Lodge Real Estate Website

Black Sheep worked with Lodge to build a new website designed to earn trust as local market leaders and connect people with their chosen agents. Built using Silverstripe and integrated with Vault RE as Lodge’s central customer property database, their new site delivers more of what users value and streamlines lead capture.

Our recipe for success included:

• Technical UX Research
• Wireframing
• Website Design
• Silverstripe Development
• Complex Integration
• Information Architecture

Lodge’s brand refresh and new property management system opened the door to revamp their digital presence. Black Sheep conducted user research, including interviews, surveys, and behavioural tracking, which revealed high expectations in the online real estate market.

Our deep dive into UX research highlighted what vendors, buyers, and agents value most. This focused our efforts on features that would enhance Lodge’s competitive edge and reinforce their market leadership in Hamilton real estate.

We recognised that while online property browsing is fundamental, helping users connect with agents they feel they can trust is key to the brand’s success making it the website's primary goal.

Property listings and agent profiles were designed with robust conversion funnels linked to Lodge’s central CRM, enhancing lead generation efficiency.

Our phased approach prioritised key features for the initial launch, with a clear roadmap for continuous improvements, ensuring users get the most valuable features as quickly as possible.

Clickable design prototypes illustrated search UI and conversion pathways, aligning visual branding with the user journey.

Our mobile-first design for the property search interface prioritises quick keyword searches with extra filters opening in a dedicated modal. Users can search and view properties on a dynamic map or in a thumbnail gallery.

Property details are updated rapidly through Silverstripe integration with Vault RE using webhooks, significantly reducing wait times.

Structured, accessible property listings feature a sticky navigation menu, high-impact hero image gallery, and strong calls to action, enhancing both buyer and vendor experiences.

Agent profiles highlight individual personalities, recent sales, active suburbs, top tips, and testimonials, helping users find the best match and encouraging ongoing engagement.

Any properties updated in their central Vault RE system are pulled through to Lodge's new website more frequently and efficiently meaning less waiting and one source of truth.

Capturing website enquiry details to the same central database helps Lodge nurture long-term, personal relationships with their clients with great visibility and minimal effort.

An interactive, digital-first format for Lodge’s Localé publication that showcases standout properties to inspire and engage home buyers replaces cumbersome PDF catalogues, reducing workload and production costs.