Real Estate Websites for Agents: Beware of Template Sites
Having a top-notch real estate website can help you stay
competitive in today's Web-driven economy. But before you leap
in and make a large purchase, you need to be aware of certain
things -- namely, the various drawbacks of template websites.
About Website Templates
A template is a pre-built website "shell" that you buy (or
subscribe to) and then customize with actual content and
graphics.
Many of the templates I've seen are nothing more then eye candy
-- nice to look at, but not worth an investment. Most are too
rigid, with no way to expand the navigation or the content
without "breaking" the template design.
"But it will hold all the content I have," goes the argument.
Heck, I've made this argument myself, and I've purchased a
website template I thought was cool. The problem came when I
tried to expand my website -- I couldn't add pages to it without
completely reworking the design.
Most of the real estate template websites I've seen are poorly
built (from a coding standpoint). They have "machine-generated"
HTML code that's invalid and convoluted -- two things that
search engines hate.
Benefits of a Properly Built Website
Error-free, properly built websites will display consistently in
different web browsers, new and old alike. They're also more
accessible to handicap devices like screen readers.
In addition, a properly built site is more
search-engine-friendly, because the search engine's crawler
doesn't have to wade through a mess of useless, outdated code to
find the actual content it uses to evaluate the site.
How to Test Your Real Estate Website for Errors
If you have a website (or you're shopping for one), you can
easily validate the code for errors. There's an online validator
located at: http://validator.w3.org/
This validator is built and maintained by the Worldwide Web
Consortium (W3C), the very group that created standards for
website code in the first place. Truly professional web
developers use this validator religiously.
To validate a website for proper (or improper) HTML coding, you
simply copy the site's URL (example: www.fakewebsite.com) and
paste it into the address box provided on the site. Then click
the "validate" button.
If you get a handful of errors, it may not be anything to worry
about. If you get dozens or even hundreds of errors, the website
has problems.
The green "Valid" bar is the web developer's ultimate goal. This
means the site will be:
* Compatible in various web browsers
* Free from bugs, quirks and other unpredictable behavior
* More search-engine-friendly * More maintenance-friendly * And
generally a pleasure to work with
Why Should You Care?
Your website is your best employee. It works 24/7, it never
calls in sick, and it never complains or asks for a raise. Don't
you think it's worth your while to invest time and effort in
such an outstanding employee?
And with so many home buyers and sellers (78%) using the
Internet, you want a properly built website that is:
* Easier for search engines to find * Clean, consistent and
functional * Easy to navigate * Free of bugs and errors that
reflect poorly on you
Shop wisely when looking for a website or a web developer. Quiz
developers about the validity of their web code. If they tell
you, "That stuff doesn't matter" ... keep shopping!
* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this
article in its entirety, provided you leave the byline, author's
note and website hyperlink intact.