8 Best WordPress Real Estate Plugins For Your Business
Let’s face it, if you are a realtor you have a problem. You are not unique in your profession. It seems that every other person you meet is a realtor. Their dogs are realtors. This creates a serious problem when trying to develop a customer base and cultivate those all-important referrals. Most realtors opt out of spending the money on their own website, instead taking the free option of creating a personal page on their corporate website or state MLS site. But is this wise, in such a competitive industry? Perhaps you should consider creating your own website to help differentiate you from the rest of the pack. In today’s article, we will discuss the best WordPress real estate plugins.
What is WordPress?
Before we can discuss plugins, we need to understand the WordPress platform. WordPress is an open source content management system (CMS) that many web designers use to build websites for their customers. There are many benefits with WordPress that make it an ideal choice for developing a real estate website:
- No license fee
- The most popular CMS in the world
- Feature-rich, flexible and scaleable
- Secure
- Intuitive administration for non-developers
- Huge community of developers
- Thousands of available plugins that advances the core features
The final benefit above is where this article will focus.
What are my options in creating a WordPress website?
When working with a web developer, you will have two fundamental options in creating your website. You can go with a custom design or use a WordPress theme. Themes are essentially pre-designed and developed websites that a developer can use to to create a website. There are literally thousands of themes available and almost 100 for real estate. Some themes are free, but most charge a modest fee or annual subscription.
The cost savings with a WordPress-themed website is significant and a popular choice among real estate agents. The price difference between a themed website and a custom-designed website can easily be in the several thousands of dollars. The tradeoff, however, is that you do not actually own your website and must accept sharing your design with hundreds or thousands of other real estate agents. In real estate terms, you are renting versus buying when you create a themed website. You can create a professional, attractive and highly functional themed website for around $5,000.
How do I create a WordPress website?
Unless you plan to learn HTML, the best course of action here is to hire a web developer and make the necessary financial commitment to achieve results. Prior to doing so, there are some necessary tasks that you can do on your own or under the guidance of your web developer.
Pick a domain name
Every website needs a domain name. This will serve as your calling card and provide you with a professional email address (eg., anna@deepblue.com) as opposed to using a generic gmail or yahoo domain. Think of a few domain names you like and click here to see if the preferred domain is available. If you find one, do not hesitate. Grab it immediately.
Pick a host provider
Every website must be hosted someplace. Hosting servers are literally computer farms that contain thousands of websites. For WordPress websites, we recommend BlueHost for cost and reliability. As websites for real estate agents are relatively low traffic, you should be fine going with the Basic plan which starts at $3.95/mo and includes a free SSL certificate that ensures your website is safe and secure.
Pick a real estate theme
If I know real estate agents (and I do), you are most likely going to go with the more affordable theme option. Your web developer can work with you in choosing a theme, but this is something you can do on your own. As of this writing, WordPress has 67 real estate themes available in their showcase. Click Here to check them out.
What are WordPress plugins?
Plugins are pieces of code that are developed by community programs that can be added to a WordPress website and provide advanced functionality that does not come out of the box with the core platform. There are virtually unlimited categories of plugins, from eCommerce, SEO, ADA-compliance, multilingual, form builders, newsletters and, of course, real estate.
If you are a realtor looking for a competitive advantage, creating your unique website is a no-brainer. To provide the custom features necessary to operate a real estate website there are several real estate plugins for WordPress. Many of these plugins are free, but some require a one-time purchase or subscription.
Top 8 WordPress Real Estate Plugins
An effective real estate website requires specific functionality. Here is our list of the top 8 WordPress real estate plugins you will need to purchase.
1. IMPress Listings
IMPress Listing is a real estate plugin for WordPress that provides a website with a listing management system. This is, of course, the very heart of your website. The plugin integrates with MLS while providing status tags your listings, including a map, address, price and more. IMPress Listings is a free plugin, giving you the ability to list and maintain your properties without spending an extra dime.
2. WPL Real Estate
WPL Real Estate is a must-have WordPress real estate plugin that offers additional themes and add-ons. The plugin supports MLS integration with an automatic listing feature. WPL Real Estate is SEO-friendly, which will help to improve your placement on search engines. It also allows a non-developer to make some pretty serious customizations without knowing a single line of code.
WPL Real Estate requires a one-time payment of $199 and include a lifetime license.
3. WP-Property
WP-Property was designed specifically with real estate websites in mind. The plugin can be used as a management tool and properly listing manager. Showcase any kind of entity you want, from livestock, golf carts, to properties and products.
The WP-Property real estate plugin for WordPress allows you to provide specific search criteria using customized filters. This is a great attribute for providing property deals you may be offering.
WP-Property is available for free.
4. Essential Real Estate
The Essential Real Estate plugin for WordPress is a basic tool that provides significant ease of use. Essential Real Estate provides several templates and additional features that allows you to integrate your payment gateway, such as PayPal.
This WordPress real estate plugin has all the basics you need to create and manage a real estate website: multiple listing options, social media integration, geolocation inquiry, manage invoices and supports 360 degree virtual property tours.
Essential Real Estate is a free plugin.
5. WP Amortization Calculator
WP Amortization Calculator is a premium real estate plugin that allows you to create a customizable mortgage calculator or an amortized loan. The plugin supports all real estate WordPress themes.
WP Amortization Calculator has an annual fee of $21.
6. WPCasa
WPCasa is a flexible WordPress framework that allows you to create a professional real estate website and manage property listings with ease.
This plugin has a premium theme package designed specifically for real estate, such as WPCasa London, WPCasa Elviria and WPCasa Sylt.
WPCasa offers a variety of prices based on theme, starting at $55. The premium package offers support for one year.
7. Easy Property Listings
Easy Property Listings is a real estate plugin for WordPress designed for mobility and agents on the go. The plugin offers a property listing designed with smartphones in mind and supports multilingual functionality, offering more than 100 themes.
Property listings are displayed using a mobile-friendly grid layout, which will make it easy for mobile users to navigate.
Easy Property Listing offers premium add-ons that cost from around $20 to $100. It also offers a Core Extension Bundle for $300 that provides premium features in one bundle.
8. Estatik
Estatik is a real estate plugin for WordPress that combines functionality with minimalism. Estatik comes with a variety of rich features that can make your WordPress website pop, including slideshow widgets, Google map integration and photo galleries.
Estatik offers its premium package for an $89 one-time cost, which includes premium support for a full year.
Conclusion
Creating a real estate website using WordPress and our top WordPress real estate plugins is a viable and cost-effective option for any real estate agent that is willing to make the necessary financial commitment in order to achieve higher visibility, greater professionalism and competitive advantage.
If you are interested in creating your very own WordPress website for your real estate business we would love to speak with you. Call us today at +1.888.938.8289 or contact us online.
