Buy or Build? Your Website, That Is!  

Thinking of rolling up your sleeves? Here's what you need to know about building your own website.Brokers and agents alike wonder: is it better to build your own website, or have someone build it for you?

Having a website is essential to growing your real estate business, but which option is the best? By asking yourself some questions and weighing the pros and cons, you’ll be able to determine if buying or building is right for your business.

But first, let’s discuss why you should even have a website.

Why Having a Website is Important

Unless you're trying to fly under the radar and do less business this year (must be nice) you should have a website for yourself or your business.

Homebuyers, sellers, and investors are digitally-savvy and love to research. Reading reviews from clients, comparing prices, and looking at office hours are just some of the actions people take before deciding if a real estate company is worth their time. Think about the last time you needed to hire a professional: did you look in the phone book or skim the newspaper? Probably not.

If someone Googles your name, what comes up? (Go ahead, give it a shot.) It's probably your Realtor.com or Zillow profiles, right? Do you really want those pages to make your first impression on a potential client? No, you want a space where you control the information, the design, and the content, so you can present yourself as well as possible.

You may already have social media pages for your real estate business and post new listings regularly, but this isn’t enough. You need to have a digital space to direct users to so you can convert them into leads. That’s where a website comes in. Having a website that is optimized for mobile and desktop will help make your brand stronger, encourage prospects to contact you, and establish your presence on the web. And if you're a broker, you owe it to your entire team to ensure your agency is well represented online.

Now let’s talk about your options. 

What You Should Know About DIY Website Builders

Thanks to the rise of popular website builder brands like Squarespace or Weebly, you can build your own website with minimal coding knowledge. There are many templates to choose from to design your website. Problem solved, right? Not always. Here’s everything you need to know about building your own website, good and bad. 

We didn't label any of these as pros or cons - we'll let you decide for yourself.

Affordable

Building your own website is thought to be the inexpensive route. Website builders like Wix offer plans for a domain name and hosting for a small fee. You can easily build your website by using the design templates available, or you can start from scratch and create your own design. You also have the option to add apps and widgets to your website like online scheduling, forms to accept payment or a photo gallery.

But the free sites aren't meant to do anything, so if you're expecting any kind of functionality, the costs will add up. Some of these plug-ins have free versions, but many require a one-time, monthly or annual fee. If you want to carry the IDX feed on your site, expect to pay for the plugin.

And a word to the wise? You get what you pay for. A cheap site usually comes at the cost of quality and functionality.

Total Responsibility for Content

You know your business better than anyone. Building your own website gives you total control over the design, structure, and content. With that great power comes great responsibility. You have to decide where to put your listings, agent bios, and call-to-action buttons.

And you have to write all of your content. If you're a gifted writer, that's no problem. But if you're short on time or can't find the words, you'll find yourself frustrated with a half-finished site.

Site Speed

Since many website builders offer free hosting, you will probably notice your DIY website takes forever to load. Having a fast and responsive website is crucial to obtaining and retaining traffic. Did you know even just a 1-second delay in website speed decreases customer satisfaction by 16 percent? Yikes.

Having a slow site also can damage your search engine rankings. This is because many users will bounce off your website if the load time is slow. These bounce rates then send a signal to search engines that users don’t find your website useful. 

SEO and Content Writing

While you don’t have to be a web developer to make your own website, you do need to have some knowledge of HTML in order to rank higher on search engines. Putting relevant keywords in page elements like metadata descriptions, heading tags, and internal links all contribute to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Also knowing how to properly structure a document with HTML is crucial if you want search engines to be able to crawl your website (and trust us, you do).

It's easy to find tips on how to write awesome, SEO-friendly content for your real estate business. But when you're working with a professional website developer or agency, you can often outsource that work to a team of copywriters. They'll learn your story, then write it for you with finesse and SEO-focus.

Customer Support

You may decide to build your own website and create your own design, but what happens if your website is down? What if you really want to add a link and just can't figure out how? Website builder customer support can only go so far to assist you. Having an experienced web team you can call with any concerns is a real lifesaver when your site is down or not working properly.

Building your own site might sound rewarding and satisfying. But if you're not somewhat familiar with HTML or design, you may find it frustrating. An open div or extra p-tag can throw off the entire look of your site, but you may have a hard time tracking it down if you don't know what you're looking for.

Appearance

While many website builder platforms offer you various templates to choose from and the ability to customize your layout, most templated themes look generic. If you’re not a web designer, you may not be fully satisfied with the outcome of your website. Aside from appearance, templates may not be mobile-friendly or optimized for accessibility.

You’re a professional, shouldn’t your website look and feel professional too? If you have a vision, a web designer will be able to turn that vision into a reality. If you don't know where to start, they will guide you.

Our Verdict: Invest in a Team of Professionals to Build Your Website

We know, we know. We build custom IDX websites so of course we’re going to recommend getting a professionally-built website! But all biases aside, having a website that not only looks amazing but functions well is very important for brokers and agents. Having professionals properly code, design, write, and organize your content will make using your website a breeze for your clients. The result will be something you can be proud of. 

A professionally built-website may be a bit more pricey, but having tech support when you need it is priceless. You can count on your web team to update your content, fix your website if it becomes broken, or handle any other request much quicker than figuring it out yourself. Another plus is having important tracking tools installed like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. 

Having Google Analytics is crucial for tracking conversions and getting insight on how users engage with your website. Google Search Console allows you to see how your website shows up on search engines and lets you know if web pages are being crawled and indexed. If you decide to build your website, you may not know how to implement these tools. You could also miss out on some meaningful data you could use to improve your website. These are just some of the details a good web developer will make sure don't slip through the cracks!

Bottom Line

While both methods have their drawbacks, it’s important to do what’s best for your business. Whichever method you decide to go with, you should look at your website as a long-term investment not just in terms of cash but in terms of time. The worst-case scenario is when someone starts building a site, then it gets put on the backburner for months or years. If you can afford the small investment of working with a professional team, you'll be rewarded with a beautiful, functional, complete site. You'll have customer service on your side, and you'll be able to sleep at night.

Curious what a custom IDX site might cost? Ask us - you might be surprised with how affordable it can be!