The damage of free website builders
Beginning real estate investors often look for ways to create a website for free. This article points out the reasons why it's best to avoid free websites.
Table of Contents
Intro
A discussion on BiggerPockets:
Ander Lantigua wrote: "What should I do when a seller asks for website and I don’t have one, when wholesaling? Do you know where I can make one for free?"
Barrika Wilson-Coy replied: "If you are looking for a free option you may be able to use Wix or something of the sort."
Yes, most website builders offer a free rate:
But the free plan and website using a website builder is a surefire way to constantly lose sellers.
When you're evaluating website builder plans, focus on the plan marked "Pupular". All cheaper plans are made to make you want to switch to a "Pupular" plan soon:
- Wix.com - $12.5 or $25 /month
- Tilda.com - $10/month with annual payment
- WordPress.com - $8 per month, billed yearly
The damage of free tariffs
Robert A. Heinlein wrote in the science fiction novel "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress":
Anything free costs twice as much in the long run or turns out worthless
The owners of website builders do not do charity. They only give a free rate so that the user can try the website builder and is soon forced to switch to a paid rate. On the free plan, the user gets everything that will prevent him from running a normal business:
- Website builder ads on every page
- Third level domain based on the domain of the site constructor with a mandatory "tail" in the address after the domain
- Limitations in functionality and performance
- ...
Example of free Wix website
An example of wholesaler's website for free Wix tariff:
https://octaskrunners.wixsite.com/nufarhomesolutions
We can buy your Southern California house in 10 days or less- Guaranteed!
We Pay Cash, Close Fast and Buy "As Is", So You Can Move on With Your Life
First, Wix solves its problems and advertises itself twice. Only then does it start showing the wholesaler's website:
I can't imagine the wholesaler dictating such a long reference over the phone:
octaskrunners.wixsite.com/nufarhomesolutions
What if you dictate only a short variant from a third-level domain like https://octaskrunners.wixsite.com/ ? The developers of the website builder have provided for this option and give an error page with a nice cat:
Also the desire to have a free website forces the investor to use a website builder. But all website builders are very slow, their visitor conversion rate is in the red zone. As a result, the mobile version of the octaskrunners.wixsite.com/nufarhomesolutions loads 21 seconds and only 25% of visitors wait until the end of loading.
This means that even if the investor manages to dictate the link octaskrunners.wixsite.com/nufarhomesolutions to the seller, the seller will leave the site in 75% of cases before the end of the download.
Two basic wholesaler websites
When a seller is interested in a wholesaler's website, he wants more information about the wholesaler and his offerings. Not having a website tells the seller that the wholesaler is a beginner and unlikely to find a buyer in 7-10 days. But a website with a free plan looks cheap and discourages sellers even more. A similar problem exists when working with buyers, they also need a wholesaler's website.
In the 21st century, a wholesaler should start his business with the creation of at least two websites:
- A good site for sellers
- A good site for buyer-investors.
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