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Boomerang - Thanks for your insight. Maybe you could enlighten us on the advantages/disadvantages to using a template vs a custom website. My website is a custom one, but I know many agents use a template. One thing that was brought up at a tech class I took was about ownership of the website.
Anyway, thanks for the tips for the techies and the tech-less among us.
I was a webmaster in a former life, but I just don't have the time to code today...even with all the free editors.
I hear you. Not just the coding, but the endless tweaking - if you want to keep things up to date, that is, and I'm just too fussy to let things go unmaintained. Really find myself gritting my teeth when I'm visiting a website and see things like announcements of events long past. Plus if I were doing websites now I'd want to stay on the cutting edge, and you can't do that if you have another full+ time job. At least, not if you have a life outside work and also need to get sleep occasionally!
The best thing I ever did was to take a basic course in print layout design. It carries over to web design very well as far as learning what elements are most pleasing to the eye, as well as most likely to "stick" in the mind as you're reading. Some people create websites that literally chase viewers away due to crazy, almost illegible layout.
Last edited by Boomerang; 03-08-2008 at 09:41 AM..
Boomerang - Thanks for your insight. Maybe you could enlighten us on the advantages/disadvantages to using a template vs a custom website. My website is a custom one, but I know many agents use a template. One thing that was brought up at a tech class I took was about ownership of the website.
By template I meant any design-in-a-can. Obviously you may save money by utiliizing a company-designed or company-hosted template. But if it's a bad template, you risk losing some prospective customers. A website might be the first (and only) impression that a seller or buyer gets of you. A poor website says "I don't care about my appearance" the same way that wearing totally inappropriate clothing does. Hey, there should be a Bravo show on website makeovers! Dibs on royalties if someone picks up on this idea But I digress.
Ownership is a very broad topic. Does the employer or parent company require their agents to use the company template/website; do they ban the use of certain proprietary elements off their own hosted site; require certain links or information to appear, etc. Everyone has to work within the requirements of their employer or parent company. If there are no such limitations, then I think the use of the company template or custom template becomes based on the financial and creative advantages. Each situation is different so I'm afraid there is no blanket answer. But basically it's not so much about whether you have a custom site as how good the site is.
Mine is in the profile,I don't have a house logo because I never liked that design. I am also pretty sensitive when it comes to design. Talking about design,I need to update my website.
So, what I gather here is that everyone likes everyone elses' websites!
Great!
Or, sensitivity rules, and everyone figures that they "shouldn't say anything, if they can't say something nice."
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, there's a lot of really nice websites out there, but what really counts is whether or not buyers and sellers are accessing our websites and then calling us.
So . . . maybe a couple (make that 3) important questions for us to consider are:
What tracking/monitoring systems do you use? What data is most helpful to you?
How do you market your website? (Print ads and/or Internet marketing)
What kind of positive results are you getting off your website?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, there's a lot of really nice websites out there, but what really counts is whether or not buyers and sellers are accessing our websites and then calling us.
So . . . maybe a couple (make that 3) important questions for us to consider are:
What tracking/monitoring systems do you use? What data is most helpful to you?
How do you market your website? (Print ads and/or Internet marketing)
What kind of positive results are you getting off your website?
1. My Hosting firm, Steadfast Networks, offers a few tracking systems, plus we are going to add Google Analytics. I like to see the number of unique visitors, and the length of time they stay on the site, and the number of pages they view. I know my sister looked yesterday from out of state...
2. I market on my business cards, in print, in blogs with SEO, verbally, on listings and flyers, social networking sites, at home shows, i.e., any place I can get my url in front of someone.
3. Website is brand new, so just seeing traffic develop is fun! Adding content and SEO value will only improve it.
My remodelled website is 2 months old now, so it wasn't around during this 2008 group feedback thread. It also contains my first attempts at blogging. The website link is in my profile.
I'd appreciate any feedback on how it can be improved. I promise I take criticism very well.
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<DM starts looking up the email addresses for Bravo Producers> 
Feedback on my website, please?
