{"id":10933,"date":"2022-02-21T09:36:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T09:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/?p=10933"},"modified":"2024-02-05T11:34:44","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T11:34:44","slug":"create-a-real-estate-website-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/create-a-real-estate-website-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"Create a Real Estate Website with WordPress for Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Internet has created an enormous opportunity in the home-selling market. To be precise, almost the entire industry moved online &#8211; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/research-and-statistics\/research-reports\/real-estate-in-a-digital-age\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">National Association of Realtors<\/a>, in 2020, 97% of homebuyers used the Internet in their home search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it\u2019s obvious that many people are thinking about launching their own real estate site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we&#8217;ll explain everything you need to know if you want to create a real estate website with WordPress. We\u2019ll cover the types of property sites, the monetization models, explain how much it costs to get your website up and running and finally show step-by-step how to launch your real estate website using WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"message is-info\"><p> If you want to build something similar to Airbnb, we recommend checking out our tutorial on how to <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/create-a-website-like-airbnb-with-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">create a property booking website with WordPress<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<nav class=\"post__links\"><ol class=\"content-box\"><li><a href=\"#definition\">What to Know about Real Estate Websites<\/a><ol><li><a href=\"#workflow\">How do Real Estate Sites Work?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#popularity\">How Popular Are Real Estate Platforms?<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/li><li><a href=\"#types\">What Types of Property Websites Are There?<\/a><ol><li><a href=\"#directory\">Real Estate Directory<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#marketplace\">Real Estate Marketplace<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/li><li><a href=\"#business-model\">How Real Estate Websites Make Money?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#wordpress\">Why Should You Use WordPress for Your Property Listing Website?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#tips\">Tips on Choosing a WordPress Plugin for a Real Estate Site<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#costs\">How Much Does It Cost to Build a Real Estate Platform with WordPress?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#creating\">Steps to Launch a Real Estate Directory Site<\/a><ol><li><a href=\"#2-adding-categories\">Adding Categories<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#3-adding-attributes\">Adding Attributes<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#4-customizing-pages\">Customizing Pages<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#5-adding-listings\">Adding Listings<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#6-installing-extensions\">Installing Extensions<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/li><li><a href=\"#monetization\">Monetize a Real Estate Directory<\/a><ol><li><a href=\"#sell-advertising-space\">Sell Advertising Space<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#charge-users-for-submitting-listings\">Charge Users for Submitting Listings<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#charge-users-for-featuring-listings\">Charge Users for Featuring Listings<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/li><li><a href=\"#final-thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/nav>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"definition\">What to Know about Real Estate Websites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Real estate websites attract so many eyeballs every month because they are mutually beneficial for sellers and buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>For buyers<\/strong>. All the buyers have tons of information about the property they are interested in, like images, a description, features, location, etc. It saves a lot of time since a potential buyer can check all the details without the need to schedule a live tour.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>For sellers<\/strong>. Property owners who use real estate sites to sell or rent their property get wide coverage among prospective buyers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"workflow\">How do Real Estate Sites Work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply saying, real estate sites work as an intermediary between property owners and buyers or renters. These websites show current listings of homes available for rent or sale and facilitate the whole process of searching, communicating and closing deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"popularity\">How Popular Are Real Estate Platforms?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To get a better understanding of how in-demand real estate websites are, you can take a look at the chart below that shows website traffic <em>(in millions)<\/em> of the most popular property sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"531\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/real-estate-stats.png\" alt=\"Most popular real estate websites.\" class=\"wp-image-25558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/real-estate-stats.png 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/real-estate-stats-300x212.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/381468\/most-popular-real-estate-websites-by-monthly-visits-usa\/#:~:text=Zillow%20is%20the%20leading%20real,23%20million%20monthly%20visits%2C%20Yahoo!\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Most popular real estate websites<\/a> in the United States as of October 2021, based on unique monthly visits &#8211; Statista)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, there are millions and millions of people using real estate websites during their house hunt. So the demand is pretty high, and you can take advantage of such growing popularity by launching your own real estate site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So let\u2019s move on to the following sections and find out what types of property websites are there, how they make money and, of course, how to launch your own real estate website with WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"types\">What Types of Property Websites Are There?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t matter whether you buy, sell or rent an apartment, you know how stressful the whole process of searching could be. In each case, there are different pain points and obstacles, so that&#8217;s why there are several types of real estate websites that serve different customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are many specific types of property sites, we\u2019d like to cover two of the most common ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"directory\">Real Estate Directory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A real estate directory is a platform that allows users to find houses for rent and sale. However, the key point here is that homeowners can&#8217;t list their property without an agent. Also, such websites are often managed by real estate agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an example, you can take a look at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realtor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Realtor.com<\/a>. It&#8217;s a highly-popular real estate listings website that gets more than 20 million website visits each month and has thousands of properties in its database, and all of them are listed by agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/realtor.jpg\" alt=\"Realtor.com homepage.\" class=\"wp-image-25560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/realtor.jpg 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/realtor-300x120.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"marketplace\">Real Estate Marketplace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A real estate marketplace is a two-sided platform that works as a mediator between property owners and buyers. On such websites, sellers are in the driving seat, they can register accounts, list and promote their properties, check the analytics <em>(i.e., views, visits, likes, etc.)<\/em>, and so on. On the other hand, customers can easily search for properties and contact owners directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Zillow<\/a> is the best example of a real estate marketplace where anyone can register and list their property. In addition, buyers and sellers can use this platform for free, without any hidden fees, since Zillow makes its money by displaying ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/zillow-front-new.jpg\" alt=\"Zillow homepage.\" class=\"wp-image-25561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/zillow-front-new.jpg 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/zillow-front-new-300x120.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Bear in mind that WordPress allows you to create both real estate directories and marketplaces without any coding skills, and you\u2019ll be able to do so after finishing this tutorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let\u2019s move on and find out how you can actually monetize your future WordPress property website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"business-model\">How Real Estate Websites Make Money?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to create a real estate website with WordPress, you are probably interested in making money with it. Here are 3 most popular monetization models for real estate sites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Listing Fees<\/strong>. It\u2019s the most common business model for real estate websites. The idea behind it is as simple as ABC &#8211; a real estate platform that charges a fixed price for adding new property listings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promotion.<\/strong> Most real estate websites offer promotional services for an extra fee. It may include placing property listings at the top of the search results page or highlighting them to stand out from the other listings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Advertisement<\/strong>. Advertising has been a popular revenue stream for years, and it is still a great business model that most real estate websites use.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can choose either one monetization model for your real estate website or mix a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"wordpress\">Why Should You Use WordPress for Your Property Listing Website?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 40% of websites around the globe are powered by WordPress, and there are a few reasons for that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Open Source<\/strong>. The first WordPress benefit is that you can use it absolutely free of charge;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ease of Use.<\/strong> WordPress is very user-friendly, so even a rookie can set it up;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Functionality.<\/strong> There are tons of WordPress plugins out there that enable whatever functionality you need;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SEO-friendly.<\/strong> WordPress makes SEO a piece of cake since it&#8217;s integrated with many popular SEO tools and plugins out of the box<em> (check our article on <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/improve-wordpress-seo-of-your-directory-site\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress SEO<\/a>);<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community.<\/strong> Thousands of developers provide free advice and support on various WordPress-related forums, so you can always ask for a hand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve mentioned some of the most prominent advantages, so now you have a better idea of why WordPress is the best solution when it comes to launching a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now we\u2019d like to give you a piece of advice on how to select a suitable WordPress plugin that has all the necessary features for building a WordPress real estate website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tips\">Tips on Choosing a WordPress Plugin for a Real Estate Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are various WordPress plugins out there, so it may be challenging to find the best one that includes the essential features for creating property listing sites. To make it easier for you, here\u2019s a list of features that a plugin should support if you want to create a real estate website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Custom Fields &amp; Categories.<\/strong> A plugin should go without any predefined fields and categories, so you can create your own, depending on your niche;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Advanced Search<\/strong>. Any real estate website should have tons of different search filters, so make sure that a plugin you are going to use allows you to create custom search filters;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location Search.<\/strong> It goes without saying that a property site should have a map and a location-based search to allow users to find real estate within different areas;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Communication System<\/strong>. On your website, it has to be easy for users to communicate with each other, so there should be an option to send messages;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Favorites<\/strong>. It\u2019s important to allow website visitors to keep a list of favorite property listings, so they can get back to them whenever they want;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Front-end Listing Submission<\/strong>. If you want to create a real estate marketplace, it\u2019s crucial to have the front-end listing submission feature, so users can easily list their properties on your platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So, now you have a better idea of what features you should be looking for. For the sake of this tutorial, we are going to use the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/hivepress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HivePress <\/a>plugin. It\u2019s a <strong>free<\/strong> WordPress directory &amp; classifieds plugin that is suitable for building any type of listing websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, you may want to check our overview of the excellent free <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/best-wordpress-directory-plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress listing plugins<\/a> and choose a plugin that best fits your project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, we\u2019d like to cover one more topic before moving to the tutorial part of this article, namely &#8211; costs associated with creating a real estate website. While WordPress is free to use, there are still some things you have to pay for if you want to launch any kind of website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"costs\">How Much Does It Cost to Build a Real Estate Platform with WordPress?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An important question to ask yourself before starting your own online business is &#8211; how much does it cost?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To create a real estate website with WordPress, you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Domain Name<\/strong> &#8211; $10 &#8211; $15 per year;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hosting Plan<\/strong> &#8211; $20 &#8211; $90 per month <em>(check our overview of <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/overview-of-the-best-wordpress-hosting-providers\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/overview-of-the-best-wordpress-hosting-providers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress hosting companies<\/a>);<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>WordPress Theme <\/strong>&#8211; $60 &#8211; $100<em> (if you are going to use a premium theme)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So launching your own real estate website costs approximately<em> $200<\/em> if you want to use a premium real estate WordPress theme.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the good news is that you can cut costs a little bit since we\u2019ll show you how to create a fully-functional property listing website with the <strong>free<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/themes\/listinghive\/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ListingHive<\/a> theme. ListingHive is a highly customizable theme that goes with all the essential real estate website features right out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, at the time of writing, it\u2019s the most popular <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/best-free-wordpress-directory-themes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free WordPress directory theme <\/a>in the WordPress repository, with more than 8000 active installations, and such numbers speak volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, now let&#8217;s start building a real estate website with WordPress and move to the first step &#8211; theme installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"message is-info\"><p>Check out the best premium<a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/best-real-estate-wordpress-themes\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/best-real-estate-wordpress-themes\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> real estate WordPress themes<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"creating\">6 Steps to Launch a Real Estate Directory Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Installing ListingHive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As we mentioned before, we\u2019re going to use ListingHive because of its versatility. In order to install it go to your WordPress admin area, then proceed to the <strong>Appearance &gt; Themes<\/strong> section and click \u201cAdd New\u201d. Now, simply type \u201cListingHive\u201d in the search bar to find, install and activate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon activation, you\u2019ll get a suggestion to install the HivePress plugin. We recommend installing it to enable the core functionality for your future real estate directory. Also, you\u2019ll get a notification to start with the <a href=\"https:\/\/help.hivepress.io\/article\/66-how-to-import-listinghive-demo-content\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ListingHive demo content<\/a>. You can download and import the demo content to start with some existing layouts, listings and categories &#8211; it&#8217;s always easier to edit existing content than create it from scratch. Feel free to check the <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/listinghive.hivepress.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">ListingHive live demo<\/a> before importing it to get a better idea of its look and feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you don\u2019t want to start with the demo content or are highly familiar with creating and editing content in WordPress, it\u2019s not an issue. We\u2019re going to walk you through each step, one by one, to explain how to set up your directory by yourself from scratch. So let\u2019s go to the next step and create a custom category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any trouble installing ListingHive, you may follow a step-by-step screencast that shows how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Installing ListingHive | ListingHive Docs\" width=\"749\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8jg7p-ryBuo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-adding-categories\">2. Adding Categories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>First, you need to add some listing categories in order to split your content into smaller and more specific sections, so it\u2019s easier for users to navigate your directory website. For example, let\u2019s create a \u201cHouses\u201d category to display houses for sale there. To do this, go to the <strong>Listings &gt; Categories<\/strong> section. Here you can name the category and describe it if necessary. It\u2019s essential to select an appropriate category image too. Finish by clicking the \u201cAdd Category\u201d button so the category appears on the front-end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you create the first category, you may add several more. For example, let\u2019s add \u201cApartments\u201d and \u201cRooms\u201d categories in the same way. You may also want to separate listings into \u201cFor Rent\u201d and \u201cFor Sale\u201d subcategories (or make these top-level). You can easily do it within the same Categories section by selecting the parent category you want to split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/add-category_.jpg\" alt=\"Adding categories to the WordPress real estate directory.\" class=\"wp-image-10934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/add-category_.jpg 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/add-category_-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-adding-attributes\">3. Adding Attributes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you create several categories, you can add the essential attributes for your property listings. For example, let\u2019s add a new \u201cPrice\u201d attribute to every listing. Simply go to the <strong>Listings &gt; Attributes<\/strong> section and click on the \u201cAdd New\u201d button. Here you can set up the attribute in 3 different contexts. Let\u2019s briefly go through each of them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"editing\">Editing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the first section, you set up your attribute functionality by allowing front-end editing and choosing the field type. For example, for the \u201cPrice\u201d attribute, it\u2019s necessary to enable front-end editing so users can indicate the price when adding a new listing. Also, this attribute should have the \u201cNumber\u201d field type. After you publish it, you\u2019ll be able to set it as a required field when adding new listings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"search\">Search<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>You can specify if the attribute should be used for searching or sorting listings. For example, if you mark it as filterable, users will be able to narrow down the search filtering results by different attributes. The sorting option allows customers to search for listings with this attribute in a particular order. For the \u201cPrice\u201d attribute, you need to set it as filterable and sortable. It\u2019s also essential to select the \u201cNumber Range\u201d field type so that users can set a price range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"display\">Display<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, you\u2019re setting up the attribute\u2019s appearance and how it\u2019s going to look on the front-end. You can indicate the area of listings where you want to place it, assign some icon to it, and define its format. In our example with the \u201cPrice\u201d attribute, we\u2019ll choose the <code>$%value% \/ month<\/code> format to display the currency symbol along with the rent period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"793\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Price_attribute.jpg\" alt=\"Adding custom listing fields to the real estate directory.\" class=\"wp-image-10935\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Price_attribute.jpg 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Price_attribute-284x300.jpg 284w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you see, you can add as many attributes as you find necessary for your website. But still, keep in mind that you can install ListingHive demo content that already includes pre-configured attributes suitable for a real estate website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-customizing-pages\">4. Customizing Pages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The next step is to add a new page to display the search form, listing categories, recent listings, and any other custom content you may want to add. You can build a new page using the WordPress block editor. Let&#8217;s navigate to the <strong>Pages<\/strong> section in the WordPress dashboard, click &#8220;Add New&#8221; and name the page &#8220;Home&#8221; (we&#8217;ll set it as front-page later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, simply click on the \u201cPlus\u201d symbol and choose the block you want to add. For example, let\u2019s add a search bar and \u201cListing Categories\u201d block that shows categories of listings. Once added, publish the page by clicking on the \u201cPublish\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After that, go to the <strong>Settings &gt; Reading<\/strong> section and set this page as a front-page of your website. That&#8217;s it, you may now take a glance how the newly created homepage looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Real-estate-categories.jpg\" alt=\"Listing categories of a WordPress real estate website.\" class=\"wp-image-10936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Real-estate-categories.jpg 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Real-estate-categories-300x160.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To customize the overall styling, go to the <strong>Appearance &gt; Customize <\/strong>section. You can change primary and secondary colors, logo, background images, fonts, and so on. Go through all the sections to tailor the website look and feel to your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"5-adding-listings\">5. Adding Listings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you can try adding a new listing to one of your categories with new attributes. For example, let\u2019s add a \u201cForest house\u201d listing to the \u201cHouses\u201d category. But try to do it from the front-end instead of the WordPress dashboard so you can test how it\u2019s going to work for your users. Simply go to the main page of the directory and click on the \u201cAdd Listing\u201d button. It will take you to the submission form, where you should fill in the required fields to submit a listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you fill in the title and description, upload an image, and complete the other fields, simply click on the \u201cSubmit Listing\u201d button. Once the listing is submitted, the site administrator will get an email notification and will be able to approve or reject it in the Listings section. If you want to disable listing moderation, you can do so in the <strong>HivePress &gt; Settings &gt; Listings &gt; Submission<\/strong> section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"409\" src=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Listings_real_estate.png\" alt=\"Example of a real estate website created with WordPress.\" class=\"wp-image-10938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Listings_real_estate.png 750w, https:\/\/hivepress.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Listings_real_estate-300x164.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"6-installing-extensions\">6. Installing Extensions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you set up the essential functionality, it\u2019s time to add some advanced features to your real estate directory website. There\u2019s a list of different HivePress extensions that you can add to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, you can add the Favorites extension to allow users to keep a list of favorite listings. It\u2019s a handy feature for a real estate directory website since people often lose the properties they liked among thousands of other listings while browsing. With a list of favorites, they can bookmark a property they liked and return to it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may also want to enable location-based search so that users can easily find real estate in a particular area. Without a doubt, it\u2019s a vital feature for property listing websites since everybody is looking at the real estate location before buying or renting it. You can easily enable Google Maps on your website with the Geolocation extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One more convenient feature is to allow users to sign in via third-party services like Facebook or Google with the Social Login extension. It saves users time and eliminates the need for keeping another login and password just for your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, there are many different ways to improve your real estate directory and make it handy for users. You may check the following screencast that shows how to install HivePress extensions from the WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Installing Extensions | HivePress Docs\" width=\"749\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WZIxHr7xtGo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"monetization\">Monetize a Real Estate Directory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Previously we&#8217;ve mentioned what business models most real estate sites use. But now we\u2019d like to share some tips on how to make money with the HivePress-built real estate website. There are several ways how to <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/how-to-monetize-a-wordpress-directory-website\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">monetize a directory website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"sell-advertising-space\">Sell Advertising Space<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the most common but at the same time most demanding way to monetize a real estate directory since it generates a decent income for high-traffic websites only. For example, you can sell a specific area on your website and display sponsored banner ads there. You may also integrate your website with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/adsense\/start\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Google AdSense<\/a> and earn a commission for each ad click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"charge-users-for-submitting-listings\">Charge Users for Submitting Listings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s another well-known way to make money with a directory website. You can charge users per each new listing they submit or create several packages with different restrictions. For example, premium packages can vary in the number of listings allowed for submission or provide a more extended expiration period or any other premium package feature. You can try using the Paid Listings extension to add and sell different packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"charge-users-for-featuring-listings\">Charge Users for Featuring Listings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can offer an option to promote listings at an extra charge. If your directory collects tons of different offers, some users would probably like to stand their listings out of the crowd. With the same Paid Listings extension, you can give users an option to make their listings featured for some flat fee, and they will be displayed at the top of search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you build a real estate website and it gets decent traffic, you can go ahead and start monetizing it in many different ways. However, be careful with displaying too many ads on your website since it may look unprofessional and annoy users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"final-thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As you see, it\u2019s crazy easy to create a real estate website if you\u2019re using the right tools. Once you <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/how-to-create-a-directory-website-with-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">build your directory website<\/a>, start to fill it with content and useful features. Make sure that users are your main priority and try to fulfill their needs. With this in mind, you\u2019ll be able to make money from your directory website when it gets enough traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are about to build a real estate directory website with WordPress, you may want to try the HivePress plugin with its default ListingHive theme. They are both free, extensible by design, and allow you to build any type of directory website without a hitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, feel free to check out our overview of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/blog\/mistakes-when-making-wordpress-listing-website\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">popular mistakes<\/a> that people make when building a WordPress listing website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Create and monetize a real estate directory website in 6 steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":686,"featured_media":10943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-10933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-listinghive"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10933"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33034,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10933\/revisions\/33034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/10943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hivepress.io\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}