Should I Use a Property Management Website Template?

When it comes to building your website, every business owner faces a serious conundrum: should you go with a property management website template or invest in a custom design?

Here’s the deal – a template is quick, easy, and budget-friendly. You’ll get a site up in record time, and it’ll probably look decent. But will it stand out? Will it truly represent you and the value you bring to the table? Also, will it work with all of your integrations, including your property management software and your listings?

A custom-designed website, on the other hand, is built from the ground up to showcase your brand, your voice, and your unique way of doing business. The only trouble is custom sites can be very expensive, putting them out of reach for entrepreneurs operating on razor thin margins.

In this post, we’ll dive deep into the pros and cons of both approaches to property management web design, so you can make a smart, strategic choice that fits your business goals and leaves your competitors scratching their heads.

Benefits of Using a Property Management Website Template

Using a property management website template appeals to those looking to get online quickly and with minimal cost. One clear advantage is the ease of use. Templates take the guesswork out of building a new site, as they typically don’t require any coding work. This makes it possible for beginners to set up a professional-looking website without needing to hire an expensive developer.

Some business owners also want a property management website template because they want to have full control over the site and its content. Property management website companies like PMW hold their clients hostage, using a proprietary hosting system that limits your freedom and keeps you locked into expensive contracts.

That can leave you feeling like a property management website template is your only choice.

Challenges of Using a Template

Unfortunately, using a template to get your property management site built out quickly is rarely a Eureka moment.

Using a mass market template to build your website can be convenient, but it also has notable drawbacks that might limit your business’s potential. Templates are, by nature, one-size-fits-all, which means your website can end up looking like many others. This lack of originality can make it harder for you to stand out from competitors. Customization options are also often limited, and while templates may allow for minor tweaks, they rarely offer the flexibility needed to ensure you create a cohesive product which seamlessly works with your branding.

Other disadvantages of using a property management website template include:

1. No Tech Support – If you buy a template or try to use a DIY site builder to create your website, you’re on the hook for literally everything. Let’s face it: most of us don’t have the knowledge necessary to handle things like DNS records, CSS tweaks, and plugin updates. You might be able to make a half decent site but putting some nice text and photos on your chosen template, but when things inevitably go wrong at some point, you’re like a sitting duck.
2. SEO Limitations – While some templates are SEO-friendly, others are not, which can make it harder to rank well in search results. Not to mention, the world of property management SEO is a complicated place; without some real expertise in this domain, your site isn’t going to gain much traction.
3. Scalability Challenges – As your business grows, you might find it difficult to adapt a template to handle more complex functionality. Plus, if you want to add-in additional features, import listings from a third party platform, or connect the site to your portals, you may find yourself out of luck.
4. Generic Design – Templates are widely used, meaning your website can end up looking similar to many others in your industry. Few things are worse than having the exact same design as one of your competitors.

Using a template can save money initially but may cost you in the long run by limiting your site’s effectiveness.

Benefits of Custom Property Management Websites

A custom-designed website can be a powerful asset for a property management business, providing a competitive edge and showcasing professionalism. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to create a unique brand identity. With a custom design, every aspect of your website can be tailored to reflect your brand’s personality, values, and strengths. This makes your business memorable and helps differentiate you from competitors who may rely on generic property management website templates.

Custom websites also offer greater functionality and flexibility. Unlike templates, which come with pre-set structures and features, a custom site can be built specifically for your needs. This means you can incorporate your own booking system and tenant portals to streamline your operations and improve user experience. A site built with your business in mind makes it easier to adapt and grow as your needs evolve.

Another key advantage is optimized performance and SEO. Custom websites can be designed with clean code, optimized images, and fast-loading pages, which are crucial for both user satisfaction and search engine rankings. A professionally built website also allows you to implement advanced SEO strategies from the start, boosting visibility and driving more traffic.

So, what’s the downside? To put it simply, cost. Custom sites require a lot of additional work from a large team of developers, and consequently, they carry a much higher price tag.

Cost-Effective Alternatives to Property Management Website Templates

So, you’re afraid a custom website isn’t something you can afford…but you also don’t want a generic template that requires you to do all the work and leaves you with a subpar product. What do you do?

We’ve helped countless clients to confront this challenge, which is why we developed our DoorGrow SeedSites. SeedSites combine the best of both worlds: they feature preset layouts, but they’re fully customizable and designed to be easily modified and updated to work with your branding. Our team does all of the work of setting up the site for you, but because we’re not starting from the ground up with wireframes and mockups, we’re able to collapse time on our end. This allows us to make the site available to you at a more accessible price point.

Other benefit of working with DoorGrow for your site design include:

• Market Exclusivity: We only license our designs once per state—in other words, you’re guaranteed not to have a website that looks like another company in your area.
• You’re Not Locked In: We’d love for you to be a longterm DoorGrow customer (and there are lots of advantages of letting our team support your site), but you’re never locked into a long contract with us. Our sites are built with the world’s most popular content management system, WordPress, and can be used on pretty much any web server out there. You retain fully control and a lifetime license for the work we perform, whether you stay with DoorGrow or not.
• Unlimited Possibilities: We believe that the best websites are built to be compatible with other tools, platforms, and systems. That’s why we prioritize WordPress, which has over 70,000 plugins designed to extend the performance of your site. To put it simply, no other website platform come even close to matching that. Whether you try to build your site using a DIY site builder or you opt for a product from one of our competitors, you’ll encounter the same problem: limited options. We take the headache out of creating the most effective property management website possible.

Want to Learn More?

Learn how our team can help you solve your website woes. We have built hundreds of powerful websites for clients across North America, and our clients successfully get better results than our competitors.

You don’t have to take our word for it; hear from some of our satisfied customers or take a look at our portfolio to see what we’re capable of building for you.

Ready to get started? Schedule a FREE consultation.