Real Estate Web Hosting - Don't Overpay!
Recently, I was using WordTracker.com to find out which "real estate website" phrases get searched most often through Google, Yahoo and similar search engines. It surprised me that the phrase "real estate web hosting" and the longer "real estate web site hosting" were two of the most commonly searched phrases.
Now this might one of three things. It could mean that (A) real estate web hosting companies are checking their own search engine rankings so often that it has inflated the search volume of that phrase, (B) real estate agents are genuinely searching for real estate web hosting on a frequent basis, or (C) a combination of the two.
Whatever the reason for it, the data prompted me to write this article on the subject to educate real estate agents about web hosting.
You Don't Need a "Real Estate Web Hosting" Company
Here's the primary lesson of this article. Web hosting is a straightforward service that shouldn't require much thought. You can get reliable web hosting (backed up by good customer service) for less than $10 per month. As a long-time customer, I only pay about $6 per month for the hosting of my real estate websites.
Some hosting companies label themselves as "real estate web hosting experts." But this doesn't make much sense. Hosting a real estate website is no different than hosting any other website. All a hosting company does is host your files on a server (a big computer) somewhere, thus allowing your website files to be called up whenever somebody's web browser requests them. So from a technical standpoint, there is nothing unique about hosting a real estate website as compared to, say, a website about basket weaving. Files are files, and data is data.
Here's the bottom line I want you to remember. If you are paying more than $10 per month for hosting because a company claims to specialize in real estate web site hosting, you are probably paying too much.
Real Estate Web Development - A Different Story
Now, website development is another thing entirely. Some companies legitimately specialize in real estate website development. Perhaps they're intimately familiar with implementing IDX, MLS and similar real-estate-specific data tools. Or maybe they have built-in contact-management tools that allow you to upload listing information and property photos.
So on the design and development side of things, there is often a legitimate need for a real estate web design specialist. But again, they should not charge you a lot for hosting, and if they do you're being had.
Some web development companies will tell you that they need to host your real estate website on their servers because your website requires special features. This too is bogus. A legitimate web development firm will let you host your real estate website anywhere you want ... they won't trap you into their overpriced hosting plan, or claim to be "real estate web hosting" specialists.
Web hosting should be simple, straightforward and affordable. If you find yourself paying an arm and a leg for "real estate web site hosting" ... you may want to start asking questions.
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