Case Studies
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Shea Apartments

Creating a seamless journey across neighborhoods

Shea Apartments manages more than 26 communities, each shaped by its own neighborhood. The brand needed a digital experience that could make every property feel distinct while helping prospective renters find the right home.

Industry
Homebuilding & Real Estate
Channels
Website Development
Explore the partnership
Shea Homes
Poolside courtyard at a Shea apartment community with palm trees, lounge chairs, and residents relaxing by the pool.
The Opportunity

Shea Apartments wanted to improve the rental journey from a renter’s first website visit through move-in. But its website and Rent Cafe portal divided neighborhood discovery from essential leasing and resident information, creating friction across a growing portfolio.

The Insight

Renters were not simply comparing floor plans; they were choosing a community and the life around it. By connecting property details, neighborhood content, and rental tools within one intuitive experience, Shea Apartments could make each location easier to explore and easier to choose.

UX strategy and architecture

Designing around the renter journey

We began with a comprehensive audit of the existing experience, identifying what worked, where renters encountered friction, and how content could better support their decisions. In collaboration with Shea Apartments, we defined functional requirements, reorganized the site architecture, and created a content model that balanced portfolio-wide consistency with each community’s personality.

Desktop and mobile views of the Shea Apartments homepage featuring the "Apartment Living, Reimagined" hero banner and community grid.
Website design and development

Connecting discovery and leasing

We translated the strategy into a mobile-centric website that connected neighborhood exploration, property information, and Rent Cafe functionality. Our team developed design concepts, analytics specifications, and technical requirements before building and testing the experience. Rigorous pre-launch reviews and defect resolution helped deliver a smooth launch for renters and the Shea Apartments team.

Three mobile screens showing the Seattle location page, the locations navigation menu, and the Northern California region page.
Three mobile screens showing the San Diego location page, apartment search results, and local neighborhood highlights on Shea Apartments' site.
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“We set out to create an industry-leading website, and we knocked that goal out of the park. Internally, we are thrilled with the website, and we’ve had great feedback from the extended teams.”

Mike
Olson
Director, Digital Marketing, Shea Apartments
Key Metrics

Measurable Impact

In its first 18 months, the redesigned site grew discovery, engagement, and applications—and became a Kentico Site of the Year finalist.

59%

Growth in organic traffic

341,000

Floor plan views

2,540

full-funnel online rental applications

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Let’s build something greater together.

Ready to start a partnership built on clarity, collaboration, and real results?

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