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.

If you want to save yourself a lot of time and money get a sign-up for your free invitation to join GoGlobe.org. The website is launching in September and you'll get a free webpage with your own URL. It comes with built-in marketing (it's a resource for consumers to find real estate professionals) and it's as easy to input your information as Facebook.

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.

hi, i know that we are not meant to advertise but i think that this will benefit you greatly.

Arosoftware- curently has a deal going,

they are selling premium websites for $840 plus GST, please do not be fooled by the price, these websites are of great quality and you will be more than satisfied.

Send a private message to get more information.

(Edited to remove link)

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.

I run a solution for professionals called Innovign. Basically you can customize most of it yourself and we do a lot of your design for you. It's cheap because the code is the same overall, but we also custom design some parts for you. Can't really beat it in value.

WOW...The endless SPAM on this thread is NAUSEATING! I just discovered this website, and there is a TON of useful information on this site, from some VERY knowledgeable people. That said, doesn't all of this "shameles plugging" violate some terms of service of this site??? Geez...One person asks about a website, and every one who has a web design service to pimp is in the thread, saying "Hey, I use this service" (which just happens to be their registered user name! Hopefully, this won't be an ongoing theme as I peruse the threads on this site!


John from Boston

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.