When you land your dream job as a REALTOR®, there are a few things you’ll need to do to ensure that business is always booming. One of those things is creating a website. For those who aren’t as tech-savvy as they’d like, the idea of using a templated site may be tempting. After all, website builders will take the guesswork out of the equation to make the entire process from start to finish that much easier.
However, there are serious drawbacks when using a templated site versus owning and building your own from the ground up. In fact, the latter option is the best way to go if you’re serious about making your website stand out from your competitors.
Control is King
You have complete control when you choose to own and build your own website. That means you get to determine precisely how it looks and functions and how it may change over time. Being a REALTOR® means owning your own business, and you are that business. You want your website to reflect everything you are as a professional real estate agent. In many cases of templates, you are unable to take as many creative liberties to see your vision come to life.
Taking it With You
Some brokerages will provide you with a website template you can use to build your own personally-branded content in the hopes of drumming up more business online. While that seems like a more effortless and cheaper route, it isn’t always the best for your overall career because what if you move to another brokerage? You’ll have to start your website from scratch once you move because you won’t be able to take the template with you.
With owning your domain and custom website, you can keep that as your leading online presence no matter where your career takes you.
The Power of Full Customization
Many ready-made templates are beautiful and provide everything you need to create a website. However, they are often bogged down by specific details and changes you can make. That constricts your ability to customize your site beyond what is allowed on the template. For example, if you want to add music to your beautiful new website but your chosen template does not allow it, you’re out of luck. You can choose every little detail you wish to include with your own custom website.
Save Money
Many website template programs require you to pay a monthly fee to keep yours up and running. Owning your website isn’t like that. While it’s not free, you will only need to pay host fees. These fees are typically much lower than those you will have to pay to a content management system service for your templated website.
While making a custom website is the better way to go, it’s not always an easy feat to accomplish by yourself. If you are leaning towards owning your website but don’t know where to start, contact us today! We can help you get online in a way that suits you and your business.