29 March 2011
Hi Lee

There are plenty of content management systems (eg Drupal, Joomla, Wordpress, Typo3) that you can use that will probably give you the functionality you need. These systems need to be installed on a web server together with a web database. Some hosting packages include one click installations of some of these systems. Others are reasonably easy to install even for novices (eg Wordpress claims its "Famous 5 Minute Installation").

Once set up, you create content, upload files etc using word-processor type editors. You can choose from a selection of templates for most systems and so can be up and running, creating new pages, pretty quickly.

But...

I'm not sure that is the best approach for you, particularly in such a competitive market as property management.

Firstly, as you are selling to consumers your site needs to look top notch at all times to match up to sites run by your competition. Unfortunately, when you are managing your own site, creating content etc, it is all too easy to make an error with your page that can make your site look awful or even stop it functioning altogether. When your business depends on your site that can be a critical mistake.

Secondly, in addition to managing your content, you are going to need to be optimising your content, running your off-site optimisation campaigns and analysing your pay-per-click adwords usage etc.

All this while running your business.

For the reasons I suggest you find a web partner that can provide the support you need to help build your business. You can find web companies that specialise in CMS on this site. We can provide hosting/support/development for Typo3 and Joomla (and Wordpress if you twist our arms). Search for "CMS Typo3" to find us here. Or contact me at accentikainternet.co.uk and I will be glad to give you any more information you need.

Thank you.


Jonathan

30 March 2011
Hi Lee

Thank you for submitting your question.

I totally agree with what Jonathan says. It does appear easy to build and manage your own site at first glance but your market place is a high value one, so you need to be seen as highly credible - with your website representing that.

Research everything as much as possible and have your content as ready as it can be in advance - this will make life easy for you.

Joomla' would be my personal preference for this build.

YouTube have some great "how to" videos that will give you a helping hand Ref installation, style, content management etc...

Feel free to get in touch though if need be. I would be glad to help at any level.

Best of luck

Gary S. Creigh
Oxford Web Consultants
01865 600360

1 April 2011
Hi Lee.

Great question. We get a lot of questions about managing website content.

You mention Right Move as an example so I presume that you're looking to upload property details.

There are a couple of options that spring to mind.
1. Joomla - Realtyna RPL extension
This is not free but is relatively low cost in comparison to getting a devloper to create one from scratch.

Quite configurable and heaps of property options.

Joomla! CMS is very powerful but does have a very high initial learning curve.

You can view the demo at:
http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/vertical-markets/real-estate/9233

2. WordPress - WP Property
There is a free system available which has the basic property & search features you would need. Of course there are "premium" features that you can choose to purchase should you wish.

WordPress' strength comes from its easy to use interface. Our customers love its simplicity.

You can view the demo at:
http://twincitiestech.com/plugins/wp-property/

Regardless of which extension or plugins you opt for, your website will need a theme developed to reflect your business brand.

The extensions should be flexible enough to be incorporated into your website.

A good web development company can meld and brand these systems together to give your website continuity.

We have experience creating websites is both Joomla! and WordPress and would be happy to chat with you and discuss your web project.

Regards,
Wil.

3 April 2011
I would definitely give a content management system like WordPress.org a test run. There is such a plethora of free and inexpensive themes available all over the Internet, so you can get a site that looks exactly how you want it to. Learning is a breeze as WordPress is very user friendly and there is so much media out there to help you learn. There are even a lot of designers and developers out there that work with WordPress and can design the look and put everything together to function as you wish.

The best part is that with a theme installed, you can change the content without touching the look and you can update or overhaul the look without altering the content. It's a fantastic system that we use ourselves to be sure we can constantly add content without difficulty.

4 April 2011
I'd have to agree with the above and use Wordpress. Here at Creare we have shifted away from Joomla towards Wordpress due to its consistent updates and forever developing plug-ins.

Follow the link below for all our blog posts on Wordpress, you may find a few of interest, such as the installation of plugins (such as a gallery for the properties perhaps).

http://www.crearedesign.co.uk/blog/category/wordpress

In the meantime, I'll explain in as much detail as I can, the way I usually go about installing the Wordpress system into our sites.

1) Go to Wordpress.org and download the latest version.

2) Upload this to your server (either in the wordpress folder or onto the root layer).

3) Visit your www.yourURL.co.uk/wordpress (or where the config file is on your site)

4) This will bring up a page where you will need to enter the details of your database where the content managed material will be stored. If this is corrent, you'll be guided to a futher page to set up your username/password and other details for the wordpress of the site. Make sure search engines enabled is ticked, if you wish Google etc. to see the site.

5) Do a little dance and smile, thats the superfast installation complete. Login and follow some of the tutorials/info found in our blog. You'll need to build the Wordpress loop into your pages, should you want to control content. Also, explore some of the plugins - these can be very useful!

Hope this helps somewhat!

Thanks,

James Scott,
Creare Design.

11 April 2011
Hi, my company doesn't specialise in property internet solutions but can I recommend a company that does? http://www.webdesign-issl.co.uk/
they have developed the website for Reeds Reins and would be a good place to start,

Good luck with your venture!

Parris Designs

18 April 2011
Hi Lee,

I would definably recommend using Joomla, its a very powerful CMS.

We are currently investigating using a real estate plugin for it, so if you need any help configuring or setting up,

drop me an email

web@zenei.co.uk