You’ve spent your entire real estate career trying new ways to market yourself and your services. If you could just think of a way to find more clients! Your business is good...but how could it be better? Then one day it dawns on you...you’ve finally come to the point in your life where you’re ready to settle down and create a web site. Good decision! But where do you start? Preconception is the time when you answer some pretty major questions.

• Why do I want a web site?
• What do I want my web site to do for me?
• What content do I want included in my site?
• What do I want my web site to look like (colors, overall theme, etc.)?
• How much can I afford to spend on my web site?
• Do I want a custom-designed site or should I go with a template site? (This may be determined by the answer to the previous question about your budget.)
• Have I seen any sites that have really caught me eye? What was it that I liked about them?

And most importantly...

• Who do I want to design my site?

Your window on the web

There are no set answers to any of these questions. A web site is a very personal thing. It’s a reflection of you that people can access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What image do you want to portray? Some real estate agents go with the cheapest web site they can find. If you do this, you usually get a number of bad results: your site looks unprofessional, your site doesn’t work properly, your site looks exactly like 100 other sites of REALTORS^® in your market area, your site doesn’t keep people interested long enough to earn you a new client, etc.

Brainstorming

The best thing you can do at this point is to sit down and brainstorm. Then you should read up on planning a web site. There are thousands of sites out there with information about web site design, and many that are specifically geared towards the real estate industry. The more you know, the better off you will be.

Researching Web Design Companies

Then, you will need to do a little research on web design companies. There are likely plenty of web designers in your phone book, but it is doubtful that many of these specialize in real estate web design. It would be wise to stick with a designer in the latter category as they understand the specific needs of the industry.

So where can you find a real estate web site designer?

On the Internet of course! There is no need to hire a local web designer as everything can be done over the computer or telephone. Check some search engines, find sites you like and find out who designed them, go to the real estate information sites, etc. Some design companies will even give you a "free preview" of what your site will look like. Take advantage of this offer! The best advice is not to go with the cheapest designer, but the one who gives the best value. This means that their price is affordable, their design work is exceptional, and they offer great customer service.

This is the point where it all comes together. You’ve done your research. You know, basically, what you want your site to look like and the content you want included. You have interviewed several real estate web design companies. Then the big event happens ... THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION ... you call your web designer of choice and say, "Let’s make a web site!"