WordPress is one of the most popular CMS (content management system) platforms out there. At Web4Realty, we ❤️ WordPress. So much so, that this blog you’re reading is created on WordPress. Nevertheless, when it comes to real estate websites, WordPress is simply not a good option. Read on to find out exactly why WordPress never works for real estate websites.
1. Lack of Website Support
Even though WordPress prides itself in offering customizable websites for its clients, the truth is, you need to learn a good bit about web development and web design in order to use WordPress comfortably. It’s inevitable that you will need assistance with your website – something not included with WordPress. We all know that website maintenance can be extremely time-consuming (especially without support), and it reduces your net productivity as a real estate agent.
By going with a real estate website provider, you will ensure that the website is well-maintained at all times. This will give you a piece of mind and allow you to focus on what’s important – your real estate business.
2. Hosting Issues Arise
The truth is, websites are dynamic in nature – always changing, needing updates, requiring tweaks, and displaying unexpected issues. When you host a WordPress website, you are on your own if hosting issues or server issues arise. If the issues are not solved on time, your website may go offline, and this makes your website lose credibility and page rankings. Luckily, this issue can be solved if you engage the services of a real estate website provider.
The provider will ensure that you have a smooth hosting experience, and that server issues do not affect the operation of your website.
3. It’s Expensive (for what you get)
Paid-hosting for WordPress real estate websites can be quite expensive, with monthly hosting charges averaging between $13-20. This does not account for technical assistance provided or any additional fees you may have to pay for an IDX Listings Plugin or any other services. Although getting a WordPress website may seem like a cheaper alternative, it is generally much more expensive and frustrating in the long run.
However, a realtor website provider will offer you a package deal that includes all the costs related to hosting, updates, technical maintenance, and IDX listings integration. The package deal is usually priced affordably, and you can therefore maintain a real estate website at an affordable cost. Web4Realty only charges $24/Month or $20/Month (annually).
4. Lack of IDX Listings Integration
Listings are an integral component of a professional real estate website. Presently, IDX plugins are unavailable for most WordPress themes, and the available WordPress IDX plugins function extremely poorly because most are iFrames-dependent, meaning that they cannot be properly indexed by search engines (zero SEO benefits). Further, you cannot customise the IDX listings by featuring your listings or listings from particular areas (something you can do with Web4Realty). Lastly, the actual listings search is generally very poor and offers little benefit to someone looking for listings on your website.
It is therefore sensible that you engage a professional real estate website provider with full IDX listings integration which allows you to feature listings from particular cities, communities, and particular types of listings. Especially, since listings are a crucial part of generating real estate website leads (find out why here).
5. WordPress is Hard to Use
Learning to use WordPress truly takes countless hours to learn, and even when you get the hang of it, it requires ongoing maintenance which ultimately shifts your focus from your real estate business. With no support to turn to, WordPress users spend many hours online researching how to complete simple tasks that should take minutes to complete.
Luckily, a real estate website provider will not only provide you with an easy-to-use website, but also provide you with dependable support to save you countless hours of research. You can reach our support team VIA phone, email, or live chat! Learn how easy it is to use Web4Realty’s PageManager Website Editor.
6. Ongoing Updates and Improvements
In this day and age, websites are becoming outdated more quickly than ever. The website you had last year may already be behind the times. When you create a WordPress website, you are committing to keeping your website manually updated. You have to keep up with the latest Google algorithms to make sure your website ranking is not getting punished. By using a realtor website provider, you are contracting industry experts with years of experience to make sure your website is always up to date.
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