Websites, those essential, go-to marketing platforms, are taking on new looks and importance.

Usually the first impression office space seekers and clients will have of properties, owners and sales teams, sites are acquiring added features that not only market and advertise but, with the click on a phone, allow prospective buyers or tenants to virtually experience offered properties or spaces.

For insight, I spoke with David Nusim, founder and president of CPG Interactive, which has been designing and developing websites for 25 years for brokerages CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield and JLL and owners Brookfield, Bergman Real Estate Group and Rockefeller Group as well as medium sized and smaller firms.

Nusim encourages brokers and owners to present offerings via video or Matterport creating virtual walk-through tours online anytime and anywhere in the world. Moreover, there is resurgence in the use of QR codes which easily connect tours with one click on computers, phones and other devices.  Nusim recommends “call to action” prompts, or CTAs, such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses typically at the top of the website page or next to the navigation bar. 

But even with these additions, remember the basics, suggests Nusim:

• First define audience and competition
• Keep navigation bar simple
• Make page loading times short
• Think quality ahead of quantity when it comes to content and the number of pages
• Use more photos and imagery and less copy and make those photos look great or excellent
• Be certain the website displays properly and responsively on phones and tablets with both horizontal and vertical displays
• Back up your website - one never knows when your host may lose your site or it gets hacked
• And finally, keep domain and host contact information up-to -date and accurate to prevent that great new website from accidentally going down.

Harry Zlokower is a real estate public relations consultant based in New York.