Web Design For Real Estate Related Professionals
BoiseIdaho.net is a full service multi-media and web design and development company. We began developing real estate websites for Boise, Idaho professionals in 1994 and have designed more than 660 websites since.
BoiseIdaho.net specializes in real estate web design, website maintenance, and real estate marketing. BoiseIdaho.net provides real estate websites designed to generate new leads and build client relationships. BoiseIdaho.net offers full-service website solutions featuring, search engine optimization, MLS and IDX integration, custom pages, hosting and much more...
While our core clientele is real estate related, our customers include a wide variety of businesses and non-profits and have broadened over the years into Interactive CDRom's for a variety of businesses, DVD Video and Editing, and Graphic Art Design.
Looking For Website Trade?
We are always looking for a good website trade deal! Currently we are considering the following trades:
- Landscape Designers: Product and/or Labor
- Sprinklers: Product Product and Instalation
- Tile / Granite / Stone: Product and/or Labor
- Home Gutters: Product and Labor
- Painters: Product and/or Labor
For real estate e-books, please visit www.boiseidahorealestate.net
The MLSUpdateSystem provides a wide range of display features to accommodate brokers, agent groups, and single agents.
- Automatic Updates
- Flexible Displays to blend in with your web site
- Account control panel for reports, agent information updates, adding extra images, virtual tour links, search terms, and open house information.
- Search Results can be displayed by visitor queries, open house calendar, featured listings, virtual tours, key phrase, and subdivisions (subdivision dipslays are only available for certain MLS regions).
- The MLSUpdateSystem Visitor Toolbox allows visitors to bookmark homes, email you their homes of interest, and receive updates FROM YOU regarding new listings matching their search criteria and.
Ten Steps to Hiring a Real Estate Web Developer:
1) experience
The more experience a designer has, the more skills they’ll bring to your project, to create a sophisticated and functional Website. They’ll have more tools, tricks and knowledge to help you accomplish your business goals.
So what should you ask your potential developer?
Interviewing potential designers will not only provide answers to these questions, but will also give you an insight as to who the designer is, their level of expertise, and how well you can work together.
2) top quality customer service
Equally as important as experience is high quality customer service. After all, what good is having a top designer if they’re too busy to answer your emails or jump in to help with an emergency?
Ask for a list of references, and contact these clients. Don't be afraid to ask them if the developer is responsive to their needs, and assists them in a timely manner.
3) professional and original graphics
The ability to create professional, original Web graphics will quickly distinguish the Cousin-Jim-Bob-amateur-designer-wanna-be's from the professionals. Anyone can put words on a page and create links. But only a skilled designer will have a good sense of page layout, know how to create an effective color scheme, and be able to produce tasteful graphics that enhance your Website.
Take a look at other sites the designer has created. Do they demonstrate a considerable range of "styles" or do they use templates? Do the Websites feature original graphics? If you want a unique online presence to successfully brand your business, you must insist on original graphics. And be sure to confirm that the developer can create "extras" such as flash, animation, or mouseover effects, if you’re interested in including these on your site.
4) marketing savvy
A crème-de-la-crème Website will do you no good unless you can attract a steady stream of traffic to it. With just a few questions, you can quickly gauge the degree of marketing support a developer will provide:
Note: If they claim to be experts in search engine positioning, check first to see how highly listed their own Website is - it's the proof-in-the-pudding as to whether their techniques work!5) creativity
One thing you'd better define up-front is how involved your developer will be in the creative process. Unless you’re an experienced marketer, you’ll probably need at least a little help as you write the copy and plan the layout of your site - will your developer help you develop this content?
Writing for the Web is different than writing for print communications. Use someone who’s experienced in Web copywriting, and you’ll ensure that the message, as well as the look of your site, is geared to sell.
Also, be aware of over-creative know-it-all designers who don’t respect your input. It's your site, and you should have the opportunity to provide creative input. The key is to find a developer that will listen to your suggestions and work with you, offering ideas and advice to guide you while you plan your site.
6) pricing
The cost of a professionally-designed small business Website can run anywhere from $500 to $15,000. To ensure you don't blow your budget, ask for a written estimate. If your project is particularly complex, you may even have to pay for your quote. Ask the developer to break down the costs for your domain name, hosting services, graphics, Web development, and marketing fees, so that you have a complete picture of all the costs involved.
Will you be required to put down a deposit on the project? Some firms may ask for half of estimated fees up front, as a deposit. What methods of payment do they accept? Will they accept credit cards or do you have to pay by cash or check?
Do they charge a flat rate, or will you be billed by the hour? Typical hourly Web development fees can range from $30 to $200. But beware: cheaper is not always better! Whatever the rate, make sure it’s justified by the amount of experience and the skill set the developer brings to your project. While a designer who charges $30 an hour might seem like a great deal at first, they might take twice as long to complete your project.
What items will cost you extra? If there are items that are additional to the estimate you’ve been provided with, make sure to ask for quotes for these, too. And finally, find out what the costs for site maintenance will be once the site is complete. If you’ll update your site frequently, this cost is an important one to keep in mind.
7) communication skills
How easy is your designer to talk to? Do you trust them? Can you understand what they explain to you, or do they use techno-babble? And do they take time to listen to your needs? If you are going to have a good long term working relationship, it's crucial that you feel comfortable with one another, and can communicate clearly.
8) delivery deadlines
Ask how long the development process will take. You might also want to ask their past clients how close the developer came to completing other projects on time. A simple Website could be developed in one or two weeks, while a larger, more intense site could take several weeks or months. If you know what to expect in advance, you’ll have a benchmark by which you can evaluate your developer’s performance down the track.
9) full service offering
Does the developer offer a full range of services? Will they help you acquire a domain name, set up Web hosting, market your site, write copy, and/or provide database programming?
If you work with a developer who can handle all these details, you’ll save time, money, and frustration, as you can rely on their expertise to handle the more technical issues that may arise. And if they don't provide these services, ask whether they can recommend a company who can. Be sure to get prices from those vendors too, so that the total cost of your site won't sneak up on you.
10) availability
Is the person you’re considering a full time Web developer, or is this just a moonlighting job for them? A full time developer will probably be able to complete your site in a shorter time frame than someone who squeezes you into his or her spare time.
What are the business’s operating hours? Are they happy for you to call them with questions? Can they start your project right away? And, if you need maintenance down the road, how soon after you submit them can you expect your changes to appear on the live site?
What Should I Look For When Hiring a Web Developer?
Make sure that not only does the web developer appear to know the terminology, that they can explain to you in plain English what they mean when you ask. If you can’t communicate with them (or vice versa) it would probably be best to move on to someone you feel more comfortable with.
Consider a developer in your immediate geographic area. This will allow you faster and more personal access to the people working on your website.
Make sure the developer you choose is willing to include you in all aspects of the development process. Also make sure it is a give and take relationship. They should consider your ideas, but you are paying them for their experience and knowledge, so keep communication going both ways!
Request a list of completed websites from each developer. Explore those sites and email the company asking for opinions on the developer's services.
A web developer needs to not only know web page creation and web design technology options but they also need to be excellent at the basics such as spelling and grammar. They should have excellent attention to detail and have the creative eye to make your page intuitively useful to the customer. Just because they can make bunnies dance across the bottom of your page doesn’t mean that’s what is best for your website!
A Web developer’s job, presumably, is to do the coding to get your content online, integrate diverse media, create requisite Web systems, and promote online security. Creating content does not fall within the job description. As a practical matter, many Web developers do create some content ancillary to doing their work efficiently and effectively. But you will be expected to provide the content that fills the website.
Content includes information (text), logos, art work, photographs, data, forms, audio bites, video clips, and the like. Although your Web developer is responsible for putting your content on the Web, you are responsible for creating the content in the first place. You create content for the Web the way you normally do by hiring writers, copy writers, photographers, video producers, and the like.
Your Web developer will develop offline; that is, a Web developer creates most websites on his or her own computer before installing them on the Web. Your developer can send the ongoing revisions of the website to you via attached files to an email message or via floppy disks. You can look at such files with your browser on your own hard disk (or on a floppy). However, it is often more convenient to have your Web developer just put the website on the Web during the development process for easy review by you and your employees.1) Do your homework before you go to a developer
If you want an accurate assessment of what your Website will cost, you must have a clear idea about what you need. Take some time to answer these questions before you talk to a developer.
2) What will my website look and feel like?
What will my site communicate through its appearance? Will it be light and fun, hi-tech, or business-like and professional?
3) how many pages, and what specific sections, does my site need?
Consider the inclusion of at least these basic areas:
4) what is my budget?
Be reasonable: if you only have $500, you won't get much out of your Website. But some smaller, more affordable designers will gladly design a small business Website from between $1,500 and $3500.
5) what is my project deadline?
Are you pressed for time or do you have several months to play with? If you need your site in a hurry, you may be able to speed up development if you’re willing to pay a premium.
6) will my site require any specialized programming?
If you need a shopping cart, database or contact form, make sure your developer has the skill set to meet these requirements.
7) what level of assistance will I need with my site’s development?
If you know in advance how much, and what kind of help your project requires, you can confirm that the developer you’re considering can (and will) provide the level of service you need:
- do you require full site design & concepting?
- do you have the concept and just need it created into HTML pages?
- do you simply need some new graphics and a site makeover?
- do you have an existing logo or will they need to create a new one?
8) what do I like?
Create a list of URLs for sites you like, and note what you like about each one, and why it appeals to you. Then show this to your designer to give them a better idea about what you’re after. This can also help them provide a quote and concept visuals to match your vision.
9) get a referral
If you see a Website you like, or know someone with an online business, ask them who their developer was.
10) go local
Let your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages, or search the local Yahoo directories for your major metropolitan area. Here, you’ll be able to find a developer located in your local geographic area.
So How Do I Get Website Traffic?
How can you reliably send visitors to your web site?
You put your web address everywhere -
Really serious (and successful) Internet Realtors pay for presence on more than one top national site. Some (quite successful) Realtors have more than one web site, even several, each focusing on a different topic or strategy
The Web - Your Surrogate Self
When everything goes as planned, your Website is supposed to be set up to perform many of the things you do in the real world to sell yourself and to sell your listings.
In other words, your Web becomes an extension of yourself. Set it up well and your Web becomes an electronic testimonial. Set it up a differently, and you may be giving the wrong message to your prospects.
Get Started...
Since your Website will represent your business online, it's crucial to find the right developer to help you create it. A customer-friendly Website with attractive graphics, a clear marketing appeal, and easy navigation is critical to your online success.
For website templates, may we recommend Template Montster for your designs:
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