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Help! I need a website!

With one tranaction under my belt and one current listing, I'm well on my way to being a real live agent! Now I need a website. I've purchased my domain names at godaddy.com and have looked at different companies offering web design and hosting from $25-85 a month. I want my site to allow clients to search the mls, and ask them to register so I can capture leads. Active Rainers I am leaning on your expertise. Can someone direct me toward a relatively affordable web design and hosting company to build this newbie's website?

Posted by Ann Casey on 05/16/2008 11:02 AM

Comments (33)

website, seo, top producer, google, domain

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33 Comments on Help! I need a website!

MAY

2008

Hi Ann! I use a company called RLS for my website. They charge a flat fee yearly. You can check them out at rls2000.com. I hope that helps!

Thanks Kristen! I will check them out!

Ann, I can't help you, because I do my own stuff but check with your local MLS or realtors who have websites with ties to local MLS.

The sites endorsed here are z57, point2 and the like. I like this one: http://realestate.sitesell.com/realestateindex because for $300/year it has what I used to spend $5K on. I think they over sell their product with lots of words. If you already have a domain, you can transfer it to any hoster. This system is very easy to use if you can type and click a mouse. I have a few thousand web pages besides my real estate company pages.) Send REindex the link when you get your site up and running.

Hello Ann. As a new agent I hope you have worked on a budget, and the new website is part of that budget. A great area to explore is Point2 solutions. They offer a free site with an invite from another agent, or they offer pay sites for a very reasonable price.

If you would like more info., or the free site invitation, feel free to email me directly at info@billsomerset.com

Anne check out my AR blog about my real estate website. I allow my vistors to access and search MLS, I give plenty of info about the local area with links, info about me, my own new real estate blog and more. And yes you must capture your visitors leads and info including their phone #'s and email addresses of course!

Cape Cod Realtor

ehost.com

I like z57.com

Hi Ann,

You have got to try Point2. I had Z57 for a year and was never satisfied. They charged me for add on features that I never had and did not syndicate my listings. I tried Point2 Standard (free for 6 months then 9.99 per month after that) and I love it. Check out my website so you can see how much you can do with your website. http://www.positivepropertiesllc.com I have had so many good coments on it. I have a page for the MLS and chose not to have clients register (thats optional). Once you enter your listings into your website, you can choose to have the listings syndicated to several real estate search sites. I am not sure if you would get a free site with a referal, but if you would like to try that, just e-mail me at positiveproperties@hotmail.com and I will refer you. If you want more pages and better search engine placement, you can upgrade to the Professional site for 49.99 per month. I will probably do that in the future, but right now, Standard is just fine. If you decide to try it and need help with any of the features, just give me a blog and I'll be glad to help.

Hi Ann, Alex is a great web designer and here is his email address. Let him know I referred you. Good luck to you. Alex Majidian [alex@msitesolutions.com]

Hi Ann,

Welcome to Rain, a great place to be. Enjoy all it has to offer.

Hi Ann,

Many service providers are there. You can check it out by search engine like google or yahoo.

Best - Sash

Ann - Check out www.RealProSystems.com. This website service is the best I have ever used and it vies you exactly what you are looking for and more. It will generate tons of leads and tons of sales if you are willing to follow up on the leads. The one of the strengths is that it also includes a drip system that you can modify. If you haven't heard of Stealth Marketing yet this is a term you will want to read up on because it is a powerful and beneficial way for you to connect interested home buyers with your services in a low key kind of way.

Sam

Forgo the website. Get a Wordpress blog and create your own local domain.

Ann: There are a few great companies out there. Just be careful to pay attention to the free trials and if not satisfied, cancel prior to the 30 days.

MAY

2008

Ann I went to point2, and am working with a great person for SEO. If your interested in his name let me know. I'm happy with my point2 website and am working on the customization on my own (can't afford to pay someone alot of money to get me started). For basic service and about 500 a month, I don't think you can beat point2. also make sure you go to all the free services and link, blog and introduce yourself. Time, patience is the key to a succesful business. Trust me, I'm patient and i have all the time in the world. To check out my site click my name below. I'm nowhere near as good as all the guys here, with websites, but I'm trying. Their sites are my inspiration to make mine better.

Frank

Thanks for all of your great responses. I am checking out all of these suggestions.

Ann: Definitely give point2 a look. There is even a group on Active Rain about Point2 websites that might be helpful to you and you might want to check out agentX.

All of the above are good as well as AdvanceAccess but I would recommend an alternative: an RSS Pieces Blog...I won't put the link but check mine out...you can seach properties etc. and yet its a blog too!

I totally agree with Diane if you want a high end site. If you are a techy, then maybe wordpress. But, Diane has a great site. also check out Laurie Manny's site. AJ

Brian Blake www.my-mlsonline.com I use him for my real estate website, it's $24.99/month

Ann

While you are investigating websites do not over look Top Producer. They offer a wide variety of real estate specific add ons as well.

I did a huge amount of research and found them to be the most cost effective for a non computer tech person such as myself.

I currently have the TP website, the market snapshot widget and TP 8i. 8i is an online contact management system that can be intigrated with your widget and website. It's a little cumbersom to learn but works great. The website and widget are my favorites.

They have a wide variety of templates to use and you can customize or use the preset information.

Take a look at mine at: www.redpensacola.com

From there you can scroll down and hit the Top Producer link for more information on what they offer.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Laura

Forgot to mention, I have idx for mls searches and the lead capture forms are available and can be customized as to what informtion is required.

Laura

Ann, I have my company template web site and Point2. I've started to look at others like TopProducer and Homes.com. Don't know much about Z57 other than some complaints I hear. Number1Expert is one I've seen large teams use but it is pricey.

Hi Ann and welcome to AR. It sounds like you are off to a good start as an agent...good luck to you. I use Z57 and have had pretty good success with it. Check out my website and see what is offered... www.daveruwehomes.com I have had a few customer service issues with them of late, but overall have been satisfied.

Asyou can see from everbody's comments...there is a lot to pick from. I suggest calling an interviewing the various places and go with the one you feel most comfortable. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further. have a list of question ready when you interview website companies. Also, make sure they have the capability to monitor your traffic.

Dave

I would echo Rich above. you can build a full featured site using WordPress. Another option is to use Joomla (Google either of those). Neither is specific to real estate, but both are so modifyable it isn't funny anymore. Instead of a cookie cutter, go custom.

MAY

2008

Go to ion-e.com They are build website for realtors. Good luck!

Ann, Welcome to the Rain. Good luck in your search for a website. You have more than enough advice in your comments received.

A la Mode. It's under $ 500 per year and it's perfect. Just check out my site @ www.MyrtleBeachHomes.us and scroll to the bottom and go to a la mode or X-site. It's the best the money can buy. Let me know how you like it.

JUN

2008

Hi Ann,

Hi there...Ashley here, your fellow BRIO agent. I don't know if you are still looking for a website but if so, Agent Bizz Up offers a good site in my opinion. I think it is like $8 dollars a month or less if you pay for the year upfront. Then, the only company that we can use to give access to the MLS is Logical Dog. Contact Jan from there and she can get you up and running quickly. I think that service runs about $50 a month. So for under $60 a month you can have a decent site. I like it because it allows me complete access and control. I can change things minute by minute and keep it up to date. Check out my website http://www.LiveGreenNW.com and see if you like it...keep in mind there are many different templates so if you don't like mine, you might like another.

Hi Evereyone,

I wanted to thank you for all of your wonderful input. I wanted to let you all know that I researched several options for my website that you suggested, and have decided on RealtySoft.com. I made this decision because I like the feel of the websites rather than the template sites that many of the suggestions offer. I also made the decision because the NWMLS is very difficult to frame and realtysoft.com has a relationship with ihomefinder.comthat gave me a top of the line IDX for an additional $30 per month. So for $55 a month, I am getting a nice site (I will post a link when it is complete) with lead capture and a great IDX and I can manage my contacts through property updates and drip campaigns.

Thanks Again!

Ann

Hello Ann - My webguy hubby does mine for me using MS Frontpage

NOV

Hi Ann, I am also looking for a new website. I see that you do not have a Realtysoft website now. Was there a problem? Thanks.

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