What’s in Your Website?

February 17, 2012 By Rowland Leave a Comment

As REALTORS, we all have websites. Some say they’re a necessary evil. Others advocate custom or semi-custom websites that do everything. Let’s face it, a decent website is expensive, costing $50, or $75 or more each month! What would you say, if for $100 up front and $25 per month, you can have everything that you need in your website AND you have total control over it’s content.

Here are the basic features that you should have on your website:

User self-service property searches
Prospect/lead registration
Promotion of your listings
Personal branding
Blogging
Customization to support your individual marketing efforts

How do you have all this with out spending a bundle? Maybe you should consider a do-it-yourself WordPress website! You’re asking:

Do I have to be able to code in html? answer-No.
Do I have to be proficient with CSS? answer-No.
How much does WordPress cost? answer-It’s free!
I thought WordPress was just for blogging? answer-Not any more…

You’ll need a place to host your website like GoDaddy or HostGator (about $10 per month). You’ll also need an IDX feed like the one Metrolist Pro offers (about $15 per month). I highly recommend getting the AgentPress Theme from StudioPress (one time cost of about $100). This will simplify everything for you and StudioPress provides video tutorials on how to do everything! Check out the demo at: demo.studiopress.com/agentpress.

What about the advanced features that the custom and semi-custom website guys are selling as their advantages? Search engine optimization? – with WordPress there’s a plugin for that. Controlling SPAM in the comments to your posts and pages? – with WordPress there’s a plugin for that. Automatically sending your blog posts to FaceBook or LinkedIn or Twitter? with WordPress there’s a plugin for that. The answer for almost every advanced thing you want to do with WordPress is: “there’s a plugin for that.”

What’s the downside, you ask? Well…you DO need to learn WordPress…but once you do, you control everything on your site for an investment of about 1 hour per week.

UPSIZING YOUR HOME

Unfortunately, our homes don’t always grow with us. What may have initially worked fine for a single person, a young couple’s starter home, or a family with a newborn can quickly become too small as families expand and multiple generations live under one roof. Remodeling and adding to your home is one option for creating […]

CREATE AN EVACUATION PLAN FOR YOUR PETS

An evacuation plan is a necessity for every home, especially if you live in an area where fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters are a possibility. Many homeowners create evacuation plans for their homes and practice them with their kids, but far fewer have considered one for their pets. Take these steps to add […]

MUST-HAVE TOOLS FOR HOMEOWNERS

When you own your home, things are going to break and, unless you want to spend your money on visits from a neighborhood handyman, you’re going to need to fix them yourself. Luckily, you don’t need an arsenal of tools to handle most home maintenance fixes. These five tools will cover most of your basic […]

FINDING THE RIGHT MATTRESS

You’ve got more options than ever when mattress shopping these days with no shortage of brick-and-mortar and online-only retailers to choose from. Here are the factors you should consider when you’re shopping for a perfect night’s sleep. Mattress construction: The most popular mattress types are inner spring mattresses, memory foam mattresses, and adjustable air mattresses. […]

What’s in Your Website?

Related

Real Estate Info & Tips