When a potential buyer sees a photograph of your house, they will have an emotional reaction to it, to some degree. The reaction may be positive or negative; it may be indifference, which will probably cause them to dismiss your house as a possible next home for them.
Clearly, the main image is crucial as your best chance to generate a positive emotional reaction, and one way of doing this is to make sure that your front door can be seen in the main shot. Let me show you what I mean.
Take this lovely property for a start; it has some great period features – that decorative brickwork for example – and it clearly has an elegant and perfectly fitting front door, if you crane your neck to see it, that is. What a pity that buyers can’t see it in any of the photos online.

And this old school house, with its pretty windows and attractive roofline, would look so much more inviting if you could see the front door. If nothing else, I’m curious as to what it would look like.
This Lakeland stone property has been photographed at an angle that shows the front door, giving balance to the image and the best chance of creating a positive emotional response in a buyer. I would be intrigued by the fact that the door itself appears contemporary in style, tempting me to seek out the rest of the images, to see what it’s like inside.

What a pretty conversion; imagine if the photographer had taken the shot straight on to the garage; the cute porch wouldn’t be visible. This way, a buyer can see the character of the outside that could give a clue about what lies inside.
So if your house is on the market, check out your online advert to see if your front door is visible; if not, consider asking your agent to change your front shot so that it is and give your buyers the chance to make that emotional connection with your house right from the start.





I totally agree – I have a fascination with front doors, see the banner on my website for proof! I love the outsides of houses primarily, the shapes and the lines and particularly the silhouettes that are created by roofs and chimneys against the sky, but it’s the front doors that draw my eye. I want to know what’s inside too, and often we look at the front door to give us a hint to what’s waiting beyond. The front door holds secrets, and as a naturally curious bunch of people you’re going to want to entice people in with the promise of what’s beyond! And if your front door doesn’t match up to the quality of the interior, sort it out before you go to market. Michael at http://www.period-doors.co.uk/ is a great place to start, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about fabulous doors!
Thanks Anna, you make some lovely and emotional reasons to show a front door! I’m off to check out the link you mentioned, so thanks! Sam
Hi Samantha,
I do enjoy reading your blog. Your tips are spot on!
Keep up the good work.
Gavin
Thanks Gavin! If you keep reading them, I’ll keep writing them! Sam
First impression counts! a Front door with loads of character can give the property an advantage to the ones that haven’t paid attention to details.