Ok, I decided that I do not like the disadvantages that go along with the template site I have.... I want to build my own site or hire someone. I have never built a site, is this a hard process? Where do I start? Or would i be better hiring someone to do it for me? I do have a lot of computer knowledge, just not in building web pages.

Building sites isn't terribly difficult but it does require a few different skills that can take some time to acquire. Generally, if you just want one web site to support your business you're almost always better off having a skilled designer put it up for you.

If you see web design as being part of your overall business strategy than it may be worth your time to develop those skills.

The bottom line is... what's your time worth and how good do you need your project to be?

What exactly do you mean, my overall business strategy? that i'm expecting most of my business from it? As for my time, i'm a new agent but i'm not going any where and think the internet is key in the long run. Where do you start when starting your own site?

What template site are you not satisfied with?

WebAgentSolutions... Its not that i'm not happy with them, but I hear that I will not get a lot of traffic because it's a template site and it seems more expensive over long run.

The best custom site in the world won't "bring you traffic" ..... Creating a site and getting the right visitors to it are 2 completely different animals

I have two sites, one I built myself and have maintained for six years. The second is a template site with Point2Agent. Both generate leads-to-commissions.

Either will work, as well as other options compared here. Critical is contact info capture and long-term followup.

What I meant was that if adding web sites is part of your business strategy (either as a service, to generate advertising revenue or to support your main site) then you may want to take the time to do it yourself. If you just want one web site to support your business I think that your time would be better invested elsewhere and that you should hire a designer or work from an existing template.

Need a website to represent who your are and personalized site with acess to the GAMLS? I work with a company that has a client friendly website with your listings as well. Please contact me at the following: Coletta3000@yahoo.com

pricing: AAgent Website-Only $15/MO.

You can't just put a web site out there and hope to generate business from it. The generate business online you need three main things:

1. a good website designed to generate leads
2. a marketing campaign to get traffic to your web site
3. a contact management system to incubate the leads, stay in touch with them and turn them into clients.

There are cost effective ways of doing this, and very expensive ways. My suggestion is to start with a web site, take a look at ours for ideas. The site should offer the consumer information they want, not a bunch of stuff about how great you are.

I have been getting conflicting advice too and decided to have a free listing at http://www.rapidlistings.com

Some people use point2Agent.

Later I'm going to use http://www.successwebsite.com

But there are many options out there and while I know how to build websites... nothing can compare to the ease of use when it comes to other people building templates and you filling out info. The price is nominal though to some people it's an issue. I just don't have time to focus on the website. I prefer to focus on listings so that is why I pay for my website.

For my other business which I do... I built my own website since the profit is not as large as it is in real estate.

http://www.godaddy.com is a good source too. I use it for my other non-real estate related websites.

I am with a web design company that helps realtors get setup on the internet. You have a couple different options:

1) Completely custom site that will be unique. This of course will cost more because more time needs to be put into it.

2) Templated web site. Because its already mostly built, the final cost will be much lower.

Have a look at our solutions: http://www.twelveseas.com/realestate.html

Fraser Pogue
Twelve Seas Web Design
http://www.twelveseas.com

I am with a web design company that helps realtors get setup on the internet. You have a couple different options:

1) Completely custom site that will be unique. This of course will cost more because more time needs to be put into it.

2) Templated web site. Because its already mostly built, the final cost will be much lower.

Have a look at our solutions: http://www.twelveseas.com/realestate.html

Fraser Pogue
Twelve Seas Web Design
http://www.twelveseas.com

Just learn basic Css & xHtml, and do your own site. All you need is hosting, and notepad to build a website, after you have learned the two. (or you can use dreamweaver) There are so many forum/chat/forms etc. to add to your site for free. You can literally have a full blown working website for under $100 a year, if you learned to do it yourself. (minus the php for a shopping cart/credit card processing, if you intend to sell things from your site.) Most hosts such as ipowerweb include all these free forums etc. within thier hosting packages, so one click, and they are installed.

Being xhtml and css are web standards, you wouldn't have to worry about your site going south, and having to do (or pay for) everything over again.

Check out W3 Schools if you're interested. These are truly the guys who made the internet, and the languages that all web pages are based on. Its all free info too.

http://www.w3schools.com/

A few more good resources for html:
http://www.htmldog.com/guides/htmlbeginner/
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/html/article.php/3478141
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/ <---- Heres an html tutorial from dave raggett. One of the men who helped originate it.


A few Css tutorials:
http://www.westciv.com/style_master/academy/hands_on_tutorial/index.html
http://css.maxdesign.com.au/index.htm
http://www.richinstyle.com/guides/css2.html
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/Style.html <---- Css from dave raggett also.

Cheers!

I got my website just a year ago. I guess it is one of those template sites that so many complain about, but I had specific reasons for choosing this one.

1) We don't have IDX here. When searching several keywords, my provider came up on page one and I could search for homes in the area. Homes from other local agents come up on the searches - next best thing to MLS search here.

2) I paid a little extra for some customization, SEO help and coaching.

Through the process, I learned some code and have created most of my own content - but it takes lots of time and patience! The most important part in developing my site (beyond the content) has been doing link exchanges and concentrating on keywords. I spent hours on this in the beginning!

It paid off within 2 months - I had a 3PR with Google and came up on the first page for many MNS searches. I continued requesting link exchanges for the next 2-3 months and watched as my site rose in Google searches.

As my business picked up and leads started coming in, I had less time to devote to my website. Now I don't actively seek partners, but I do get several requests for link exchanges and if they meet my criteria, I will exchange with them.

I am still at a 3PR, but I am on page one for many search terms on Google and the other search engines.

I would suggest that if you are not unhappy with your current provider, keep it and perhaps hire someone to tweak it a bit if you want a more customize site. And either hire someone to work on SEO and link exchanges or focus on that yourself. Like you, I am pretty computer literate, but coding for a website is learning a whole new language! For me, creating a website from scratch would be like being a babe in arms and working on a PhD in engineering!

There are some things that are great for DIYers - FSBO, websites, brain surgery... not for this kid!

Good Luck!

Betty

PS: www.w3schools.com is an excellent resource. They have a "TryIt Editor" you can use to test your code and see what it looks like and check whether links work.