Website for LL? (by Gil [TN]) Jan 20, 2023 9:51 AM
Website for LL? (by S i d [MO]) Jan 20, 2023 10:01 AM
Website for LL? (by Deanna [TX]) Jan 20, 2023 10:42 AM
Website for LL? (by Ray-N-Pa [PA]) Jan 20, 2023 4:18 PM
Website for LL? (by T [IN]) Jan 20, 2023 6:53 PM
Website for LL? (by DJ [VA]) Jan 21, 2023 12:13 AM
Website for LL? (by Gil [TN]) Posted on: Jan 20, 2023 9:51 AM Message:
Anyone here use a website for rentals? How much do they cost and maintain? Thanks --69.228.xxx.xxx |
Website for LL? (by S i d [MO]) Posted on: Jan 20, 2023 10:01 AM Message:
Yes, my site is hosted by Weebly. The cost is $120 for 2 years for the step just above "Basic" which includes the domain registration.
Setting up a website is just like anything else: you can spend as much (or as little) as you want, but the quality, content, and capabilities will often be reflected. Unless you have some decent experience with web design and/or XML, most likely you will want to hire someone to design and maintain your site. I happen to be an IT Pro, so I do my own work. A basic site I've seen quoted at around $250 to start up, with monthly maintenance between $50-$100. Maintenance involves everything from handling issues if the page stops working properly to adding listings and removing them, uploading new pictures and text content, and reformatting buttons, menus, etc at the client's order.
There are also "free" websites with DIY drag 'n drop, but you won't get a top level domain. What that means is, instead of AwesomeRentals.com, you'll get something like google.AwesomeRentals.com. These freebie sites suffer from limited customization, and if your goal is to develop credibility and branding, not many people will take you too seriously when they see you're using a subdomain with free services. That's a signal that you don't have much experience or capital... or that you're too stingy to spring for a "real" website. Many folks who use those do so for blog hosting or private groups.
So at the end of the day, it really depends on what you want your website to do. Is it advertising, pre-screening, screening, taking payments, some combination of all of the above?
--184.4.xx.xx |
Website for LL? (by Deanna [TX]) Posted on: Jan 20, 2023 10:42 AM Message:
I did my website myself. I found a free template online that I liked how the information was organized, and then modified it with an ancient copy of Photoshop so that it would be in my preferred colors/with my local photographs/etc. My host costs me $35 every 6 months. My domain name costs $20/year. So, my recurring costs are $90/year to keep an online presence, which breaks down to under $8/month.
I use it to list my upcoming vacancies, with links to YouTube video walkthroughs. When they get rented, I'll edit it to reflect that activity as well, so that people can see it's a live site. I use it as a resource for local utility companies' contact information--- gas/water/electric/phone/fiber providers in our area. And I use it to host my application and invite people to fill it out and turn it in to be kept in mind for an upcoming turnover.
The key is to know enough about coding to be able to keep it updated on the back end. If you can find your way around a file manager and a block of code enough to know how to upload pictures/links/video/text, you can maintain a website pretty cheaply, even if you pay someone good money to do your initial design.
Another key is whether or not you have opinions about how information needs to be organized and presented. For me, I like blog layouts for blogging (cough Wordpress cough)--- but find it very clunky to dig through as a user looking for information. But because I deliberately default to a two-column-information-organization layout with navigation buttons along the top, I know that my layout might look dated in comparison to some of the fancy templates out there.
A third key is what its use is. If you just want it to be a static presence where you advertise a few units once or twice a year-- then that's very cheap and easy. If it's something where you want your tenants to have a portal to submit maintenance requests, communicate, and do all-the-things in a centralized location--- that's going to require a lot more cost and a different set of resources. --137.118.xx.xxx |
Website for LL? (by Ray-N-Pa [PA]) Posted on: Jan 20, 2023 4:18 PM Message:
Using 1 and 1, my website started out a 9.95 month. I believe it is up to $14.95.
It was easy to set up. --24.101.xxx.xxx |
Website for LL? (by T [IN]) Posted on: Jan 20, 2023 6:53 PM Message:
Weebly here. Very to use. Can incorporate others apps to make it work. YouTube videos (apt walk thru), jotform applications. Millersapt dot com.... --170.203.xxx.xxx |
Website for LL? (by DJ [VA]) Posted on: Jan 21, 2023 12:13 AM Message:
I am an IT Neanderthal & I have created a (I think quite good) website & maintain it myself using weebly.com
Like Sid, I have the one just above the free one so that the domain address is just my chosen domain without "weebly" in it anywhere.
It is a super-easy, drag & drop program that can be customized all you want.
I use it to direct people there in ads to view photos, link to youtube video tour, link to application, description of an available property.
It also gives general information about my company, what we do, makes me look legit.
There is also an area (a tab labeled "Current Residents") with an information update form and a maintenance request form. If one of these is submitted, it goes to my email.
One feature I really like is the ability to publish or hide a page. This means I only have to create an information page for each property once - with photos, links, etc. Then, when the property has been rented, I hide the page until it is vacant again. It's still there - just not visible on the website. When this property is advertised for rent again, I only need to "show" the page - not start from scratch to create it all over again. --68.229.xxx.xxx |
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