I hope my opinion is better late than never. I am not in the web site business and provide this info for your enjoyment only.

I have designed and published two non-template sites using Open Source Realty as the back-end and many more using templates from http://www.ubertor.com or one with http://www.myrealpage.com.

The two non-template sites are http://www.proc.ca and http://www.propertiesbyalexis.com. Focus on the content and layout versus the design which would be custom for you. These two sites cost around $ 2500 including the license for the back-end.

An example of an Ubertor site is http://www.lesliesuttonsells.com, www.anniharkins.com or http://www.ianwatt.ca. The last one for Ian Watt is a customization of a template using CSS coding and is relatively inexpensive and easy to do.

An example of a MyReal Page site is http://www.terriweber.com which is a customized template.

DING DING DING
We have a winner!!!

Some of the ugliest sites out there actually have the highest conversion rates while visitors of some of the prettiest sites out there get lost in the beauty and spend so much time looking thru the houses, they forget to fill out the form or call.

Honestly:

What I specialize on when building sites (mine and clients') is branding. Strong branding is the key.

If you study and understand online behaviour, you can easily build a powerful website for 2.5k max (fully optimized and not including a low monthy SEO rate) which generates more leads and ranks better than some of the producst running 10-25k

Mike Dammann

All of the self promotion aside ... which needs to be dialed back a notch .... The question you are asking is impossible to answer ... My typical answer to it is how long is a piece of string ... or how much does a car cost ... I say this only to point out that without details on exactly what is required, desired etc. there is no answer you can take seriously

Can something less costly work?..maybe... can something be customized and tweaked? or is custom coding needed from start to finish? ... Lots of things to consider before pulling the trigger on anything with anyone ... Best of luck

I have dumped about 5k in my site this year that includes design, SEO, IDX and hosting plus another 4k on other avenues driving traffic to the site.

I agree with these prices.

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments. I found a site designer that was less expensive and more interested in making a site that represented me and my goals, so I went with him. I now have a custom site that I'm very happy with. Let me know if you have any feedback!

Valorie Bradley
Long Realty
http://www.valoriebradley.com
520-918-5209

I have a template website and I think it looks very professional and my clients don't seem to care at all. The best thing is that the site was free and it only costs me monthly hosting. As a new agent keeping my start up costs down was important, since I have all the other fees to take care of. It has been an easy solution and while I build my business this site will work. It has only been up for a couple months and I have already gotten some top ranking in the google natural listings. I got the site from Real Estate Promoter.

Seems a bit steep. Depends on what you are after though. I could do something nice for about half. Generally, I don't do private stuff anymore, but every now and then ...

Let me know if you decide on anything, and let me know how it goes. I will start reviewing companies and posting them on my site.

Good luck

Sorry, I didn't read your last post. I am guessing he did the site that is in your sig?

Website developers are in the habit of pretending like their Brain Surgeons. 10 years ago when designing and developing a website took a masters in computer science the high prices were warranted. $6,000 - $8,000 for a website to market your services is way too high.

I say this because if you don't know how to build or manage your own website then you won't be able to understand or properly use the functionality that a website like that should come with. I'd also be asking them what they meant by 'marketing it'. That's too broad. SEO is usually charged for on a monthly basis (you can get good stuff for $20 - $50 per month), and if you want to buy PPC ads it's simple for you to do on your own. There are also many ways you can easily market your website yourself online.

I found a free websitem just buy your own domain.It has turned out pretty nice for me, even with the basics. You can add paid features later. Free website

This is true. One of the sites I designed a while back is NOT what I'd call pretty. I designed it according to what the customer wanted. She was very very particular and it turns out she knew exactly what her customers would respond to.

Her site generates a ton of customers for her - not just leads, but actual customers. She loves the site - I dislike it (and she knows it! LOL) but the key is - it WORKS.

A website price depends on three things:

1) What you need. (more equals higher price)
2) The experience of the developer. (more equals higher price)
3) How much the developer needs you. (more equals lower price)

For example, if you go to some of the scriptlance websites, you'll find that most of the users that bid on your projects are foreign, and in great need of cash. They're a drag to work with because they usually can't get it right, in this case their experience working with customers is usually low, but their prices will be below $500.00 usually (and the work will show for it), definitely not recommended.

For a completely customized solution, yes $6k-8k is about right, but you don't have to go completely custom since a lot of the work is the same in the sites.

IMHO, I think a template site is fine. The important part about a website isn't how the site looks. I had an UGLY site when I got started, but it converted like crazy.

The two important factors of a website are:
1) Does it have a lead capture mechanism? Without integrated IDX with a required opt-in, free buyer reports, free seller reports, or a call-capture system, a website is simply a billboard and nowhere near as effective as it could be.
2) How are you going to get traffic to it? Very few website design companies have anything to do with this, but they charge as if they do. YOU should be in charge of driving traffic to your site, and it shouldn't be included in the price of developing your site.

In terms of who to go with, you could get a very professional looking site for under a few hundred bucks.

If you want an opt-in system, that might cost a couple hundred more dollars.

If you want an IDX solution, you can usually frame your MLS' IDX solution for free or very little cost per month. Other designers include an "out of the box" IDX system. The important thing here is to make sure they have a forced registration after a few views.