Your apartment community's website is more than just your best leasing tool.
It's also your single source of truth.
For renters to choose your community over others, your website—and all of the content and information displayed there— must be accurate, authentic, and helpful.
Otherwise, you'll lose their trust and they'll move on.
Let's talk about how your apartment website can prevent that, and build renters' trust.
Trustworthy apartment websites make it easy for renters to get answers to their basic questions.
To develop trust—and ultimately cement your community as a viable option—your website should include:
1. Real-time pricing and availability that's easy to understand
Your rent prices and unit availability are essential information for every renter. You can establish a high level of trust in how you present both on your website. The best practice is to show one rent price (based on a standard 12-month lease) per unit, along with its current availability.
Do you have fees for pets, utilities, or garages? Put it all out there on your website, too. The more transparency, the better.
Outdated pricing, availability, specials, or hidden fees can all lead to negative leasing conversations. Work actively to avoid scenarios where online info differs from what renters may see or hear in person.
2. Media content specific to each floorplan that shows the inside of units.
Apartment websites need well-organized floorplan videos and photos for two reasons:
- Renters know before they search exactly how many bedrooms and bathrooms they'll need, so they're not just searching for the right apartment community but, really, the right floorplan at the right community.
- Now imagine buying a house based only on photos of the exterior. You'd never do that; everyone wants to see the inside! The same goes for apartments.
Avoid using overly idealized or stock imagery (unless you’re in a lease-up phase). If you only have photos of empty floorplans, it's okay to add AI-generated staging as long as you make it clear that the photo is a rendering.
Misleading representations—intentional or not—violate renter trust. There are ways to ethically edit your apartment's media content and improve its online presentation while maintaining accuracy.
3. A comprehensive list of amenities.
Sure, your apartment may have a stellar-looking clubhouse and pool. Amenities like these matter, but how much information about smaller or less 'photo-genic' features do you include on your website?
You would be surprised by the different things that renters are looking for. From amenities regarding property safety to dishwashers, a 2023 study from Apartments.com confirmed renters value an assortment of features when choosing an apartment community.
In that light, mentioning all amenities clearly and in plain language would provide renters with the most complete depiction of your offerings and help them identify some of the things they're looking for in a future apartment.
4. Resident reviews.
It's a virtual guarantee that apartment seekers will review what others say about your apartments online. Why not feature tenant testimonials on your community website?
Authentic, 'real' reviews from current residents are more influential to Gen Z renters (who are about to become the largest population group in U.S. history) than anything you could say in your website messaging.
Adding a few reviews directly on your homepage or floorplan pages can give renters social proof where it matters most.
Key Takeaway
Your apartment community website plays an essential role in building renters' trust. If anything is inaccurate, inauthentic, or simply missing, your website is failing to address the basic needs renters have to confidently choose your apartments over the many other options available.