Does anyone have an estimate of the cost for building a website and marketing it in search engines? I have spoken with two companies and gotten similar estimates, with a start up cost of between $6000-$8000. Both are highly reputable companies. Thanks!

Costs of websites all depend on what you put into them, how much content you provide vs. they provide for you and what you want the website to do.

Your estimate sounds really high, based upon my experience (I got a quote for $500 for a fully functioning real estate agent site), but without knowing what this $6,000 site will do, I don't think anyone can really comment on whether that's a good price.

That is WAY more than you need to spend. Why re-invent the wheel? You are going to be paying these companies to build you a listing database and contact management system (at least I hope that is where some of the money is going) when there are systems out there already that totally meet the needs of real estate agents. Designers often spend a whole pile of time on the look and feel of the site when that is not worth wasting your money on.

I know there are people in this forum who don't believe in template sites. But I have one and we love it. When generate tons of business from it - 5-10 leads a day. We're spending a bit of money on Google Adwords getting traffic to the site, but we also do quite well on the search engines without spending a penny.

No matter what you choose, your website will not generate business on its own. You have to get people to the site, get them to contact you, respond right away, and have a system in place to stay in touch with them until they are ready to buy or sell.

Our site is through Point2Agent, you can sign up for a free one here: http://agent.point2.com/selfreg/ColdwellBankerJohnstonSelfReg.asp
but you have to upgrade to a paid site to get all the functionality you need.

Hope that helps!
Sara

Hey, you [usually] get what you pay for! Template sites are fine... if you want to look exactly like 50 other agents in your town and 10,000 other agents nationwide. And if you're not into being creative or writing original material to make your site stand out amongst all of your competitors, template sites come with dozens and sometimes hundreds of pages of material... already written. The exact same material as is on 50 other agents in your town and 10,000 other agents nationwide. Generic, mindless information you can find anywhere.

You spend so much time, money, energy and effort in trying to make yourself look better, more knowledgable and more qualified than the next guy. A canned website will go a long way to negate that - as you look EXACTLY like everyone else. Except maybe "theme A" in green with a boy picture instead of "theme B" in blue with a girl picture.

Get some quotes from several companies. You don't have to spend $8000, but for most people, spending $2-$4000 should get you a decent, custom site that will present your image the way you probably would like to, and give you a decent number of pages so as to make somewhat of a dent in your marketplace in regards to search engines.

I agree with RealEstateWebGuy -

You don't need to spend $8000 on a website, although you typically DO get what you pay for, so you could get a really well done site for that kind of money.

On the flip side, you don't want to spend less than a couple thousand either. If someone is promising you a listings database, management software, etc. for $1500, it's probably going to be pretty half-ass.

While template (or "cookie cutter") sites tend to have a bad rep, I'm actually thinking of starting a full-service realtor network, based on a yearly subscription model.

When someone opens an account, they can pick their design (or have a completely customized one done for some fee), then build their microsite using our *really* nice content management system. This obviously would include a listings database, photo management, search, dynamic mapping, and some other bells and whistles I won't mention here... wink wink.

I'm a web developer at an advertising agency (with a handful of incredibly talented artists who are on-board)... so this would be a pretty high-end project... NOT the average "insert name here" kind of trash...

Would anyone here be even remotely interested in something like this?

CHRIS

Thanks for all your comments! The one company I am leaning towards actually does quite a bit for the money. They provide me with a website as well as an entire marketing plan that focuses on marketing me as a Realtor, but also making me unique. They include a lot of "extras" that most companies don't seem focus on. I am going to continue researching for awhile before I make any decsions.

That actually sounds good. There are two components to success on the web. The site itself, and the most important part - the MARKETING of the site. This is where most people fall flat. A website is a billboard in the middle of nowhere. If you don't have a PLAN to get people to that site (and that doesn't mean putting your URL on your business card and in your ads), you won't be successful. It's that simple. And that's why template sites don't cut it. It's just a cookie cutter site. There's really no ongoing marketing plan associated with it.

What are you getting for your $6000? Do you get an excellent listing database that automatically forwards your listings to other sites like Yahoo Classifieds and Google Base? Do you get Google mapping and Google Earth? Do you get a completely customizable drip marketing system to stay in touch with your leads? Do you get an RSS feed for your listings? Can you add and change content on your site whenever you like? Can you show MLS listings on your site through IDX or VOW? Can you track how many times your listings have been viewed, and who is coming to your site and where they are from? The list of features I'm getting on my site are endless, and have a look....(www.edmonton-homes.ca) it doesn't look like any other sites out there because I've completely customized it. That's the beauty of a template based site.... you get all the features you could need, and you can customize it as much as you like. It's your money though...

Thanks again for the comments. I know I do not want a template site. No matter how much you "customize" a template, to me it still looks like a template. I would rather spend extra to have a site that stands out in the crowd. I can have a custom site that functions just as well as any template I've seen out there, and it will be unique on top of it. And so I will continue my research. Thanks!

Now that's very funny coming from a guy that plagiarized pages and pages of my real estate SEO web site. And yes, I still have copies of the source code and screen shots.

Last time I checked your site many of the pages are just derivative works of my pages - still a copyright violation. Hopefully you have changed it all by now.

You will find that you often get what you pay for, but upwards of 6-8000 is rediculous.

You will find many cheap templated companies and for free they offer a basic website that you fill out the information for.

A custom website could run you about $2000, but it will be unique to you.

On top of that, you must put a marketing plan in place. Building a website will not get you the traffic you might expect. Probably only friends and family at first. SEO will help get you up in the search engines and paid advertising will definetly help. SEO should cost around $250-$500 /month. There are different optimization methods, and I would suggest organic SEO.

Removed more spam

I think that $6000 is way to high for a web site even with the marketing. If you are looking for a fully custom site with nice flash to catch the eye and draw people in I would say that would be closer to $3500. Just my thoughts dont really know all the features they are offering.

As for the marketing I would want to know what they are going to do to market your site and get more of an itemized bill on it. This way you know where you money is going and you can make sure it is going to be best used to increase the traffic to your site. Adwords are going to be a good way to go and are usually not that costly.

asking what the cost of a website should be is like asking " how long is a piece of string"

All websites are NOT created equally...period....the vast majority are little more than billboards in the desert.

There should be a place in your marketing plan for several types of websites. My image site, www.MissSanLeandro.com is an example of site that I have paid thousands for. It helps "seal the deal" with potential clients and reinforces my professional status with my current clients, sphere, etc.

I also use template sites, www.BuyingSanLeandro.com which is great for creating instant leads. These leads will often take quite a while to cultivate, but having several sources from your transactions is the way to make it all work.

Best of luck,

Hi,

Asking is $6,000 for a web site too much is the same as asking is $300,000 for a house too much It really depends on what is included in the cost. Some sites need lots of custom database programming work, and for those $6,000 might be a good deal. On the other hand, a small, static web site would cost much less then $6,000. It is all about what is included.

And don't forget about marketing. Having a good, functional web site is just the first step to actually getting clients online. Another thing to look for is whether you are getting some marketing training/consulting included in the cost. This will increase the price, but it will also help you with getting your web site out there for potential clients to see.

My only suggestion is to ensure that who ever develops your web site makes it search engine friendly. SEO varies beyond making your site search engine friendly. The estimate of 250 - 500 a month is rather low. Reputable companies with a large track record charge from 1k - 4k, with even larger companies doing it for 20k a month

I've been designing web sites for the past 11 years, and decided to get my real estate license last year because of the huge potential the internet offers.

I've designed web sites for all types of businesses, but found that the client's of mine that were Realtors seemed to benefit the most from the web.

Although I've never designed a real estate related web site for $6,000, to say that it is a ridiculous price is unfair without knowing exactly what it is comprised of. Web sites really are like "homes" in that you can spend a little and get a little, or you can spend a lot and get a lot more.

The average real estate related site that I design costs around $1500. Those who want more "bells & whistles", such as the ability to add/remove/edit properites themselves, or tying into Google and displaying properties through the use of Google Maps, have to expect that it will cost more to design.

The nice thing about web sites is that you can start "small" and add to it over time.

How long is a piece of string? A good way to approach this problem is ask them to give you an hourly rate, and then ask them how many hours its likely to take to get what you want. Steer clear of web designers that say they will submit your site to the search engines, because you can do that yourself for free. Make sure the company you use is familiar with title tags and search engine friendly urls, there is nothing worse than visiting a site with the title tag homepage. You wont get very far in search engines with those sort of tags. By the way who built your current site?

What ever you do make sure that YOU OWN THE CODE, the domain, etc. Don't be locked into having to go back to the developer to have every small change made.

If the web developer owns the code and domain, they control your site. This can not only slow down changes, but also completly stop from upgrading the site.

I have seen a 3 million dollar real estate web site, get redone and redone until it was fully functional.

That means user friendly and basic.
You can get a fully functional web site with no setup charges or contracts with a marketing package included.

Ok ... I hate to rain on the lovefest of self promotion going on in here but There's so much misinformation and websites I wouldn't reccomend for many reasons I'm going to keep it simple and tell everyone that I would ignore mostthings said in this thread ... I apologize for not seeing this sooner..

The new members here need to know that self promotion in answering to threads here is a nono .. If you want to post products in the appropriate forums only please do so ... They will be reviewed sometimes more in depth and very publicly by the many knowledgable members here so be prepared for many varying opinions and public scrutiny

My website was only $10. My husband is a master at the computer and I helped on the design. We host it. The only thing we paid for was the domain name. Although, I've already changed the way my site looks 3 times. I am sure he'll be sorry for helping me...lol

The price of your website should depend on the level of customization that the site requires. If the website is merely a template site with no search engine optimization, it should cost significantly less than a site that is custom written, designed and optimized for search.

If it is a template website, I'd say it's worth from $499 to $1000.

A semi-custom website using a template that's not optimized can be worth $1500.

A custom optimized website with custom graphics should run you about $3500.

A custom optimized and programmed website with specialized dynamic features should be around $5000 - $10,000, depending on the features.

Hope this helps!

It's not about how your web site looks, but how it performs. You certainly have an image to uphold, but I rate web sites on how it perform but the number of leads it generates. My site generates over 400 leads a month.

Hello Tucson Arizona Realtor and All

You are all right in your own way My recommendation as a Real Estate Marketing Consultant is to really think of your website as the face of your business 24 hours a day when you are unable to meet with potential prospects, so at the end of the day it should look good. Whether you pay a low or high price on the website should be of least concern (unless as an organization or individual you are financially unstable), it should reflect you as a person/organization and the type of product you are selling. For example, if you are selling million dollar homes, your website should have somewhat of an expensive and rich look.

Templates can get you up and running quickly, but if as an individual/organization you are planning to rapidly expand, I would highly recommend you doing it right the first time such that you can build out your website and add more features and functionality for existing and new clients. Consult with some real estate website development experts before you go out and purchase yourself a template and of course think about the ROI. Think about how many houses you need to sell before you pay off the development of the website.

Are they an outsourcing company? are they also included an SEO specialist for your site? if not SEO specialist also needed for that which the main important for investing or in SEO called it ROI (Return of Investment).

6k is way to much unless you have multiple offices!

Check out elance.com - it is a place where website designers and developers bid on contracts. There are a ton of them who do real estate websites. You can choose your price range and see what you get. I would also say that paying $6,000 to $8,000 is way too much for a website. Maybe 10 years ago when people thought it took a neuro surgeon to build one, but it is common now and you should get a lower price.

All of this pricing is right on the money. However as also said there is no reason in going over 3,000. I have had clients choose me over the competition due to a website alone so I figure the money can be worth it within reason.

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.

You can build a ok web site with yahoo site builder and it is only 11 dollers a month it is so easy to do your self

______________________
Kirk Duckwall Realtor
Northern MN
www.mnlakesandland.com

A good place to look for website templates that look good and are reasonably priced is templatemonster dot com.

You will need help from someone who knows html or do it yourself if you have the knowledge to customize it to your particular situation.

believe it or not i found the simpler the website the higher my conversions.

this site for example: www.OrlandoMarketReport.com converts at 66% meaning for every 100 people that visit it 66 leave me their name and email...

usually I plug my sites into an autoresponder program that drips the customer with awesome videos and info never asking for a sale or appointment and then I get tons of requests to see property because I am not pushing them.

I actually made a video showing how many leads 25,000 i have collected with this type of site...

I posted it on my blog...
http://bporeoblog.com/leads-forever-ever/

It's good content I show you how to use google to find hot keywords to go after.

P.S. If anyone wants the template for free just message me and I will send it to you...no problem

You guys have to remember that this is real estate not graphic design or espn-dot-com. Make the site user friendly and fill it with good content. These fancy $20,000 sites are crazy. Take that money and learn SEO and/or web design yourself with it.

And yes this is the spammiest thread on this forum. Is the mod going to start deleting some of this garbage?

deleted.

Thanks Perky! This thread was turning into a late night infomercial! lol

You should also consider a .tel name as well as a website. People won't remember your telephone number, e-mail address etc. They will remember your name. For most Realtors, their name is their brand. A .tel gives you all the contact information you need. It also updates itself in your address book if ever contact details change, so you never lose touch.

A .tel name can be placed on your signs and adverts etc. Its all a client needs to know and provides a link to all of your contact information including website and listings if you like.

Man, you guys really pay that much for websites huh? I would rather use those money to build online lead capture campaigns. Afterall isn't your website presence suppose to do the same thing? I prefer to end up with leads on my database rather than visitor stats on my desk. Just an opinion.

If you spend that much money you better get a fully optimized site that ranks on the first page of your keywords. Don't fall for a flashy look site that nobody ever finds. If you want to invest some time and effort you can build your own optimized site for under $500.

Hi V,

I am a new user today and you are my first post...hopefully this gets to you

There are a number of correct responses to your concern. You do not have to spend $2000, $4000 or $6000. There are many great options out there [removing spam - self promotional content is NOT appropriate here]

I use agent bizz up, its only $9 a month, its easy to build with their template, but tech support is crap, absolute crap

I use agent bizz up, its only $9 a month, its easy to build with their template, but tech support is crap, absolute crap

I just farmed out a complete real estate site that is SEO friendly and the design should be great (based his portfolio). It's costing me $740 and it will have a user friendly interface so I can host it myself and save hundreds a year. I was with iHouse before they charge a monthly fee and the frames are working against me for the SEO of the site.

I have seen GREAT SEO friendly sites built from the ground up with GREAT design (logo/banner creation included) for under $2,500.

All the best

Lets compare websites to driving a transport truck. Shiney Chrome wheels, with streamers plus the fancy paint job will not make you any more money or get you there any faster.

Google reads code
Bing reads Code
Yahooo reads code

You can have a website that is plain a Jane frame template that ranks right at the top
Because; Content is king!
Reister on every FREE directory you can find
Offer and ask for back links to your site that are related to real estate.
Blog Blog Blog some More
Use video to insert in your blog
Advertise your services and Homes on line

There are literally hundreds of sites that are crying for content to populate their sites.

Video the progress
Have fun Use your sense of Humour

Laugh Live Work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_A2jY6-rRo

Top Producer- Monthly fee of $34.95. The start-up was waived during some promo.

Are there any REW clients here? Their templates are pretty inexpensive, but their IDX is pricey (second to none but pricey). Any opinions on agentimage?