A lot of "best real estate website company" lists are written by the companies on them. Funny how they keep winning. So this isn't another list. It's the questions, and they work on any real estate website company, us included.
Judging the pretty part is easy. The expensive surprises hide in the contract and show up the day you try to leave. That's where these questions go.
What to look for in a real estate website designer
Three things, in this order:
- Ownership. Is the site yours, or are you renting it? Plenty of platforms license you a site for as long as you pay. Stop paying and it goes dark.
- Total cost over four years. Setup fee, plus every monthly payment, plus add-ons. Not the launch price.
- A real person and real work. Someone you can actually talk to, and live sites you can click.
Every question below checks one of those.
How to choose a real estate website company: the 10 questions
1. Who owns the domain, and whose name is it registered in?
Why it matters. Your domain is on every business card, sign rider and Google result. Whoever's listed as the registrant holds the rights to it (that's how ICANN, which runs the domain system, defines the domain holder). If a vendor registers it in their name, moving it later takes their cooperation.
A good answer: "It's registered in your name, on your account. If you already own one, it stays where it is."
A bad answer: "We'll take care of the domain for you," and not a word about whose name goes on it. Or a transfer fee to hand it over later.
If you're at a brokerage: a page or subdomain on your brokerage's site isn't yours. Agents on forums keep telling the same story: they switched brokerages and the site stayed behind. Own your domain, even if you use the brokerage site for now.
2. Who owns the design, the files and the content?
Why it matters. Owning the domain but not the site is owning the address and renting the house. Many platforms keep the design and code as their property and license it to you while you pay. Some terms say your content can be destroyed when the account ends.
A good answer: "You own the design, the code, the copy and the photos you gave us. The day it launches, it's yours."
A bad answer: "You own your content," full stop. That usually means your bio text, not the site.
3. Is there a monthly fee after launch, and what exactly is it for?
Why it matters. Hosting costs money, so a monthly bill isn't evil. The question is who you're paying. A hosting bill paid to a host is small. A platform fee paid to your web company is usually rent on a site you don't own, and it never stops.
Do the math out loud. At $500 a month, four years is $24,000, before any setup fee. At $1,000 a month, it's $48,000.
A good answer: a line-by-line list. "Hosting is this much, paid to the host in your name. IDX is this much, paid to the provider. Our monthly fee is zero," or "is this much, and here's what it covers."
A bad answer: one bundled number with "SEO," "support" and "platform" stuffed inside, and no way to drop the parts you don't use.
4. How long is the contract, and does it auto-renew?
Why it matters. Twelve-month agreements are common for rental sites. So is auto-renewal into another year unless you cancel inside a short window. Agents describe renewal notices they never saw and early-exit fees equal to the months left.
A good answer: "The agreement covers the build. Payments are tied to milestones. Nothing renews because nothing recurs." Or, for an ongoing service: "Month to month after the minimum, cancel with written notice."
A bad answer: "It's a standard annual agreement," then it gets vague about the renewal date.
Get this in writing: the term length, the renewal date, how many days' notice cancelling takes, how you cancel (email is fine; phone call only is a red flag), and the early-exit fee, if there is one.
5. What happens if I cancel, and can I move the site to another developer or host?
Why it matters. This is the one that tells you whether you own it. Ask them to walk you through the last client who left: what they walked away with, in what format, and how fast.
A good answer: "You already have it. The hosting and domain are in your name, so any developer can log in and pick it up. Nothing to export."
A bad answer: any of these:
- "The site only runs on our platform."
- "We can export your pages and posts" (your text, minus the design).
- A monthly fee to keep an archive, or a fee to "release" the site.
- "You can move it, but some features won't work" (their proprietary plugins).
6. Who writes the copy?
Why it matters. "Welcome to my website, I'm passionate about real estate" is a template with your headshot in it. The words do the selling. If you write them, you're doing the hardest part and paying someone to lay it out.
A good answer: "We write every word, based on an interview with you, and you approve it." Ask how many pages of copy are included and what extra pages cost.
A bad answer: "You'll get a content questionnaire," which means you write it. Or "We use proven real estate copy," which means the same paragraphs every other client gets.
7. Is IDX a separate bill, and whose account is it?
Why it matters. IDX is the feed that shows MLS listings on your site. It usually has its own monthly fee, paid to an IDX provider, on top of the site. It's also tied to your broker: under the National Association of REALTORS® IDX policy, an agent's use of IDX runs through the broker's consent and control and your MLS's rules. Switch brokerages and you'll likely need to update that approval.
Also ask yourself whether you need it. Plenty of agents say buyers search the big portals, not agent sites. Others want it for listing alerts and credibility. Both are fair. Just don't let it get bundled in by default.
A good answer: "The IDX account is yours, with a provider you choose. You pay them directly. We charge a one-time fee to connect it."
A bad answer: IDX folded into the platform fee, so it vanishes the day you leave, along with any saved searches and leads it collected.
8. Who actually builds it, and can I talk to them?
Why it matters. Plenty of companies sell with one person and build with another you'll never meet. That's how you end up explaining your market three times.
A good answer: "This person designs it, this person builds it, and you'll talk to them directly." A name, not a department.
A bad answer: "You'll have a dedicated success team," and nobody can tell you who's on it.
9. Can I see real, live client sites and call a client?
Why it matters. Screenshots prove nothing. A live site shows you how fast it loads on your phone and whether it still works a year later. A client on the phone tells you the rest.
A good answer: live sites with real agents' names on them, and a client you can call. Ask that client: on time? On budget? How is it a year in?
A bad answer: only mockups, only templates, or "our clients value their privacy." Some privacy is fair. None at all isn't.
A trick agents use: scroll to the footer of a top producer's site you like. The real estate website designer is often credited there. Then email that agent.
10. What's included at handover, and who fixes things after launch?
Why it matters. Owning a site means somebody has to fix it when it breaks. Sort that out before you sign.
A good answer: a handover list (logins for hosting, domain, analytics and your Google Business Profile, all in your name), a free fix window after launch with a set number of days, and a clear price for changes after that.
A bad answer: "We handle everything." If they hold every password, you don't own it, whatever the contract says.
Custom website vs template: which should you ask for?
A template is cheaper up front and fine if you need something live next week. The catch: half your market may be running the same layout, and template sites are usually rented. A custom build from a real estate web design company costs more once, looks like nobody else, and (if you ask the questions above) belongs to you.
Honest take: if you're newer and your brokerage gives you a decent site, use it and buy your own domain. When your closings justify it, or a brokerage move is coming, that's when you own your site.
Real estate website red flags: how to spot a fake vendor or a fake review
Agents say the forums are full of glowing "recommendations" that turn out to be the company itself. Here's how to check.
Red flags on the vendor:
- No prices anywhere, and you need a sales call to hear one.
- No live client sites, only mockups.
- Their own site looks rushed: broken mobile menu, no named people, no phone number.
- A "decide today" discount, or pressure to sign on the call.
- A "best real estate website companies" list on their own blog, with themselves at number one.
Red flags on reviews and recommendations:
- A burst of five-star reviews in the same few weeks, none of them specific.
- A forum recommendation from an account with no history, or one that recommends the same company everywhere.
- A DM from a "fellow agent" right after you post a question.
How to check:
- Click through to the live sites they name, then email one of those agents directly.
- Look up the vendor's domain in ICANN's public lookup to see how long it's existed.
- Ask the vendor who wrote a review. Real companies can tell you.
Worth knowing: since 2024, a Federal Trade Commission rule bans fake and AI-written reviews, undisclosed reviews by a company's own staff, and company-controlled sites posing as independent reviewers. That hasn't stopped it. It does mean a vendor who gets caught has a real problem.
Printable checklist: questions to ask a web designer before you sign
Print this, bring it to the call, and get every answer in writing.
- The domain is registered in my name, on my account.
- I own the design, code, copy and photos at launch, and the contract says so.
- I know every monthly fee after launch, who it's paid to, and what it covers.
- I know the contract length, the renewal date, the cancellation notice and any early-exit fee.
- If I leave, I keep a working site that any developer or host can run.
- They write the copy, and I know how many pages are included.
- The IDX account is mine, and I know its monthly cost.
- I know the name of the person who builds my site, and I've talked to them.
- I've clicked through live client sites on my phone and talked to a past client.
- I get every login at handover: hosting, domain, analytics, Google Business Profile.
- There's a free fix window after launch, in days, and a price for changes after it.