get right into four boxes that your residential real estate website should be checking. 

1) First Things First: Integrated MLS APIs

First and foremost, it’s impossible to have a successful residential real estate website without an MLS API. 

If the headline of this article grabbed your attention, you probably don’t need us to tell you that Multiple Listing Services are the backbone of a residential real estate business. Colophon’s expertise building and customizing highly effective MLS APIs can help your site stand out from the crowd. 

One great example of a Charleston-based firm taking advantage of our extensive experience building top-notch MLS APIs is brandykeener.com. This site’s robust MLS API has helped boost online traffic, and that has translated to a positive impact on the company’s bottom line.

2) Show Your Personality, And Your Local Expertise

When it comes to letting customers get to know your residential real estate agents and their personalities, there’s no such thing as overdoing it. 

The explanation here (customers want to know the person helping them buy or sell or a home) is obvious, so let’s focus on how to accomplish this objective: 

• A) a professional headshot 
• B) a detailed bio: emphasize specifics over generalities, and include some personal info alongside your relevant professional information
• C) make sure contact info is impossible to miss, both on the pages showcasing your agents and throughout the rest of your website

You should also make sure that your website flexes your hyper-local expertise, as knowledge of your local community is absolutely paramount. Below are a couple of specific steps we recommend taking on this front:

• A “local partners” page is always a great idea. Set up one of these to give customers the lowdown on your favorite establishments in the area.
• Related: a page featuring a neighborhood guide is another great idea.
• Last but not least, use your website’s blog and newsletter to tell prospective customers all about the latest news and developments in their area. A regular newsletter to your email list can be a particularly effective method of boosting your company’s exposure.

3) Get That Phone Ringing: There’s No Such Thing As Too Many CTAs 

We’ll close with two suggestions that are universal for websites across just about every type of business, but nevertheless incredibly important. Every page and section of your website should feature a call to action, as this is a proven way to capture a ton of valuable leads. 

You never know which page of your site will prompt a visitor to want to contact you. Cover your bases by making sure that no matter which page of your site someone is exploring, getting in touch via email, a form submission or a phone call is always just a click away.

4) Optimization For Mobile Is Not Optional

We can’t overstate this point, which is a great example of “last but not least.” In most cases, prospective clients are viewing your properties on their phone. This makes fast servers that ensure snappy loading a non-negotiable necessity.

If your mobile site is lagging, you’re risking visitors quickly leaving in search of a better browsing experience, and your loss could be a competitor’s gain (and a new business lead that could have – and should have – been yours).

Contact Colophon Now To Improve Your Residential Real Estate Website

Speaking of CTAs, if you’ve read this far, we’re willing to bet you could benefit from a chat with Colophon New Media — and a conversation with one of our experts is just one click away.