Your real estate website serves as your primary storefront as well as a possible first impression. It is crucial to convey professionalism, credibility, and value but you won't always be there in person to read the scenario and communicate those things. Time is spent on visual branding, listing photos, and local area info to also convey these things but make sure you’re not overlooking an essential experience- your website’s visitor registration. Consider how your visitor registration will register with those visiting. 

Recognize The Context

Visitor Registration is easy to overlook because we’ve become accustomed to the generic and  simple ‘sign up or Log-In’ request which is fine for most websites, but this experience becomes crucial in the personal work of real estate. It is one of the largest financial decisions a person will make so this experience can’t be treated like any other website. Personalize your registration experience, recognize the context of their visit and its scale, and directly address the visitor’s specific intent. Doing so can help change that casual traffic into a trusted contact or referral well beyond the ‘now’ of registration.

Recognize The Visitor

Someone visiting your website has a journey long before they’re in contact and completing a  deal, it starts the moment your website appears and how their experience on that website goes. Any half measure could be an exit ramp for their decision rather than a step forward to being in contact, the most crucial of those steps being registration- a small commitment of being a serious buyer beyond looking. In doing so they will ask themselves if you’re the right person, if you’ll have what they need, and what they’ll get in doing so. 

Scale Your Message

There is a balance between leaving no message and overwhelming them with information at the point of registration. If the form presents a massive wall of required fields, users feel interrogated rather than welcomed. Scale the call to action and messaging. Make it laser focused as a first impression, why it should be you, and why they should register- the rest of getting to know you will come with time. 

Write For The Context, Right For The Context

In person it is easier to adjust and read body language but that opportunity does not easily exist online. The messaging and call to action on your registration prompt may need to change based on how they’re choosing or not choosing to register. Did they leave the page idle? Did they register while browsing listings? Did they show exit intent while on a page to close it? Did they click the register button directly? If given the opportunity the messaging and call to action would be tailored to the context to ensure you’re not thanking someone for showing interest while  leaving your page or begging them not to leave while just trying to save listings. While ideal, not all websites offer context triggered registration. 

Control Your Message with iHouse

Those with an iHouse website have the ability to set custom registration messages based on context triggers such as Listing Search, Blog Registration,Time on Page, Exit Intent and more. Further controls let you move between simple and custom forms, adjust field requirements, and tailor contextual messaging to ensure your messaging represents you.

For those getting started there is also the option for ‘Auto-optimize my settings for lead generation’ as a default in case inspiration hasn't struck just yet.

Additionally, the modern expectation of one-tap registration or single sign-on can be included without removing the ability to showcase your messaging or call to action panel. Make your registration represent you while respecting the time of those visiting with modern best practices. 

Closing Thoughts

Your website registration form is a powerful communication tool so make sure to not overlook it.  By controlling your registration you gain more control of that first impression, demonstrate your personal value, and clearly outline exclusive benefits. See how your registration is registering with visitors and its ability to convert casual browsers into engaged, qualified leads.