I know there are many real estate pros out there who know they should be on a WordPress.org platform, but haven’t made the switch yet. But what is making the switch going to cost you — both in dollars and in time spent?

Well, let’s dive in to that topic.

Here are your setup options for getting WordPress setup and customized to your liking and *rough* pricing for each option:

Do It Yourself: Free

The benefits to this approach are the price and the fact that you’ll be up and running with WordPress. There are numerous great resources out there that can walk you through the process, but there is a learning curve you’ll have to undertake; you’re going to be spending multiple hours learning the ins and outs of WordPress and, unless you are a graphic designer by trade, will get zero design customization aside from inputting your own header photo and logo into a free theme.

Free or Paid Theme with Help from Freelance Developer: $250-$1000

You’ll end up getting a bit more customization of plugins, home page modules, and some slight (and likely not extremely high quality) graphical design work in this price range. Again, the trade off is going to be your time. I’ve talked to a lot of agents, and have heard horror stories about the freelance developers/designers they’ve worked with. The fact of the matter is that finding reliable freelancers that know WordPress is extremely difficult. Anyone reliable that knows WordPress is likely making a lot more money doing something other than helping individuals do slight customizations of WordPress. They are out there, but not easy to find. You’re going to spend multiple hours going back and forth with a freelancer in order to get them to build exactly what you want.

Predesigned with Premium Theme & Help from Designer/Developer: $700-$2,500

This is probably the best route for the majority of you, unless you have the budget for a full custom (see below). You’ll get a professionally designed look and feel to your site with an integration of an IDX product, market statistics, and other functionality you desire.

Full Custom: $4,000 and above

If you have the budget for this, this is my recommended route. You get a completely custom design tailored to your brand with a near zero chance of another agent having a nearly identical site somewhere else in the country (or in your market). Plus you get all the bells and whistles that aren’t offered in a predesigned offering.

Loren and I are on the same page – real estate blogs are not ACTUALLY cheap to setup unless you have the time and know how to do it yourself.

What route are you going to take?

Disclosure: I worked for Virtual Results, a WordPress real estate website provider, from late 2010-2011 and have an affiliate relationship in place with them. Learn more about them here.

WordPress logo via onextrapixel