Updating Your Website Branding After a Brokerage Change

Overview

When transitioning between brokerages, a comprehensive website branding update is essential to maintain professional credibility and ensure MLS/brand compliance. Outdated logos or references can confuse visitors and reduce trust in your business. 

By utilizing Sierra’s Site Layout Settings, you can update visible branding elements without the need for a full site rebuild.

Table of Contents

1. What You Can Update in Site Layout Settings
2. Updating Logos
3. Updating Brand Colors
4. Updating Hero Visuals and Navigation
5. Luxury Template Differences
6. Brokerage Change Checklist
7. Troubleshooting Common Issues
8. FAQs

What You Can Update in Site Layout Settings

When you move to a new brokerage, most of your visual rebranding can be handled directly in the CAA without a site rebuild. Site Layout Settings is your central control panel for logos, brand colors, hero imagery, and navigation display. Changes apply globally across your site.

To access Site Layout Settings:

1. Log in to your Sierra CAA.
2. Click the Gear icon in the top navigation bar.
3. Select Site Layout Settings from the sidebar menu.

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Updating Logos

The logo section controls how your brokerage identity appears in the header and footer across your entire site.

Header logo

1. In Site Layout Settings, navigate to the Logo section.
2. Upload your new brokerage-approved logo as a JPG, GIF, or PNG (maximum 5MB).
3. Click Save.

Footer logo

1. In the footer logo settings, choose one of the following options:
   • Display the same logo as your header
   • Upload a separate logo (useful for compliance requirements)
   • Display no logo
2. Click Save.
   

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Updating Brand Colors

Brand colors control buttons, accents, font colors, and link hover states across your site.

1. In Site Layout Settings, navigate to the Colors section.
2. Use the color picker or enter a 6-digit hex code to set your Primary Color (used for buttons and key accents).
3. Update your Secondary Color as needed.
4. Update Primary and Secondary Font Colors to match your new firm's style guide.
5. Update Link Hover States to maintain visual consistency.
6. Click Save and confirm changes on your live site.

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Updating Hero Visuals and Navigation

The hero area — the large image or video at the top of your homepage — is one of the most visible branding surfaces on your site and is often where old brokerage references appear.

Replacing hero imagery

1. In Site Layout Settings, navigate to the Primary Background Photo/Video section.
2. Replace any imagery that references your previous brokerage with a high-quality, neutral, or brokerage-approved alternative.
3. Click Save.
   

Navigation and footer

• Confirm your sticky navigation bar is enabled so your updated header logo remains visible as users scroll.
• Review all footer elements — contact forms, social links, and legal disclosures — to confirm they reflect your current brokerage requirements.

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Luxury Template Differences

If you're on the Sierra Luxury template, several branding controls work differently than on other templates

• Logo placement: Luxury sites offer additional logo placement options to support a more refined visual hierarchy.
• Brand colors: Color changes on Luxury sites apply more globally across the template to preserve design consistency. Make color updates deliberately.
• Hero video: Luxury templates support background video in the hero area (hosted on Vimeo or YouTube) for desktop views. Replace any video referencing your previous brokerage.
• Manual sections: The following sections do not update automatically and require a manual review:
  • Notable Listings
  • Featured Agents
  • Featured Communities
  • Market Presence statistics
  • Testimonials / Google Reviews

Review each of these sections to confirm all content aligns with your new firm.

For more detail on Luxury site management, see: Build High-Value Brand Authority with the Sierra Luxury Site

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Brokerage Change Checklist

Use this checklist to confirm your site is fully transitioned before announcing your new brand.

Required

• Upload new brokerage-approved primary (header) logo
• Upload or configure footer logo
• Update primary and secondary brand colors using hex codes
• Update font colors and link hover states
• Replace hero imagery with brokerage-approved or neutral visuals
• Review footer for outdated contact info, social links, and legal disclosures
• Confirm sticky navigation is displaying the updated header logo

Recommended

• Review Agent Profiles and About pages for old brokerage mentions
• Review homepage copy and section text for brokerage-specific language (Ace and Pro)
• Review and update all Luxury manual sections (Luxury template only)
• Replace hero video if it references your previous brokerage (Luxury template only)
• Clear your browser cache and test the site on both desktop and mobile

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

• My old logo is still showing after saving.
  Clear your browser cache and reload the page. Confirm the new logo was saved successfully in Site Layout Settings. If the issue persists, try uploading the logo file again.
• My brand colors don't look right on the site.
  Double-check that you entered the correct 6-digit hex code and that both primary and secondary color fields were saved. Hex codes are case-insensitive but must be exactly 6 characters (no # symbol required in some fields — check the input format).
• Some pages still reference my old brokerage.
  Site Layout Settings controls global branding elements only. Any brokerage-specific language added directly to page content will need to be updated manually in the page editor.
• My hero image appears blurry or low quality.
  Confirm the image meets Sierra's recommended dimensions and file size. Use a high-resolution PNG or JPG for best results.

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FAQs

• Do I need to rebuild my website when changing brokerages?
  No. Most visual branding updates can be handled through Site Layout Settings without rebuilding your site.
• Will rebranding affect my IDX feed or listings?
  No. Branding changes in Site Layout Settings do not affect IDX functionality or listing data.
• Can Sierra update my branding for me?
  Depending on your plan or service agreement, Sierra may be able to assist with branding updates. Reach out to your Sierra support team to discuss your options.
• What if I also need to update my domain after a brokerage change?
  Domain changes are handled separately. See: Seamlessly Change Your Sierra Site's Primary Domain

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