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Do you want to develop the first real estate site? It’s not as difficult as you believe. Our top five platforms will assist you in creating professional property websites, and not look like something you designed by yourself…
We’ll be straight to the point – based on our study of the top real estate websites on available, Squarespace comes with the top spot. With modern, graphic-driven designs, a sleek user experience, as well as the opportunity to trial a free trial before getting you up and running with it, it’s the preferred choice for realtors.
Squarespace is closely followed by four of the top real estate websites builders. They all provide IDX integration as easy as it is possible and have templates with images which pack the most visual appeal into an online platform. They’ll aid you in nurturing every lead from inquiry to purchase, and will incorporate an SEO-friendly strategy that will rank your site for potential buyers who are searching within your local area. On top of that they’ll be simple enough to setup and quickly edit.
In taking all of these aspects in consideration, here’s the top five recommendations:
Best Website Builders for Real Estate: Our Top 5
- Squarespace is ideal for websites that are small in real estate
- Duda – Best IDX integration
- Wix – Great for user-friendliness
- Weebly – Affordable but with a loss of features
- WordPress.org – Good for large websites however, it is not the most user-friendly to make use of
The builders on this list have gone through our complete research process for finding the best website builders, which includes:
- First-hand ease of use test (with actual participants and us)
- Analysis of features in cross-analysis
- Design analysis based on the most effective practices
- Support and assistance with testing
Additionally we’ve also examined the issues from a particular estate site’s perspective. One thing that a property site developer needs most is the correct features and a well-designed design, therefore we’ve weighed these elements over the normal ones in our rankings.
In terms of the features we’ve focused on:
- Leads collection Contact forms, request for bookings and the ability to make appointments
- Integration of IDX and MLS is crucial for adding listings to your site that are from other platforms. If they’re already integrated into your templates, that’s an added benefit to reap the full SEO advantages.
Squarespace stood out as the best in our tests. A stunning design is something this website has perfected and we love its real estate-specific templates that they the market. It also has a great feature aspect, with plenty of options to collect and cultivate leads along with a seamless MLS integration.
- Squarespace
Every real estate agent knows everything about the importance of an impressive first impression, and this is an aspect that Squarespace provides like no other web-based builder we’ve seen. With the help of one of its carefully selected selections of professionally-designed templates, it is impossible to believe that your site was built by hand.
The real estate templates on Squarespace’s website do not come with IDX integrated. There’s a easy method to incorporate this function, and it’s an extensive Squarespace article to help you navigate the procedure.
You’ll need to get the embed code on you IDX service, then paste it into your Squarespace website as the form of a custom code block. It sounds complicated however it’s actually a an issue of copying and paste – absolutely no technical skills needed!
We’ve mentioned before how impressed we are with Squarespace’s templates designs (the top we’ve tested and scored 4.8/5). Squarespace has found the right template for you. five designs This is a great option that could be used for a real estate site. The layouts place images in the front and give you the chance to showcase your property.
Squarespace doesn’t give you total design flexibility. It is possible to change the content, include new pages and elements and even change the color scheme however, you aren’t able to drastically alter the layout you’re seeing at the beginning.
What’s the truth? Although this might not be as entertaining for more creative individuals however, it means you’re obligated to stick to the standard design and your site will look much better for it.
All of the extra features offered by Squarespace come baked in and ready to be used regardless of whether they relate to the front-end of your site, or the behind-the-scenes stuff. Pop-ups can be added with the Business plan. This can be used in a manner that is tasteful and can be an effective method of letting people know about the price reduction or the arrival of a new property.
When creating your site when designing your website, you can incorporate new elements such as images, forms or map by selecting these from the drop-down menu. Integrations such as Mail chimp let you follow up with leads or clients on a regular basis.
Squarespace provides two plans that are not e-commerce:
- Personal $11 each month when you pay annually or $16 per month when it is paid monthly
- Business $18 per month when paid annually or $26 per month when you pay on a monthly basis
We’d recommend the Business Plan to your property company. The cost of the plan is worth it for the additional marketing and analytics options you’ll be able to access.
Squarespace isn’t the least expensive website builder in the list but it’s an excellent value for money. With all the features that are that are built-in, and professional-looking designs available is well worth the monthly cost.
Our customers have complained that Squarespace wasn’t as user-friendly as other builders for websites.
However, it’s very easy to use after you’ve had a go and have a firm grasp of how it works and what’s where it’s at so don’t be dissuaded by that.
Support is available by live chat to help you out and assist you in finding any issue, and remember that you’ve got 2 weeks to test it absolutely free.
Squarespace offers a variety of SEO-related guides however it does not offer any ‘handholding which means that the burden lies with you to a certain extent here. It’s got everything you need to give your website the most effective chance of ranking for your local area’s search results However, you’ll need to study the guides provided by Squarespace to maximize the value of the features available.
- Duda
Duda has been described as known as the website builder that web designers can use and comes with stunning templates that go with it. It’s quite simple to use, however it holds many features for those who subscribe to its higher priced plans.
We were shocked to learn that Duda does not include an IDX/MLS native feature considering how sophisticated the platform is in general. Instead, you could download the code to create an third-party IDX widget and then add it to your website while you are in developer mode.
If you’re not sure about this or want something more unique You can request an individual-designed widget through any of the Duda’s Fulfillment Partners. They are third party approved by Duda that you can hire via your Duda account and collaborate with for a single cost. The fulfillment channel of Duda is only accessible if you’re on the $22 monthly Plan for Team or higher.
This is the area in which Duda really shines, competing with Squarespace in terms of design. Duda is the only basic model for real estate and frankly, we think it’s beautiful – sleek and visually appealing, with captivating animation. It’s extremely professional and loaded with features that can be beneficial to realtors, especially those that has a wider collection of properties. Duda is also a great source of flexibility for customizing which means you can adapt it to your needs and brand.
The features of Duda are amazing. When it comes to lead generation, here are a few tools that you’ll find from this real estate model:
- Fantastic email marketing (for keeping leads interested)
- A Members Area (but it’s not password secured)
- Forms for appointment and contact (for collecting leads)
While the template is nice, it’s the built-in features that show through. This template is prepared to be used starting from day one.
Duda provides three premium plans with different options :
- Basic HTML0 – $14/month when you pay annually or $19 per calendar month when you pay monthly.
- Team $29 per month if paid annually or $29/month when paid monthly
- Agency $49 per month if paid annually or $55 monthly when paid monthly
Although Duda does provide a few affordable options, which we noted in the past, it has several features for customers who are on the Agency plan. This is the reason it failed in our tests for the value it offers. If, for instance, you wish to modify an IDX integration, it will require the widget maker, that is available only in an Agency plan.
Duda claims to be an online builder designed for web developers, and all the talk about building websites for clients’ might seem overwhelming for beginners. Don’t be put off by this Duda – Duda is actually quite easy to use. It was rated 4.1/5 for its ease of use and is second to Wix and happens to be the next platform that we’ll look at in the next.
Duda will not guide you in enhancing your website’s performance to be search engine friendly, however it does provide all the tools necessary to accomplish this task effectively.
One of the benefits to realtors would be an added benefit for real estate agents is the Local Business Schema feature, which allows you to mark your website as a local company to Google and boost chances of having your site listing in local searches for properties.
Duda is also keeping an eye watch on page performance (an essential ranking factor) that could be a quick way to get lost on sites that are heavy on media.
- Wix
Wix is a flexible, user-friendly website builder. It has a wide variety of professionally-designed templates can be picked to build from, as well as a broad marketplace of apps to help you add more functions and features to your site.
What lets Wix down is the poor IDX integration. It’s required to be added by code, but, unlike Squarespace the process doesn’t appear to be an easy process , with some users claiming it’s quite erratic.
Wix provides more than 500 professionally created templates With approximately 16 dedicated exclusively to real estate websites .
Wix utilizes drag-and-drop tools to assist you in designing your site. The template you choose to use serves as a guide or a springboard. You’re free to change elements such as paragraphs, images, and menus where you like. It also means that you cannot change your template once it goes live, so you should be aware of that.
Wix’s real estate templates are packed with useful features like Contact forms, interactive maps along with online forms for booking that customers can utilize to schedule viewings.
Wix provides five price plans for non-ecommerce :
- Free $0 for the rest of your life
- Combo $18 per month if paid annually or $18 per month when it is paid monthly
- Unlimited $18 per month if paid annually or $23 monthly for monthly payments
- Pro $29 per month if paid annually or $27/month when you pay monthly
- VIP $39/month when paid annually or $47 for a month if paid monthly
This plan for free is an excellent option to get a taste of however we suggest upgrading to at minimum the Unlimited plan when you can (this is ideal for companies and it’s the Combo plans are more suitable suited to private projects). If upgrades are made, users will gain access to more features, such as additional video storage to allow virtual home viewing (this begins at 1 hour for the Unlimited plan) and additional paid advertising credits for landing your local searches.
Wix is in the beginning, extremely simple to make use of. There is no need for any technical knowledge to design a site The entire platform is simple and intuitive which is an important reason why it was the one that our users were most likely recommend following their tests.
With 16 pre-designed real estate templates can be a huge time-saver. As opposed to having to customize the template to meet your requirements most likely that one already meets the bill. It’s simply an issue of importing the content you want to add (something is designed to be very user-friendly).
Wix is perfect for people with no SEO expertise. Its Wix SEO Wiz gives you individualized recommendations that are specific to your site and to the visitors you’re hoping to take advantage of.
- Weebly
Weebly is among the cheapest websites on this list With paid plans beginning at only six dollars per year. It’s got a lot of SEO tools and that’s the reason we usually recommend it for small-sized businesses. The designs aren’t the most modern and it’s unlikely provide a website that’s like the beautiful ones that Wix or Squarespace will.
Like Wix, Squarespace and Duda, the process of adding IDX simply requires the embedding of an element of code from an integration from a third party. There are some couple of instructions about how to do this, but not much from Weebly itself. This makes the process appear slightly more difficult.
Weebly offers a variety of styles (‘themes’) available, but there aren’t any that are specifically tailored to real estate sites This isn’t ideal.
It’s still possible to construct a great real estate website using a different design with an image as a springboard, but you’ll have to work hard for a while to achieve it. However, when you consider that Weebly’s design isn’t as great as those of Squarespace it’s somewhat unproductive.
It’s simple to add elements for lead capture like contact forms to your Weebly site using the app store . There’s plenty of choices in this category, and the majority of apps offer a free trial However, remember that you’ll typically require a premium plan to gain upgraded features such as the ability to alter the appearance of forms you’re creating. Paid plans typically cost between the $10 to $15 per month mark.
Weebly comes with built-in marketing email tools that are great to grow a engaged database of house hunters as well as for collecting testimonials after the event, too.
Weebly provides four different plans :
- Free $0 forever
- Personal $6 per month if paid annually at $9 for a month if you pay monthly
- Professional 12 months at $12 when paid annually or $16 per month when it is paid monthly
- Performance $26 per month if paid annually or $29 per month if you pay each month
The prices at Weeby’s are affordable However, remember that we’d advise you to pay for the professional plan on your website because it’s the least expensive ad-free plan (meaning You won’t see advertisements from Weebly’s company on your website).
This is vital for giving the all-important first impression. However, it also places your website in the same cost bracket as Squarespace ones , which are more expensive but have many more features.
The ease of use is usually Weebly’s main selling point, however the absence of specific real estate templates puts you off the rails.
If you sign up with Weebly you’ll be guided throughout the entire process creating your site, and you will never be confused about what to do the next time. You can pick an image-focused theme such as the Travelling as well as Acquire and customize to meet your requirements by dropping and dragging elements onto the site. Since you’re not starting with a template that can be utilized by realtors right from the beginning, you’ll need to put additional steps.
SEO can be one of the strengths of Weebly’s. It offers helpful prompts and thorough guides. You have the ability to edit and access all the information you require to give your website an opportunity to rank at the top of the page for local brokers.
- WordPress.org
WordPress can be one of the most well-known names in the field of website development, however it’s an actual website builder and operates quite differently from other platforms we’ve included that we’ve ranked. It’s an extremely flexible and adaptable website builder (probably the most efficient and flexible) however, you’ll struggle to design an all-inclusive, fully-branded real estate website without assistance by a designer. However, it should be our top choice for those who plan to offer a number of properties and require advanced search features.
Making the IDX Integration to your WordPress website is a easy process. From your main dashboard, go to Plugins If not, then Create a new . Then, you can search for a highly rated IDX plugin on the WordPress plugin directory. This led to an A few pages of results When we tested it and we loved it. So you’ll certainly have many options to choose from.
After selecting an option, select on the “Install Now” button and it’ll be applied to your website. It’s an extremely simple and fast procedure.
Be sure to keep the plugin up-to-date by taking action on any updates that show up on your dashboard.
WordPress is a bit different than website builders because all themes available that are available in the WordPress theme directory – which is accessible via the WordPress Dashboard – were created by a variety of developers, not directly by WordPress itself.
This is the way of working on an open source system. There are approximately 10 results that are related to real estate-themed themes however, even though they are attractive but they don’t have a lot (or at times) reviews from users. Although this shouldn’t be an issue but it’s worth exploring a third-party theme site, like Theme Forest or perhaps looking into the possibility of getting an individual design by a web designer.
The reason why we’ve introduced the concept of web designers in the mix now is that it’s not as simple to modify the look and feel of a WordPress theme as it is to change the template for a website builder. Making simple changes is easy enough, but playing with the overall style and design can be difficult and might require programming expertise. For just a couple hundreds of dollars, creating a customized design could be the most appealing and intelligent alternative.
Lead capture elements are able to be integrated in the same manner as for the IDX integration – through the (almost) endless options in the WordPress plugin directory. Anyone is welcome to add their site to the directory, which is why we suggest considering user reviews when deciding between various choices.
However, the choices are endless – there’s nothing that you don’t have the ability to incorporate into your WordPress website. It’s all about whether that you have to purchase or one you could download at no cost.
It’s a challenge to put the price of the price of a WordPress real estate site. When you build a website that you can pay a monthly all-in price that means you are in the know in terms of price.
When you have the creation of a WordPress website is a complex set of different variables to consider. web hosting is a must (this can cost anything from $2.95 per month to $3.95 depending upon the dimensions of your website). It is also necessary to buy an domain at the cost of about the amount of $10 per annum.
While hosting and domain registration can be easily accounted for, the expense of design and the plugins are not. It’s because it is contingent on the work you’re willing to create yourself, as well as the requirements of your website. While the cost of running your site will be comparable to the cost of a website builder the cost of setting up could be more expensive (potentially hundreds of dollars). We’ve put together a complete guide on WordPress prices for you to take this down into greater specifics.
It’s easy to integrate the IDX connection for your WordPress website, don’t be fooled into thinking that WordPress is a simple choice for creating your real estate site generally.
WordPress is an extremely powerful platform that offers endless possibilities for your website It’s not a reason to be surprised that getting it set up can be longer-lasting and complicated. In addition, as we’ve said above depending on your needs it could be that you be unable to accomplish this task by yourself.
WordPress has earned a great image when it comes to SEO. Since so many websites are built using WordPress (around two-thirds), Google is well-practiced in understanding the web’s structure.
However, we suggest adding the SEO-related plugin on your WordPress website (our preferred one is called Yoast SEO) to ensure you’re giving your website the best chance to rank effectively for those vital local search results.
Other Real Estate Website Builders
Below, we’ve highlighted the five most successful web builders we’ve identified that we’ve identified from our research focused on real estate.
Below are a few real estate websites that you might be surprised to find didn’t make it to the top. They still deserve an acknowledgement that we’ll provide this moment, and also the reasons why they’re not included in our top five list.
For real estate-specific websites builders, it almost always was due to a lack of important areas, besides featuring real estate-related features that are pre-integrated. Things like design, value price, ease of use creativity, and SEO frequently fell short of the mark.
- Placester
Placester is a specific real estate website builder therefore it has a number of very beneficial features for real estate websites that are built into (although you’ll pay a lot more). There is no need to worry about issues like selecting the wrong template, or needing to manually add IDX.
Placester is designed to work with large real estate websites and has for this reason reduced a great deal of ease of use. It does not have customer support to help you navigate the procedure. Customers’ reviews also highlight that the system is slow and out of date.
This is a problem that we often encounter when it comes to ‘niche’ websites They offer important features, but they do not have the same support and funding as bigger platforms, so basic functions could be left unnoticed.
- Intagent
It’s the same that’s happening with Intagent which is another feature-rich, yet outdated platform that’s not as feature-rich but is dated. Intagent does provide a website design service, however If you’re considering outsourcing the construction of your website, it could be worth considering. Beware from the $29.95 per month for the website builder package.
- Propertybase
More than just a site developer, Propertybase is an ideal choice for those who want an all-in-one, scalable real estate platform. the price tag is a reflection of this. We believe this is an ideal option for teams, but not the best value for agents on their own.
- RealtorMint
We’re always wary of recommending products that have a website builder component that is a subset of the overall product. This is the case with RealtorMint, a great CRM tool for real estate businesses but it has a rather simple website building tool. It’s fine, but it’s isn’t one of our top choice at this point.
- AgentFire
AgentFire is a pricey alternative, but it comes with more support than the typical web-based builder. The prices begin at $129 per month, and that’s only for a basic web builder program. In addition the essential add-ons, for example, the essential IDX integration, can quickly become expensive – the most expensive one is $33 per month. Assistance with custom design is available starting at $699.
- Realtyna
Realtyna has developed themes and plugins to be used on real estate websites created using WordPress. Both are worth checking out in case you’re planning to go the WordPress way however it’s not an independent platform that’s its own.
- Ylopo
The Ylopo is a different platform that is more of a digital marketing tool rather than a web-based website builder. Also, Ylopo is more suited to coordinating an entire team of agents, rather than working on their own. It does come with some useful features, such as the capability to create microsites for each member of the team within the site as a whole.
How to Select the Top Real Estate Website Builder?
We’ve provided you with five options that are a good fit in your search for a real estate site builder. Let’s review three of the criteria that you should be looking in your search for a website builder and what they mean:
- You have access to IDX listings as well as the MLS
If you’re involved in the business of real estate and you’re in the real estate industry, then you know the importance of having access to connect to the IDX in addition to the ability to close deals through the MLS.
As we’ve witnessed increasing numbers of real estate websites are equipping their websites with the capability to pull up listings on the IDX however in different degree.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
People with no prior knowledge about your business to to locate you via Google searches such as “real estate agent in your local region for example]’. Because more than 68% of internet experiences begin with a search engine you’ll need to rank at the top of the results page on Google and will require an SEO-friendly builder that has strong support , and/or applications to help you get there.
- Lead capture and nurturing
There’s a new visitor on your website and they are interested in the property you have on your site. It’s fantastic! Now what? You require a web-based builder that can be customized with booking forms and contact forms so that users can move on to book an appointment to view.
Property not quite right? With the right tools for marketing via email you can customize your campaigns that keep people up-to-date whenever new properties are added that meet their requirements.
- Support and assistance
It’s not worth being swept over by fancy features and beautiful designs, only to face an obstacle that you are unable to overcome, and no one can help you.
The fact that they have a dedicated support staff is what makes website builders different from CMS platforms like WordPress. This is something that people tend to forget to look out for, or don’t appreciate its importance until they come across an obstacle.
- Videos and images
We as realtors do not need to remind you that images are important as you know that they can make an important factor in the decision between your mobile ringing in the middle of the night and a house that’s empty for months.
We’d like to show the web builders you use that offer your images the chance to shine, and the possibility of adding videos, if that is something you can offer.
Best Website Builders for Real Estate: Summary
We’ve highlighted the top-rated platforms to build your real estate website that are based on your personal requirements. You’ve noticed that they each offer some unique features and, by now you’re confident in selecting the best one for you. Here’s our rankings, and the strengths for each one:
Best Website Builders for Real Estate: Our Top 5
- Squarespace is the best choice for websites that are small in real estate
- Duda – Best IDX integration
- Wix – Great for user-friendliness
- Weebly is cheap however, it comes at the cost of features
- WordPress.org – Good for large websites However, it’s not the easiest to utilize
All you have to do is to get out and make your site! Keep in mind that every web-based builder comes with an initial trial for free or a no-cost plan which means you can test the software risk-free.
- FAQs
If the primary objective on your property site is to generate income through online sales, you’ll need to think about an e-commerce-specific website builder. A lot of the builders we’ve reviewed on this page are ranked in our ranking of the most effective ecommerce website builders also and you’ve probably learned something about the best builders!
Video is an extremely useful element on web-based real estate sites. It’s possible to incorporate videos on your website in various ways, including embedding videos directly taken from YouTube or Vimeo as pages’ content or even using the video clip as a background image that moves!
