5 apartment website myths & why they’re holding your marketing back

As an experienced multifamily marketing agency, we’ve heard several apartment website myths over the years. Marketers come to us with preconceived ideas of how RentCafe websites work (and ways they seemingly don’t work). 

Truth be told, there’s quite a bit of outdated, inaccurate information out there, and it’s up to us to set the record straight.

So, here we are! We’re debunking five apartment website myths you’ve probably heard … and why they’re holding your marketing back. We’ll also dive into some RentCafe website features you might be unfamiliar with.

We hope this article offers clarity and a little inspiration for your next website project.

Myth 1: Apartment websites have boring templates

Starting off strong: “Website templates look boring.” This one is easy to debunk for RentCafe websites, considering we have a gallery of our work that shows otherwise.  

We strongly believe that apartment websites shouldn’t be boring. In fact, our developers and designers work to ensure RentCafe websites look fantastic, function well and meet the ever-changing needs of multifamily brands like yours.

You can choose from 80+ standard themes spanning every target demographic. That means regardless of your goals and audience, we’ve got a template that’ll work for you. Each theme has a strong design and UX foundation that you build upon with your branding, images and colors to make it your own.

(If you want something more unique, we also offer custom themes, which we’ll cover in the next section.)

Did we mention RentCafe websites win awards? That includes websites with standard themes. See all 14 award-winning RentCafe websites here.

Myth 2: Making your website look good is expensive 

We can’t speak for all apartment websites, but this doesn’t hold true for ours. We offer four stellar design tiers, at different price points, to meet the needs of different brands and budgets.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Standard: Select one of our themes and get your branding added including colors, logos and images.
• Upgraded: Enjoy more design flexibility. Start with an existing theme, and we’ll upgrade it just for you.
• Signature: Choose a one-of-a-kind website design with advanced styling, creative animations and more.
• Custom: If you can dream it, we can do it. Get a custom website that maintains your real-time pricing and availability. 

Love the idea of a unique website? Get a closer look at signature themes. These websites provide exclusive, high-end designs at a lower cost than custom and with fast implementation. At this time, signature themes offer the most features and flexibility for the best value.

Custom websites are also great, if you’re looking to go fully bespoke. Check out this custom RentCafe website for inspiration.

Myth 3: You need a developer to make changes

What if you need to update your website? This comes up a fair amount. Search trends and renter preferences are always changing, and your marketing should adapt in response. 

RentCafe websites don’t require a developer to make changes. Use our self-service editing tools to update your own website as needed.

We also support you beyond your go-live date, for the life of your website. If you prefer us to make changes, we can do it for you. If you have questions or challenges, we’re here to answer and solve. 

You can also access ongoing training through our live webinars and recorded tutorials. It’s your website, and we want you to have options and feel in control. 

Myth 4: Third-party & native integrations work the same

“My current website already integrates with Yardi, so I don’t need a RentCafe website.”

While third-party integrations offer some value, they’re not comparable to native integrations. When your website automatically integrates with your property management software — and everything unites on a single platform — the difference is significant.

With RentCafe websites, pricing and availability is pulled directly from Voyager and updated nightly. No workarounds, no sync issues, no separate login. You also avoid storing data on a separate platform, which reduces risk and ensures your website has up-to-date information, all the time.

You’re also working with one vendor, so you have one point of contact when website questions arise. The time savings from that alone can be tremendous.

If you’re a Yardi customer that uses RentCafe, it makes sense to have a RentCafe website. Otherwise, you’re likely using a competitor website that still sits on top of RentCafe, adding a potentially complicated extra layer.

Myth 5: Apartment websites aren’t optimized for the AI era

This has surfaced recently, given the rapid fragmentation of search. Renters are using AI to find apartments more than ever, and your website needs more than traditional search engine optimization (SEO) to stand out. 

One thing RentCafe websites offer is built-in schema markup (including ApartmentComplex, LocalBusiness and FAQ). Schema markup is back-end coding that tells search and AI engines what exists on a given page, and it can help your website appear in AI-powered summaries.

We also offer generative engine optimization (GEO) — optimizing content specifically for AI engines — when you license SEO Grow, Neighborhood SEO or REACH 360. This includes fresh, competitive content created for local submarkets.

By the way: If you’re using AI to audit your website and make changes as search evolves, proceed with caution. Working with experienced (human) experts is your ticket to stronger, more visible websites. Get a better understanding in our apartment websites audit article.

Achieve more with RentCafe websites

Your website is your marketing foundation. How can you build on it? We have multiple offerings to pair with your RentCafe website.

• REACH SEO services (including SEO Grow for maximum visibility)
• REACH Marketing IQ (which offers AI-powered content generation)
• REACH 360 (marketing tools designed for the AI era and beyond)
• Chat IQ and CRM IQ (leasing solutions that support today’s renters)

Let’s make your website stand out

If you’ve fallen for some of these common apartment website myths, you’re not alone. We hope this article showed you how powerful your marketing can be when you have the right information.

Ready to chat through your next website project? Get in touch. We’ll do a free consultation and show you more of what’s possible.