Web Design for Estate and Letting Agents

Buyers use the portals. Vendors check your website.

Most buyers and tenants find homes on Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket. Your website's main job is different: it is where a homeowner goes after typing "estate agents in Mansfield", "best letting agent near me" or "how much is my house worth". They are deciding who to invite round for a valuation, so the site needs to show local knowledge, recent sales, fees and a quick way to book.

That shapes the build. The valuation call to action sits in the header on every page. Area guides for each town and village you cover give Google something local to rank and show vendors you know the patch. Team pages show real people with direct lines. Listings still matter, because vendors look at how you present other people's homes, so the property pages need large photos, floorplans, video tours and clear key facts.

Property feeds from your CRM

You should only have to enter a property once. Your CRM already pushes listings to the portals, and most can push the same data to your website. Rightmove publishes its Real Time Datafeed (RTDF) specification, and the older BLM file format is still widely supported, which is why many agency CRMs and WordPress property plugins can read both. Rightmove switched off its legacy Automated Data Feed in January 2016, so if your site still relies on something that old, it is time to change.

On a WordPress build we typically use a property import plugin that reads your CRM's feed on a schedule, creates and updates listings, downloads photos and floorplans, and marks properties as sold, under offer or let automatically. Some CRMs offer an API instead. Which route fits depends on your CRM and how many branches you run, so feed integration is part of a fixed quote after we have seen your set-up. See WordPress web design for how we build and hand over these sites.

Note that portal feeds only go one way: Rightmove does not provide listings back out. Your website takes its data from your CRM, not from the portals.

Material information: Parts A, B and C

National Trading Standards guidance sets out the material information buyers and tenants need to make a decision, and it applies to your website listings as well as the portals. Part A came first, in May 2022, and Parts B and C followed in November 2023.

• Part A applies to every property: council tax band, asking price or rent, tenure for sales, and deposit for lettings.
• Part B covers information to establish for all properties: physical characteristics, number and type of rooms, utilities such as electricity, water, sewerage and heating, broadband and mobile signal, and parking.
• Part C applies where relevant: building safety issues, restrictions, rights and easements, flood and erosion risk, planning permission, accessibility adaptations, and coalfield or mining areas.

Summaries from the NRLA and Carter Jonas both say Part A belongs on the front of the listing, with Parts B and C prominent and no more than one click away. We design the listing template that way: Part A fields beside the price, and a clearly labelled material information panel for the rest. If a field is missing in your CRM, the template shows it as missing rather than hiding it, which makes gaps easy to spot.

Fees, redress and advertising rules

Letting agents have a specific legal duty. Section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires a list of fees on the agent's website, with each fee described clearly enough to show what it covers, the amount including VAT, and whether it applies per tenant or per property. The same section requires a statement of which redress scheme you belong to and whether you are a member of a client money protection scheme. The official explanatory notes say a bare "administration fee" label is not enough. We build this as a dedicated, linked fees page.

Sales and lettings adverts also fall under the ASA. Its rulings include an agent whose "private drive" was shared with neighbours, fee claims that left out extra costs, and a listing left online two years after the property came off the market. Automatic feed updates and accurate descriptions fix the last two problems at source. If you claim "local experts", the ASA says you need to be able to show the knowledge and experience to back it.

What an estate agent website costs

A single-branch agent who links out to portal listings could start on Starter, from £250 + VAT, but most agents want listings on their own site. A full agency site with property pages, area guides, valuation forms and copywriting is our Business package, from £500 + VAT, plus a fixed quote for the CRM feed integration once we know your system. Multi-branch groups, lettings portals and landlord logins are quoted. Hosting is from £1 a day + VAT at dijihost. Get in touch with your CRM name and branch count and we will scope it.

What you get

• Property search with filters for price, bedrooms, type and area, built for phones
• Automated listing import from your CRM feed, with sold and let status updates
• Listing template with Part A fields up front and Parts B and C in a one-click panel
• Valuation request page and instant valuation tool integration where you use one
• Lettings fees page with redress scheme and CMP statements
• Area guide pages for the towns and villages you cover
• Google Business Profile for each branch

Prices and how it works

Websites from £250 + VAT, business websites from £500 + VAT and ecommerce from £750 + VAT. Small changes are £45 an hour + VAT. You get a fixed quote before we start.

1. Free chat

   Tell us about your business, who your customers are and what the website needs to do. No charge, no obligation.

2. Fixed quote

   You get a fixed price and a clear list of what is included, in writing, before anything starts.

3. Design

   We plan the pages and design the site around your customers, then share it for your comments.

4. Build and test

   We build it mobile-first, write or polish the copy, set up SEO foundations and test it on real phones.

5. Launch and hand over

   We launch, connect analytics and Search Console, and show you how to update it. You own it all.

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