How to Start Your Realtor® Business Website

Having an online presence can help Realtors® establish their personal, and professional brands and gain attention from potential clients. According to NAR research, 29% of homebuyers believed it was important for real estate agents to have websites, and 14% found their agent through the internet.

Whether you’re just beginning to plan your website or you’re looking to revamp, here’s some advice from Mile6, a Philadelphia-based digital product agency that specializes in creating mobile apps, websites and web applications.

Know Your Options (and Your Budget)

Start by deciding how much you want to invest in your website. Explore your options and consider what you want your website to do for your business.

Limited Budget

“For a Realtor® with a limited budget to invest who intends to use the site as a digital business card, there are a lot of great options in the template space such as site builders like Squarespace, Weebly or Wix,” the Mile6 team says.

“If you go this route, you can expect to spend a significant amount of time organizing content and learning the interface. You can, of course, pay a freelancer to set up your site. They’re found easily on sites like Upwork and Fiverr.”

If you’re a Realtor® looking for a place to establish your brand online that includes simple features like a contact page, about page, testimonials, social media links and pictures, this may be a good option at a low cost.

Ready to Invest

“If you’re ready to invest at the $5,000-10,000 range, you could hire a freelancer locally or through the aforementioned sites to build them a templated WordPress site using a theme like Divi or Elementor,” Mile6 continues. “Although they have their place, page builders also come with their drawbacks. This will require greater upfront investment but will likely cost less in the long run, as most website builders charge you monthly for the platform.”

“There are small agencies that will build a quick website for somewhere in the $15,000-20,000 range, and we’ve been known to dabble in that price range if the product goals are in alignment with a growth trajectory. In this case, you’ll usually get some level of project and account management that can be really helpful if you’re a busy professional and need someone to help you manage the logistics of a website build.”

If you’re interested in a more personalized, functional website that will allow for more management, you may consider this option.

“Hiring a freelancer or an agency to build you a quick templated website means that someone who really knows the internet will be structuring your content,” Mile6 adds. “They come with baked-in knowledge on how to maximize the search engine optimization of your content. They may even offer services after the build, like site monitoring, hosting and support should you have a problem.”

Ready to Maximize

“Finally, if you’re really ready to maximize a website, you can contract with a company like Mile6. We would be a good solution for something like a brokerage that’s looking to create a more effective marketing website or a multi-site environment to service a team of agents, each with their own website, but all manageable through one WordPress Dashboard.”

As a Realtor®, investing in a maximized website likely isn’t your starting point. However, it can be a great option for brokerages looking to increase their online foot traffic, enhance their marketing and generate more business.

The perfect Realtor® website will look different for every Realtor®, depending on their unique business needs and goals. When thinking about how much you want to invest in your website and where you want to start, it’s a good idea to consider which features you want and how each one will serve your clients, increase your business and help establish your professional brand.