Walnut Capital
Custom Website Design & Development
If you’re local to Pittsburgh, you probably know Walnut Capital. What you probably don’t know is that this real estate development and commercial property management company has been around for over 20 years! When they came to Blue Archer, they needed a website that would match the fun, modern brand people had come to know.
Challenge
Walnut Capital needed a website that would market their local Pittsburgh apartments for rent. And with over 2,000 units, Walnut Capital wanted to appeal to a diverse rental group – from college students to families. It was critical that the new website provide strong and accurate brand visuals, a useable interface, intelligent information architecture, and include functionality that would help further Walnut Capital’s mission and vision.
Solution
Our strategy, marketing, design, and development staff worked together to create a vibrant, engaging website that meets the needs of Walnut Capital’s various user types. A dynamic neighborhood module ensures site visitors get to know the unique personality of different areas throughout Pittsburgh. Property management tool integrations and custom property page templates create a streamlined, intuitive way for users to explore appropriate listings. We rounded out the project with a blog, social media integrations, image and video galleries, and more. Content databases and intuitive CMS design make content and population maintenance as simple and efficient as possible for the Walnut Capital team.
Strategy
The new website aimed to be Walnut Capital’s central online marketing hub and primary vehicle for disseminating information to prospective tenants, existing tenants, and local businesses. We needed to create more than just a pretty website – we needed to build a business tool. In the strategy phase we completed a comprehensive competitive analysis, established clear website goals, built a strategic sitemap, and prototyped landing pages.
The strategy also included analyzing key website users so we could determine appropriate user paths and functionality. We quickly learned, for example, that prospective clients desire quick access to available units, floor plans, photos, and cost. The website needed to enable multiple filtering mechanisms so users could easily search by neighborhood, cost, bedrooms, amenities, and more.
Design
We knew we needed to find the design sweet spot where we could communicate the fun and quirky Walnut Capital brand without sacrificing the professionalism that comes with 20 years in business and over 100+ employees. Walnut Capital specializes in creating exceptional living experiences, and we wanted to extend that experience for online users too.
The website design uses strategic asymmetry, fun textures, bright imagery, and illustrations to create a hip and urban vibe that would appeal to everyone from college students to families.
The site includes custom designs for key landing pages including the homepage, neighborhoods, properties, team, Walnut Perks, and more.
Functionality
We built the Walnut Capital website on a secure and intuitive CMS that utilizes a page-builder approach for maximum flexibility. Responsive design and coding, HTTPS (SSL) site-wide security, and forms management are all foundational to the new site.
The new website includes image video galleries, news feeds, content databases, a blog, and custom modules including a dynamic neighborhood section of the site that automatically pulls in available units for rent, images, and other contextual content. We integrated with Walnut Capital’s existing property management software, Yardi, RentCafe, and Instagram.
Conclusion
We created a website that will help boost Walnut Capital’s presence in the Pittsburgh rental market, increase online presence in search for out of town prospects, and improve apartment inquiry conversions. We can’t wait to continue to support this fun, local brand as they continue to expand and serve the Pittsburgh area!
Questions?
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