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Luxury Bay Area Real Estate at Your Fingertips
The Client
Paragon Real Estate was a premiere real estate agency based out of San Francisco with decades of experience and an impressive approach that has generated billions of dollars in sales. As a boutique-minded company that knows every block of SF and nearby Marin county, Paragon offers unparalleled expertise in marketing, negotiating, pricing, and customer service for both buyers and sellers in the home and commercial sectors. Known for their market intelligence, they deliver analytic reports that have been featured in SF Gate, The San Francisco Business Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
The Project
Paragon approached us with a remarkable and ambitious vision: They wanted not only a complete overhaul of their real estate web design, they wanted to reinvent its possibilities. They challenged us with a big what if—what if their site were not just a portfolio of listings, but also a custom-built, all-encompassing tool for buyers to explore the SF bay area? The tool could empower clients to navigate listings based on what they had to offer by way of neighborhood entertainment and culture, and it could also equip agents to be even better at their jobs. We couldn’t wait to translate their what-if into reality.
The first challenge revolved around revamping the look and feel of their brand, as well as bringing their real estate website into the modern, responsive age. We wanted to pair insightful visuals with a polished search and browsing experience that targeted the unique paths of buyers, sellers, agents, and press. We also wanted the new website to offer a forward-thinking point of view and original content Paragon could own.
The second challenge was related to back-end development: we wanted to offer agents and brokers autonomous control over how they showcase listings, thus streamlining the way they work. The current industry standard for real estate companies is limited. Most companies manage listing information manually, rely on disparate databases, and require real estate agents to utilize an external printing company for materials. Paragon’s existing intranet was not only dated, it limited their possibilities. To meet their innovative vision for streamlined efficiency and a more seamless experience across customers and agent channels, we had to take a dive deep into a UI/UX redesign. And, for the public site’s efficacy, we had to address SEO for search viability.
The Approach
Paragon was a terrific match for our team—they have a creative, ambitious streak, and they were driven to set their brand apart. They were also wide open with ideas, which sparked a friendly collaboration throughout the project. From the start, we knew it was going to be a huge undertaking, from redeveloping their brand’s look, feel, and tone; to creating a responsive design that was also user friendly; to strategizing how to migrate data from an old intranet into a new, custom-built CMS.
Our design team was driven to conceive a bold and immersive look inspired by the dynamic imagery of Bay Area life, culture, and events. From showstopping hot spots to historic landmarks, they presented visuals and videos in full-screen format to immerse and engage millennials and the broader real estate audience. Knowing that beautiful design was only one piece of the puzzle, we brought in a search engine optimization expert to help potential clients find them more effectively. As it stood, lead generation was low and we were driven to give it a measurable boost.
Throughout the entire project, we encountered many problem-solving opportunities. Our original goal was to update the existing database; over time, however, we realized the smarter method was to build a new content management system from the ground up. We started with a rebuilding of Paragon’s existing database. From structure, to classification, to workflow, we audited and evolved their site completely. This resulted in a new baseline with how they managed inventory—now agents plug all information into the new database, and details are seamlessly relayed onto the public site for prospective clients to navigate intuitively. The custom intranet we built is scalable and successfully manages data, users, permissions for those users, and information that goes onto the public website, all while acting as an internal resource for agents and staff.
The Result
Paragon’s new website was launched in February of 2017. Since then, it has generated more new leads than their old site by far. The new, SEO-friendly approach has boosted their google visibility, migrating the company’s search result from the third page to the first page, front and center. From an aesthetic standpoint, their user-friendly site design and layout now engages home buyers and sellers alike, and reflects their premier standing within the real estate community.
Thanks to the custom intranet that enables agents to do a better, faster job, Paragon is primed to be at the top of the real estate market from a technology standpoint, placing them ahead of their competitors.
Having worked with High Seas on a series of complex technical projects, we were already familiar with their team and work ethic. However, we were still blown away at the completely fresh and innovative design concepts they produced for our paragon-re.com redesign. They took our goals and objectives and created a site that truly embodies the luxury real estate experience. We have received nothing but positive feedback from colleagues and industry experts and are looking forward to submitting the site for real-estate innovation awards.
Brian Wilcox
VP of Technology Paragon Real Estate
