Create Your Own Free WordPress Real Estate Website
It doesn’t matter whether you are a real estate entrepreneur, an agent, or a broker, you will need a real estate website, the bridge between sellers and potential buyers. And if you want to be a successful realtor, you will need of course a solid website. There are some steps to help you create your own free WordPress real estate website, in this article I am going to show you how to accomplish this.
Steps to create your own WordPress real estate website
You need to remember a few basics when building a real estate website. First of all, websites need images, especially real estate websites. Most visitors expect to see lots of property images taken from different angles.
You will need a filtering system so visitors can find out their desired property by the price, location, size, number of bedrooms or other criteria. There should be a listing page for viewing all available properties. You will also need separate pages for each of your properties. Interested customers will find out more details about a property by visiting the specific page of that property.
All of these are must-have features for any real estate website. If you want to check out a real-life example of a website covering all these features, I have got you covered. Let’s take a look at Neil Ahluwalia’s website – www.bighomerebate.com (see right screenshot).
This website may look simple, but it covers all the basics. First of all, you will find the handy search bar above the fold. The advanced search is located on a separate page. You can search all listings or by using a map. The listed properties are provided with lots of images along with the necessary details.
Do you want to create a real estate site similar to this one? Continue reading, as I am going to introduce you to the best WordPress themes and plugins which allow you develop spectacular real estate websites with all the essential features.
The first step in creating a website is to choose a domain and get a hosting package, for example at Bluehost. Once you are done with that, you have to install WordPress on your hosting. To install WordPress, you can follow the official instructions, seek help from your hosting company, or hire someone else to do this for you.
Assuming you have taken care of the basics, let’s start with the themes and plugins. I will discuss the free real estate plugins for WordPress first.
Free real estate plugins for WordPress
WP-Property – WordPress Powered Real Estate and Property Management
WP-Property offers a broad range of options to creating fully functional real estate websites. You can use the plugin to set up and manage property listings and show these in a prominent way. It comes with the necessary fields including address, price, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. You can easily add more fields. The plugin supports various types of input fields like text, number, currency, file, URL, date, etc.
The built-in search system will help visitors to find out their desired properties. It’s search results are paginated and can be sorted using various filters. As the pagination is powered by AJAX your visitors won’t have to load new pages to check out the rest of the property listings.
There are professionally developed templates to show different types of properties. You can use the templates as they are or customize these according to your requirements. The plugin comes with several custom widgets to show the latest or featured properties, property gallery, property map, search, etc. in the sidebar or on other locations.
Easy Property Listings
Easy Property Listings is a widely used WordPress plugin for creating beautiful real estate websites. The plugin works perfectly with popular theme frameworks like Genesis, Headway and iThemes Builder, but also with any general theme. As the plugin supports multiple listing types your real estate site can include different types of properties like rentals, for sale, commercial, rural, etc.
There are lots of ready-made templates to help you get started quickly. You can choose to display the available listings in a grid or list format. The fully responsive coding makes sure that all listing pages work perfectly on any screen size. Thanks to the dedicated widget and custom shortcodes you can show the property listing anywhere you want. There are lots of other widgets and shortcodes available too.
The advanced reporting options will help you track the performance of your website. You can compare reports by applying various filters. There is also a built-in CRM feature to capture potential leads. You can get even more features by purchasing premium add-ons.
WPCasa
The WPCasa plugin works perfectly with any WordPress theme and will help you to create a high quality real estate website within a short period of time.
The integrated list editor allows you to add new listings along with the necessary details like location, price, images, etc. The superbly organized property listing allows you to manage all of your properties from one place.
You can use shortcode templates to display the available properties, and visitors can search for their desired properties by using various filters. As the plugin works perfectly with Google Maps, you can show the exact locations of your listings as well.
WPCasa is already available in English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. It is also possible to translate the plugin into other supported languages.
IMPress Listings
Previously known as WP Listings, IMPress Listings is another highly popular choice for creating real estate websites in WordPress. The fully responsive plugin supports any theme and features close integration with MLS.
IMPress Listings supports various property types including residential, commercial, condo, and townhome. Along with the location, price and other usual features, you can set different statuses like new, active, sold, for rent, etc. to the properties.
As there is a built-in attributes creator tool, you can easily create custom attributes for your property.
Automatic map insertion is another cool feature of the plugin. You just need to provide the latitude and longitude and the plugin will automatically add a map of the location.
The plugin will also add a contact form to the listings so that interested visitors can contact you right away.
Realia
Realia is a fully featured real estate plugin for WordPress. This plugin allows you to control all the listings, agents, and agencies from one place. While all other plugins require you to add the listings, Realia takes this to a whole new level by allowing your visitors to submit listings too. Of course, you can review submitted listings before they are published. What’s more, you can charge them for submitting listings to your website.
The superior plugin dashboard includes all the options you need to manage the available properties. The powerful price formatting options are worth mentioning here. For starters, you can choose the currency sign and various number formatting options. You can also choose to show the price as alphanumeric text, and add a custom prefix or suffix to the price.
You can create real estate agents and assign properties to them. To create an agency, you have to make a group the selected agents. These options will be very useful when you have several agents and/or agencies working for you.
Free real estate themes for WordPress
Now that you know more about some great free real estate plugins for WordPress, let’s move on to some of the best free WordPress real estate themes.
Real Estate Lite
Real Estate Lite is a dedicated WordPress theme for creating real estate websites. It makes it very easy to add, edit, and manage various types of properties in your website. You can update listings by tagging these as rented, sold, or give it any other status.
The handy property search feature on the home page allows visitors to search the available properties by using various filters like title, location, status, type, the number of bedrooms, year of construction, etc. The home page is fully widgetized, which means you can easily choose the elements you want to highlight on the home page.
All theme styling options are available at the theme customizer section. Therefore, you can check out the actual preview while making any customizations. The theme also allows you to add multiple agents and assign properties to them. Thanks to the fully responsive design, your website will look great on various screen sizes.
Zoner Lite
Zoner Lite is a minimalist WordPress theme which can be used to create functional real estate websites. The flat, clean design of the theme makes it a great choice to get started with the website and apply your branding.
The default design of the theme displays your contact information at the top. This makes sure that prospective customers can easily contact you. There is also a large slider just under the menu. You can show some of your best property listings in the slider.
When it comes to customization options, Zoner doesn’t miss any essentials. You can choose any of the 8 color schemes and create a custom background style. It is also possible to customize the typography, header, footer, and menu sections. There is a dedicated section for providing custom CSS.
Zoner Lite is already available in other languages besides English, like Russian and Dutch, and it is also possible to translate the theme into other languages.
upTown
upTown is another free WordPress theme for creating your realtor website. The simply designed theme features a property search option right after the menu. Visitors can use this option to search through listings by using the available filters like location, type, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. The advanced search brings more filtering options like price, date, and to sort the search results in ascending or descending order.
The theme displays your contact number at the header, both this number and the search option are displayed throughout the website. This makes sure that your visitors have access to all the listings and can contact you anytime they want.
The built-in listing editor allows you to add and control various types of properties in your website. Thanks to the handy shortcodes, you can show the properties on any widgetized location. The theme customizer section hosts all the styling options.
As the theme codes follow the SEO best practices, you can count on it to provide some additional boost to your SEO efforts. The theme files are fully localized, which means you can easily translate upTown into any other language.
Relic
Relic is a fully responsive WordPress real estate theme developed using the Twitter Bootstrap framework. The theme features a simple but attractive home page with all the necessary details. Important information like your contact information and social media links are positioned at the top of the website.
Right after the menu, there is a large image slider. You can use the slider to showcase some of your best-looking properties. The next few sections could be used to display your recent listings, latest blog posts, etc.
Relic is provided with a few customization options too, which include uploading a custom logo and favicon, and providing copyright texts, contact information, etc. In the ‘Home Page Settings’ section you can choose up to 5 slider images with links, set up the recent listing entries and choose title and category for blog posts.
Premium real estate themes and plugins
The last two sections introduced you to the best free real estate themes and plugins for WordPress. If you want advanced features, trendy design, and professional support, you should check out the premium ones. Choosing a premium real estate theme and a plugin will definitely make your task a lot easier. Having said that, let’s check out some of the best premium real estate plugins for WordPress.
WordPress Property Real Estate Plugin
WordPress Property Real Estate Plugin is a popular plugin for creating professional real estate websites, which supports a wide number of property types with unlimited attributes. You can use these attributes to describe your properties in the most appropriate way. Thanks to the Google Map clustering support, you can quickly show nearby properties using a single marker.
The plugin works perfectly with Visual Composer, which will come in handy for creating custom page layouts. You can create an unlimited number of agents, and each agent can manage their properties from the dashboard.
The AJAX-powered advanced search feature allows the visitors to find out their desired properties with a few clicks. There are several custom widgets to show the search bar anywhere you want. The plugin’s demo data set will be very useful if you want to get started quickly. The WordPress Property Real Estate Plugin also comes with several other widgets and lots of custom shortcodes, and is priced at $29.
Real Estate Pro – WordPress Plugin
Real Estate Pro is another popular plugin for developing fully featured real estate websites in WordPress. As this plugin works also perfectly with Visual Composer, you can easily create custom layouts for various pages.
It is possible to create different types of subscription packages along with free and paid trial periods. Visitors can upgrade or downgrade their package anytime. The plugin supports both PayPal and Stripe, which means you can collect payments from visitors directly from your website.
While the plugin is already available in 13 languages, it is also possible to translate Real Estate Pro into other supported languages. Other notable features include a bidding system, marking properties as favorites, mobile-friendly slider, and several custom widgets. You can buy this plugin for $40.
RnB – WooCommerce Rental & Booking System
As the name tells you, this is a rental and booking system plugin which works with the support of WooCommerce. You can easily use this plugin to create a fully featured property rental website.
The intuitive inventory management options will help you to manage the listings in a smart way. There are various ways to manage the price. You can configure the hourly, daily, and monthly prices along with general pricing options. Visitors can also request for a quotation from the seller.
Precise availability management options are one of the most interesting features of the plugin. You can use these to manage which properties are available for rent or sell. It is possible to create an unlimited number of property attributes, payable security deposits, and payable persons.
You can set the minimum and maximum booking days for the properties. You can receive payments by using various payment processing methods like credit cards, PayPal, or direct bank transfer. The plugin also allows you to apply special, automated discounts based on various filters. The multi-lingual plugin is perfect if you are planning to develop a non-English property rental website. You can get the plugin for $29.
Premium WordPress real estate themes
These were my picks for some of the best premium real estate plugins. Now it’s time to explore some great premium real estate themes for WordPress.
Realtor
Realtor is a breathtaking real estate theme from Tesla Themes. This clean, modern WordPress theme comes with everything you need for creating gorgeous real estate websites within a short period of time. The stylish user interface will catch the eye of your visitors, while the superior list of admin options will make your life a lot easier.
Available properties can be displayed in a grid or list style. Thanks to the complete Google Maps API integration, you can show a live property map containing all of your currently available listings. As the theme comes with full support for agents, you can add as many agents as you want. Agents can add the necessary information and update their profile.
Visitors can use the dedicated submit property page to submit properties to the admin(s). The cross-browser compatible theme can be easily translated into other supported languages. You can purchase Realtor for $48 (buy it with discount using our exclusive Tesla Themes coupon code!)
AgentPress Pro
AgentPress Pro is a child theme of Genesis from StudioPress. This theme is specially developed for creating professional-looking real estate websites. Features like custom taxonomies, dedicated post types, and custom widgets will make it very easy to set up and manage your own listing management system.
The integrated theme options panel includes all the styling options to personalize your real estate website. By default, the theme comes with 6 layout options and 4 color schemes. It is possible to add a custom header, custom background, and set featured images.
The fully widgetized home page allows you to place up to 6 custom widgets. As the theme is fully optimized for mobile and tablet devices, your website will look great on any screen resolution. You can buy the AgentPress Pro child theme and Genesis Framework for $99.95.
Houzez – Real Estate WordPress Theme
Houzez is a widely used premium WordPress theme which is perfect for creating a real estate company or agent website. Along with all styling and customization options the theme also works as an excellent property management system.
The fully customizable search panel comes with lots of filtering options including the usual ones like price, size, the number of bedrooms, etc. You can define various search options like the price slider, available search fields, search result page layout, etc.
There are also various options available to customize the header. You can choose to show a video, image, slider or Google Map in the header. Other features like several property page templates, listing page templates, a 360-degree virtual tour, PDF documentation of the property, 17 custom Visual Composer modules, and social login features have made the theme very popular among it’s users.
There are several attractive online demos available. You can choose any of these demos and get started with your website. You can buy this theme for $59.
HomePro Real Estate Portal
Being powered by the Cherry Framework, HomePro Real Estate Portal is another excellent WordPress theme. You can add unlimited property listings and manage these from the dashboard. The advanced search filters will be useful to find out the desired property. You can show the precise location of the property on the map by using customizable markers.
The built-in Power Builder allows you to create custom layouts for your posts and pages. The drag and drop editor offers 25+ modules, lots of readymade layouts, and advanced configuration options. You can easily develop an eye-catching real estate site by choosing the right modules and configuring these.
The fully powered live customizer will be useful in choosing the various style options. The SEO-friendly theme also comes with several custom widgets, complete Google Fonts integration, and a step-by-step documentation.
What’s more, HomePro Real Estate Portal also features full compatibility with the dsIDXpress plugin, which means you can embed live properties from other MLS systems too. The theme is priced at $75.
HomeQuest
The HomeQuest WordPress theme from Themefuse is one of my favorites and is a great choice for developing real estate agency and broker websites. The theme comes with powerful options to customize the look and feel of your website. You can choose a custom color, background, and define the styling options for the property, slider, map, etc.
The theme supports unlimited filters which are very useful for visitors to find out their desired property. There is an integrated contact form module which can be helpful in creating contact forms. Thanks to the custom shortcodes, you can add different types of buttons, bullet lists, and check lists on any widgetized location you want.
The fully responsive theme looks great on all screen sizes, including the high resolution retina ones as well. It is also possible to replicate the original design by importing the demo content. Home Quest is priced at $49.
Final words
Having a website is a must for any modern business, which is especially applicable for real estate businesses. A well-built real estate website will help you showcase your available properties in an effective way. When you have a website, your customers can check out the basic listing features anytime they want. Modern features like photo galleries, map integration, 360-degree looks, etc. will help them narrow down their decision. At the end of the day, it is your job to make it easier for your customers. Getting a nicely built real estate website is an excellent way to do that. Now you know how to create your own free WordPress real estate website, so why not start today?
Let me know which theme(s) and plugin(s) you like the most. And if you already own a real estate website, please let me know which theme and plugin you are using. And if you find my article useful, feel free to share it on Facebook or Twitter, thanks 🙂
And here is a new real estate plugin: Essential Real Estate plugin.
FREE plugin but already all PREMIUM FEATURES. Very nice work.
thanks for the addition!