In the world of online marketing, there are lots of buzzwords and topics du jour: home builder social media, customer engagement, feedback channels, etc. There are other topics that don’t typically make blog headlines, but are vitally important to a successful online program as well. Like home builder website hosting. Website hosting is rarely a sexy topic.
It’s like buying new tires for your car.
Very few people ever say, “Wow, impressive tires!” But if you’re driving a car, you know the difference between quality tires and cheap tires. When you spend more for quality tires you feel safer, the ride is smoother, and you are better able to navigate sudden obstacles in the road. You have less to think about and less to worry about. And that’s worth the additional cost upfront, even if you’re the only one who knows that you made the investment.
Managed WordPress hosting works much the same way.
If you have a home builder website built on WordPress (which we highly recommend), there is an increasing trend toward managed WordPress hosting. Managed WordPress hosting is different that traditional website hosting in that all of the updates (themes, plugins, backups, etc) are managed for you. Prices for managed WordPress hosting are higher than traditional hosting ($19.95 – $49.95 per month), but spending a little more upfront each month can actually save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
Here’s how:
There’s No ROI in Website Maintenance
Many (many, many, many) people that I speak with have a home builder website that was created several years ago by a design and development team that they have long since lost touch with. This is very common. This makes maintenance and updates both difficult and expensive and results in websites that are rapidly outdated. And just like deferred maintenance on a car or a home, deferred maintenance on a website can have costly consequences.
Managed WordPress hosting means that your website is checked for updates each day. Updates may be technical bugs that have been worked out, response to new trends (such as the recent addition of the Google+ button this year), or new technology that has recently become available.
This means that you spend less time with technical issues and more time focused on the real work of building and selling homes.
Preventative Care for Your Home Builder Website
Like all types of preventative care (car, home, health), managed WP hosting is similar to paying for insurance. You pay slightly more each month for a website that is updated continually so that you don’t have to spend thousands every two years to build a new site (or live with a functionally obsolete website that can costs potential sales). Managed WordPress hosting can extend the functional life of your website from 2 years to 3, 5, and even 10 years or more, which adds up to thousands of dollars in savings over time.
Real Humans, Everyday
Traditional hosting services that charge $5 or $10 per month do not include active management. Although hosting companies may pay support teams to respond when there’s trouble, traditional hosting plans do not proactively manage your site. With many managed WordPress hosting services (including ours), real humans check your website everyday. It’s like having an entire IT department for your website less than a daily cup of joe (workable for home builder marketing budgets of any size).
Your Online Sales Office
Increasingly, your website is as important – if not more so – that your physical sales office. Just as you would not have burned out light bulbs or wilted landscaping at your model home complex, you also do not want your website to reflect a lack of attention to details. Lack of attention to detail says to a prospect – consciously or subliminally – what details has the builder overlooked in building my home?
Spending a few extra dollars every month for managed WordPress hosting is worth the long term benefit to your image, your brand, and the overall health of your online marketing program. As you look over your budgets in 2012, consider a preventative care line item for your website with managed hosting.
Need a Home Builder Website?
We offer affordable and professional website design, managed hosting, and full service online marketing for home builders. Websites start at just $999. Contact us today to get started or to find out more.
