Hello,
What is more effective:

Paying web design & hosting company who specialize in Real Estate --$600 setup fee and $40 per month hosting fee

OR

Get local web designer customize the website. Design cost about $300 and hosting $20-$30 a month.


Thank You
Ritu

I've tried many, many times to get an independent designer to make a website for me. I ended up spending a couple thousand dollars and never got a working site. Each company would take forever or the code was sloppy. My problem is that I didn't want to spend more than a couple hundred dollars on a website, but in the end, I paid much more and ended up without a site at all.

Advanced Access is my current provider and I'm testing Myers Internet right now. The reason I liked the templates is because they provide updated news, newsletters, advice, free reports, etc. and I never have to update the site myself. I can also easily post my featured homes on the template site. I customized the site by adding links, pages, and local information. I really liked Advanced Access, but it was about $700 to get set up and is $40 a month. I don't like the fact that they use frames a lot, but I think most companies do.

If I had the choice, I'd pay a professional web designer, but to get a good one would cost 5k-10k. I tried paying under 1k and each product that was produced didn't have even half the features of the template sites.

If you'd like to take a look at my sites to see how a customized template looks, you can email me.

Ritu,

Before you go hiring a designer to do a custom site, make sure you take the time to spell out exactly what you want and include some existing real estate sites as examples of the type of work product you are expecting. Write an outline of the site with all the pages you want such as:

Home Page
Featured Listings
IDX Search Page
Community Info
About Ritu
Contact Ritu
etc....

and let the designer know how much fancy graphic work you expect. Many designers offer a "custom website" which is actually put together with a template they already have from past projects. Providing this level of detail up front should greatly increase the chance of you getting a true price and possibly avoid getting into a situation where the designer keeps trying to add onto the original price after you start designing. Also, get an agreed upon hourly rate or dollar amount per additional web page in case you decide to add something to the site in the middle of the project.

And lastly, money motivates...the less you pay upfront and the more you hold back until completion, the more you can keep the designer honest about providing a quality product at the initial agreed upon price.

RRealtor,
I agree with Dee. It's very hard to get exactly what you want from a custom designer. There are far too many requirements for an RE site and too many possibilities for the cost to run wild.

Template sites have their pros and cons. Pro: Faster to market and lower cost Con: You look like everyone else. (just a sample) I evaluated most of the major players in the market today...

Dee: Custom Template? Just want to make sure we are speaking ofthe same thing. How are you defining a custom template?

A "customized" template is what I'll be using to get to market faster. It affords me the ability to get to market with a unique look and feel, get quality over the standard templates but not put too much money into it as the first version is almost always a throw away.

Eagle: I agree as well. Knowing exactly what you want is only part ofthe battle. Knowing what is available, the development efforts and costs just complicate the matter. With the thousands of templates out there, most looking like their deformed twin down the way, it's hard to know what can be done.

And salesmen for these companies are very good at what they do. There are entire processes written about getting you to admit what will excite you and using that information to generate a sale!!! And in web tech, it's a lot easier that in RE!

RRealtor: The setup fees are a variable in the equation and are intended to generate upfront income. The actual service provided for those fees is minimal and not worth the money spent. A good salesman will wave those fees to get you to sign up. They all tried to wave mine. Yes, AA, Myers, Z57, A La Mode, etc... You'd be surprised.

RRealtor, I would spend some time one the phone watching the demos given by the different vendors. Write down what you see. This is the "capabilities list". Then prioritize that list to "must have", "nice to have", a waste of money"... Then call them back for more demos...

It a slow process, but the time you put into it will pay you back when you don't have to move your site and pay to have it rewritten.

Okay Lurkers, let's not get into a flaming session on that statement. I've written these sites, have seen the money that goes into them and know the evolution of a web site from initial concept through versions to final look and feel...


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All comments made above are from the perspective of a professional web developer and technical project manager. Please take any He Said - She Said off line as I do not wish to mince words and waste good people's time.
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Developing your own web site is very easy. You dont need to really know much HTML programing to make your own web site. If you know how to use MS Publisher - you can make web pages - learning MS frontpage is easy enough. As far as linking IDX into your web page - your MLS will give you the address link to place in the code. You do need File Transer Protocal software (FTP) to upload your web site to the host server. MS frontpage has that built in and there are freeware ftp programs available to download.

Registering a domain name costs under $10.00 and web hosting for most real estate web sites for individuals and small companies cost about $5.00 - $7.00 per month. A BIG MISTAKE most people make is purchasing way too much service for their web site. This link (copy and paste it in your address bar)---(http://www.findmyhosting.com/webhosting-guide.htm)---
Is a great tool for anyone planning or running there own web site. it explains the basics and lots more about web sites - in simple terms. It also helps find hosting packages.
Bottom Line - Educate yourself to avoid getting ripped off by someone who makes it sound so difficult because it really is pretty easy.

Jmayala,

Great advice. I highly reccomend that everyone wishing to have a billboard in the desert into which they can pour countless hours & dollars that should be spent listing and selling homes... follow it to the letter

Seriously though, I still chuckle when I see posts saying how easy having a real website component for a real estate business is. The sad part is that most people DO follow this type of website plan and are puzzled as to why they produce nothing. Them dang websites are a waste of money they say
With all do respect jmayala, would you feel the same way if you were reading a post by a web developer or experienced search engine optimization company telling everyone not to waste their money getting ripped off by a realtor...I think not;)
To each his own but I'm a firm believer in the old you get what you pay for credo. When my car breaks down I don't go looking for the duct tape, I take it to a mechanic. I seriously can't think of a single purchase that I made in my life where I based my decision on price alone that I did not regret. Is website development or search engine optimization rocket science, no, but for the average company or agent to create their own website that consistently produces leads ands places well in the search engines for highly competitve terms that people actually use is 1 in a million....literraly Those who have figured that out and view their website(s) as more than a digital brochure are selling more property by accident than most do on purpose but your not likely to hear them telling everyone else to do the same for obvious reasons. Sorry for the rant but it kills me to see people throw money and effort down the drain again and again and again.

Jackc21 - Try making available free information that would be sent with an auto-response when their information sheet is filled out - it will email a password for them to retrieve the wanted information - there is always false information but serious inquires will also be submitted.


Rich@VTWS - I do agree with you and I am not trying to start any kind of argument. There are lots of agents that work for large firms that want to have have agent pages. Many agents may want to "dot com" their name and have it go to their web page offered by the corporation where they work. Many smaller companies may want to have a simple web site. And Yes - you do get what you pay for but an educated buyer is less likely to be taken to the cleaners.

I highly recommend Doug Towes:
www.rncinternet.com/real_estate.html

Not cheap at $100/month plus a setup fee ($600?) but it does work and deliver leads on a regular basis. Pretty solid buyer leads at that, more often than not with a 3 month window and the person will usually give their phone number.

Only 1 client per market so if your market is alreday taken you're SOL.

Thank you so much for all the responses!
I sincerly appreciate everyone's time.


Ritu

The web grew because of a core grass root ideal, anyone can get onto it, surf it and create a presence for themselves.

But... Just as everyone can create a presence for themselves, it all depends in what you want to get out of that presence. If you have no skills at site development and do your own, it will show and effect efficacy.

You may need to speak to someone who can take a look at your needs and help you select the best path. Someone with absolutely no benefit from the path chosen. This is why businesses have Business Analysts. Interpret users needs so the systems people can meet them and deliver.

Making your first call to a web developer, a template company or SEO firm will, by experience, lead you down paths that are most likely not appropriate for you. They have the best intentions, but the end result is business and that is what they are, a business, and thats what they are focused on. Business and making the bottom line a positive number at year end.

There is one issue being overlooked here. Its all great and dandy to have a template website, however you should have a site that also brands your personality. You can not get this with a company agent page or template. Todays real estate industry and the agents who truly do make a very good living off the internet, do not use template websites. Custom designs are better looking and have better seo abilities.

Also using an example for some of you here. Why do most agents go out and buy say a BMW to run their clients around town in? Is it they like the BMW or is it they want to show those clients they are successful by driving a luxury car. The same goes for websites, when a consumer sees a poor looking website they will assume that its cheap and maybe associate that tag with the real estate agent.

Using the internet as a marketing tool to produce business for you as a real estate agent is NOT cheap, if you approach it as such, you most likely will not have very much success or have it for long. As new more tech savvy agents get into the real estate profession, you will see more high tech websites hit the internet while you are still running your cheap low cost template website.

People need to start to realize that there is no quick fix for anything worth while.

I don't think there are quick fixes, but not every agent has a ten grand to dole out to a web developer. With Advanced Access, you can edit the site with their HTML and really make it look your own. Some people even pay designers to make customize the site and add even more content. Since the designer doesn't have to create a completely custom template or provide content, you'd pay less.

You have to weigh the $$ you want to spend versus time.

1. If you have the time and no money, do it yourself. Be warned that it can turn out looking really, really bad.

2. If you have a little more time and little more money, maybe buy a template and change it to your liking.

3. If you have a lot of money, pay someone else to do it. The more you pay, the more likely you'll get a professional result. Just also be forewarned that you could pay a couple thousand and still have a bad result.

The companies I tried using looked like they were good, had good references, but then got "busy" and didn't stick to our deal. Others simply didn't have the skills they claimed to have. It was a complete waste of time and money. I wish I would have just used advanced access until I had 5-10k+ to spend on a website.

Advanced Access is down right now...again...I've been on the trial period now for a couple weeks and my site has been down several times already...not a good impression...Is this common with AA Dee? Thanks.

I didn't think it was common, but did have trouble earlier this morning. For all of the things you get, I like them. I've been looking at Blitzdevelopment.com, but I don't know anyone who has experience with them.

The AA techsupport people are always very nice and helpful. Very rare now-a-days.

I've seen several Blitz Development Sites and have spoken to the guys at Blitz on the phone...
They aren't too far away from where I am.

They aren't a 100% custom site package but not your "AA / Z57 / Meyers / AgentX / iH2000 "website in a can" package either.

Plus I hear they have a pretty good implementor somewhere on the east coast.

The short answer is your site will only be as good as the time and money you put into it. And consider your time as the time you spend working on the site(design, content, anything) with the amount of knowledge of web development that you have.
Less knowledge = more expensive as you will not get exactly what you want or what benefits you the most.
Plop down with an HTML book and MS Publisher and you will get an expensive site built by someone who is "learning". Expensive in that you could have been out selling houses.