High Price of Cheap Web Design

[jlryan]

I am just mulling over the problems associated with getting a cheap real estate website. I need more ideas for this article I'm writing. Let me know if you can think of any.

the-marketing-shop.com/article-high-price-cheap-web-design.php

Thanks.

Jenna Ryan
themarketingshop.com

[Nu-Home-Source-Realty]

Yeah i understand why you wouldnt know about cheap designs, you build a great site. I have to compete with them every day. lol Good work.

[jimday1982]

Agreed. You've build a great website and the information on that page should be taken to heart by real estate professionals who are serious about their business.

In my opinion, image plays a big role in this profession and should not be taken lightly.

[REbuyersgroup]

It does not have to break the bank to get a nice website.

Alamode(dot)com (http://www.Alamode(dot)com) about $400 year and GREAT tech support. I have one and love it. Very easy to keep updated and they RSS feed to all the major RE sites. If you choose Alamode, let them know Craig Fialkowski refered you. I get $50 off my next renewal. Thanks.

point2agent(dot)com FREE and upgrades available. Worth a try. Even of you have another site. i You should have a free Point2Agent site as well. They feed to Yahoo Real Estate.

Good luck.

[EquityBeGone]

I do 10 page designs for $200 and I make them look great also :)

Little bit of self promotion. LOL. But web designers are not always expensive. I mean good web designers. I did Hardmoneylender.name

[sellinggalveston]

the downfalls of a cheap website are upkeep... who is going to do that? My buddy had one that was cheap but it took 2 or 3 weeks to update ANYTHING... thats why a SMT or back end site is so importaint... or you can do what I do and build your own!

[steral]

i got mine from topagentdesigns.com

total came to about 400, they give u a flash design and customize it for you and they update my mls listings for me when i send them emails, seems pretty good thus far

[tarheit]

Generally I agree. However, cheap doesn't have to 'cut and paste' or hard to update. There is plenty of software (Content management systems) used for websites that make it easy for a novice to update the website as often as they like with new content. They can be personalized, well organized, search engine friendly, etc. The hard part is seting it up and customizing the look/template.

The biggest mistake comes down to what you actually buy. If you simply just go to a company and say 'I need a real estate website', you'll get a cookie cutter site. But if go to the company and have them setup a basic cms (joomla, etc.), template to match your business (with local graphics you provide), it can be something you can then add to with your own articles and information. It takes work, but is well worth it. I've seen lots of expensive sites with the same problem as the cheap ones simply because they did just what the client asked for and didn't advise them of what they really need to a long term successfull website. (and the client didn't wan't to put any effort into the website themselves). How can any company design a good, targeted, website for any company without knowing anything about the company (you'd be surprised how many offers we've had that don't really care to know anything about the company to do the design). I've also seen lots of expensive designs loaded with flash and other plugins, not just for eye candy, but for navigation in the site (a big no-no)

Of course cheap is a relative term. If you can't setup a CMS, real estate package, template, etc. yourself it will cost something (and some of the software has a cost). But once it's setup, much of the maintenance and changes to content can be done by the user. Many have WYSIWYG editors, etc.

Cheap 'x' page designs are another thing. If it's within a CMS, that's one thing. But static html pages are hard to change for most people.

-Tim

[spanishproperty]

I agree that web design doesn't have to be expensive to work. I am not going to say how much I have charged for sites I have built, but the main thing is that the site produces the results and you make more than what you have paid for the site - profit.

I think that the competition now is so intense that you simply can not get away with stupid prices and you must justify what a site is worth. There are simply too many web designers and SEO's out there now all making a good living from what they do.

[Traume]

I design websites and it's amazing what potential clients tell me they've paid in the past for website design.

1. If you're still using static HTML, good luck!
2. Unless you're website is over 10000 pages in size, you're not seen as a "big player" by Google.

3. Dynamic sites are cheap, and webhosting even cheaper.

Email me if you want more details.

Thanks,
Traume

[4salebyme]

the-marketing-shop.com/article-high-price-cheap-web-design.php


I guess this means that you charge a pretty penny for your sites? What is the base charge and how many pages do you get with that?

Thanks!

[garths]

The higest rated (by google) site for Durango Real Estate is "Butt Ugly". However, this guy gets his name in front of more people than I do. What it comes down to is how many telephone calls do you get and how many sales are made.

I like the ideas in the HIgh price Article. They justify some of my expenditures, but what I would like to see is a list of his client sites and the testimonials of his users talking about how much money the sites have made for them.

Breaking down clients objections and moving them towards your site goals (such as a phone contact) is the only thing you should spend money for on the web.

[esabido]

I design websites and it's amazing what potential clients tell me they've paid in the past for website design.

1. If you're still using static HTML, good luck!
2. Unless you're website is over 10000 pages in size, you're not seen as a "big player" by Google.

3. Dynamic sites are cheap, and webhosting even cheaper.

Email me if you want more details.

Thanks,
Traume


if you know what you are doing in HTML, you can update it yourself after its done by the webmaster. once he/she finishes they should tell them how to update the site the easiest way which shouldnt be hard at all. (If they are not going to work on it anymore and keep updating it themselves which is not usually the case).

[marcosll]

Ok, being an expert in this field I will offer my opinion.

1. How much you pay for a website means nothing as far as quality is concerned.

I have seen companies charge a fortune for flash websites that simply take you nowhere. That said, there are times when flash is to be used, and certain businesses can get away with websites done entirely in flash i.e. Cartier.

I have also seen companies pay a fortune to design sites from scratch thinking they know what they are doing and fail miserably.

Bottom line, how much you pay doesn't mean anything on the net.

2. Don't reinvent the wheel.

There are pleanty of Real Estate software packages available that will include all the things your business needs. If you shop around you can find one that will usually be web-friendly so your office database can automatically generate property ads on the site. The best of these packages even offer a CMS website as part of the package, all you need to do then is get a website layout that works and looks great.

Buying an already existing package means that you save money because you don't have to invest in design (except the layout) and the company that provides you with it should keep it up to date with the latest technologies and SEO friendly techniques.

3. Research before you spend.

Before you look at a website look around, search for your competition and see what you like and what works. Design is important. Make notes of what you see that works and figure out a better way to do it (than your competition).

Some advice to the initial Jlryan @ the-marketing-shop: Your website is good but you're missing 1 important thing IMHO.

Client testimonials - Have your clients say how much they like your sites (they are nice I've had a look at a few). Offer them something in return if they give you a testimonial.

Good job @ the-marketing-shop

Regards from Spain!

Plots Sotogrande (http://www.palmestates.net/english/properties/category/Plot%20-%20Land/area/Sotogrande+-+San+Roque)

[JuniperAvenue]

I think you get what you pay for in most cases but marcosll is right, "don't reinvent the wheel", there is no reason to spend a fortune on custom stuff when most of it has already been built and can be adapted.

[MarriedToRealEstate]

It's not that hard to get a really nice design for cheap, my company does it all the time! Plus we have a content management system that allows people to edit their information in about 5 minutes. The only issue is getting the design right or using the right web template. I'd say anyone can get an awesome site for about 600 dollars.

[cmeesoon]

I will be the first to tell you that I use all 100% open source stuff and/or stuff I've custom made - and - I make sure that I give my clients 30 days of free coaching on how to use their web sites and more importantly how to get their website on to page one of Google... no matter how much you pay for a website it is worthless if it doesn't rank on page one of Google.

BTW...for the post about alamode ....show me a website that they have ranking #1 for ("city name" Real Estate) and then I might be impressed. I build sites and compete against REW sites all the time and where we compete they rank below mine for SEO services.


:)

[athand]

In my opinion cheap webdesign in the most cases will provide you a poor site. Even if for you it looks nice, it is possible to see more sites on internet looking like yours ( templates )

[cringwall]

I've done websites for 10 years, many for real estate agents- my beef has always been a tendency for agents to 'pass off' on keeping a site updated - I can write good copy, but I'm a developer, not a realtor!

My advice to real estate agents now boils down to this:
1. get a good domain name - yourtownhomes.com - this is very important.
2. Get a decent $120/year web host
3. Install a wordpress blog
4. Write a post 4 times a week
5. Use an autoresponder to collect leads.
6. Configure your autoresponder to notify users each time you post.

Leave the mls search and maps to your franchise web site- they'll always be able to do it better than you can.