Introduction
Whether you’re showcasing a single property or managing a portfolio of large developments, a well-built website can make all the difference in driving leads, building credibility, and showcasing your projects to potential clients. But here’s the big question—how do you choose the right website builder?
Not all platforms are created equal, and selecting the wrong one could limit the potential of your website. In this article, we’ll dive into the website builders that we think would work great for real estate developers.
How We Chose This List
Over the years, we’ve been deep in the trenches of web design, testing out different platforms, troubleshooting issues, and creating websites from scratch. We’re not just throwing around recommendations here—we’ve lived through the ins and outs of website builders. Our experience has allowed us to identify the top choices for different needs, so you don’t have to go through the same trial and error.
Key Takeaways
- Squarespace: Best for real estate developers with a smaller budget who need a visually appealing website with simple functionalities to showcase properties and company information.
- Webflow: Best for developers with larger portfolios or those who need a custom solution to scale their business.
Squarespace
Squarespace is like the Apple of website builders—sleek, intuitive, and beautiful. If you’re in the early stages of your business, or perhaps you’re only managing a small portfolio, SquareSpace could be the ideal platform for you.
One of the things real estate developers love about SquareSpace is its luxurious, minimalistic themes. The platform feels polished, making it perfect for showcasing high-end properties and building trust with potential clients.
Key Features:
Drag-and-Drop Website Editor
Squarespace is as easy as it gets when it comes to building a website. The drag-and-drop editor means you can easily customize layouts without any coding. You can start with a pre-designed template or build sections from scratch—it’s up to you!
Industry-Leading Templates
With over 170+ templates to choose from, Squarespace has some of the best designs in the business, and around 11 of those are specifically built for real estate properties. Whether you choose a real-estate-specific template or not, each design is customizable, allowing you to add your own personal touch.
Portfolio Functionality
For smaller portfolios, Squarespace’s built-in portfolio feature is a solid choice. You can easily display your latest projects with professional layouts. However, it can become cumbersome for larger portfolios, as portfolio pages aren’t synced, making it challenging to maintain page design consistency across projects.
Email Marketing
Squarespace also offers a built-in email marketing tool, allowing you to promote your real estate projects via newsletters. It’s not the most advanced tool, but for simple campaigns, it gets the job done.
SEO Tools
Squarespace offers basic SEO tools—sufficient for smaller websites. You can optimize meta descriptions, alt texts, and URLs, but if you’re looking for more advanced SEO capabilities, Webflow might be a better fit.
Analytics & SEO
With built-in analytics, you can track website performance directly from your dashboard. It’s easy to see how many people are visiting your site, where they’re coming from, and what’s grabbing their attention.
Domain Hosting
You can buy a custom domain and host your email directly through Squarespace, streamlining the process of launching your website.
Squarespace Pricing
- 14 day free trial
- Personal: $25/month ($16/month when billed annually)
- Business: $36/month ($23/month annually)
- Annual plans also include a free custom domain for one year.
Pros
- Super user-friendly interface—perfect for beginners.
- Beautiful templates designed for real estate properties.
- Built-in marketing and analytics tools.
Cons
- Limited customization options.
- Not ideal for developers with large or complex websites.
Webflow
Now, if you’re looking for something more advanced, enter Webflow. While Webflow may not have the same intuitive, beginner-friendly vibe as Squarespace, it offers a level of customization and scalability that’s unmatched. For real estate developers managing multiple projects or large portfolios, Webflow is a powerhouse.
With Webflow, you’re not just restricted to templates and drag-and-drop sections—you have total design freedom. It’s essentially a website builder and content management system (CMS) rolled into one, making it perfect for businesses that need more flexibility.
Key Features:
Full Design Control
If you’re the type who wants every element of your website to look a certain way, Webflow gives you total creative freedom. You can build your website pixel by pixel, which is fantastic for real estate developers who want custom designs that go beyond templates.
Templates
Webflow offers over 1,500+ templates, and about 140 of them are geared toward real estate. However, Unlike Squarespace, Webflow allows you to fully customize your template even further with no design limitations.
Advanced CMS
Here’s where Webflow really shines. Its CMS is far more advanced than what you’ll find on Squarespace. You can create custom content types for property listings, blogs, testimonials, or whatever your business requires. Need to make a change the design across 100+ listings? No problem—the CMS has you covered.
SEO Features
Webflow offers granular control over your SEO settings. From custom meta tags to advanced URL structuring, Webflow is built with search engines in mind. If SEO is a priority for your business, Webflow gives you more tools to help your site rank.
Third-Party Integrations
While Webflow doesn’t have as many built-in features as Squarespace, you can integrate almost any third-party tool you need—whether that’s Google Analytics, Mailchimp for email marketing, or Zapier for automation.
Webflow's Pricing
Site Plans
Site Plans are on a site level (hence the name), which include a free plan and then from $14-49 per month depending on your site requirements.
Workspace Plans
Workspace plans are on the account level, they mainly determine how many users and sites you could have under the same account. The plans start with a free plan for one user and then $24-42 per month, so that will depend on your team size and number of sites.
Pros
- Full design customization.
- Advanced CMS for large-scale real estate businesses.
- Great SEO control.
- Scalable for future growth.
Cons
- Steep learning curve—there’s a bit of a technical barrier.
- More expensive, especially when you factor in third-party apps.
- Requires a developer to setup.
Conclusion
When it comes to choosing the best website builder for real estate developers, it really boils down to your specific needs.
- If you’re a smaller developer, just starting out, or looking for a simple and elegant website, Squarespace is a fantastic option. It’s affordable, user-friendly, and comes with all the essential tools you need to get your site up and running.
- On the other hand, if you’re managing multiple properties, need more design freedom, or plan to scale your business, Webflow is the way to go. While it has a steeper learning curve, it offers unmatched flexibility and advanced features that make it perfect for developers with larger portfolios or custom needs.
At the end of the day, the best website builder is the one that fits your business goals, budget, and design preferences. Hopefully, this comparison gives you a clearer path to making that decision. Now, go build that beautiful website and showcase your next big project to the world!