A follow up...

[AbbotsfordRealEstate]

First off, let me say that the sites that REW build look great. They are coded properly. My question is, if you were to buy a REW site and have REW SEO the site, are people generating leads from it? What are the limitations? Is there an online demo of the product. I have sold my partner on this... but I am not yet sold.

[webmaster]

Can you be more specific on "what are the limitations?"

[AbbotsfordRealEstate]

my questions regarding limitations are related to a few things. As new options are added, do you charge more to current clients to gain access? The new faq answered a lot of questions. How do we see the templates to know whether we want a template or custom? Is the coding used on the temps different than the custom coding (SEO wise)

[webmaster]

As far as generic functionality goes, no we do not charge for upgrades, however any "pay for service" type additions would be charged for. For instance, if we come up with a new directory submission program that adds say 40 relevant directories that are all pay for inclusion, the cost of inclusion to those directories would be passed onto the client. However lets say an upgrade to our content management system, or listings database etc would be available to all clients at no charge.

As for the difference between a template and a custom, there is no difference in the way they are coded SEO wise, we code all of our websites to the highest standard.

A template comes with only 5 hours of designer time to change the logo, load the slideshow, change the color scheme etc. You choose a starting template from a list, and then if what you wanted changed on it cannot be accomplished within the 5 hours and you want more work done, you are billed per hour at $100 USD.

For instance a new client chose this template http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/...ealestateteam/
and within their 5 hours they were able to achieve this level of change
http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/...rizonmortgage/

As you can see it is the same layout etc, just a unique logo, formatted client picture into the nav, changed the slideshow and added contact info.
Many elements of the site have changed to make the site unique to the client, however you can certainly tell that they are the same template.

The other thing about templates is that (Unless you are a full service SEO client or have purchased copywriting or SEO hours) you are responsible for loading all of your own content (This can be done via wysiwyg editor or in html mode) whereas with a custom we will load and format any content you provide us with (Assuming it is within the customs hours limitation)

In a custom you get 60 hours of design time and 15 hours of programming time included. This is a savings $1750 USD. With your 60 hours you can go through numerous mockups, have much more consultation time with your designer and really hash out exactly what design, colors, layout etc you want. This can be a long and complicated process. Here is an example:

Based on initial client feedback a first mockup was published for an arizona website - http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/...a/manadeva.png
After viewing this mockup (Which took a few hours to create) the client decided the wanted to go in a completely different direction, thus after many revisions (About 20 hours in total) we have come to this point
http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/...eva/mana3c.png
as you can see the site has changed dramatically, and we are still just in the comp phase.

Web design especially for the picky realtor can be very time consuming, especially if you dont know what you want, thus going at it the hourly route is not always the best option. A site like www.realestatejackson.com one of our more complicated endeavors programatically (And a very particular client) was between 90-100 hours of design time, and at least 40 hours of custom programming. Although not all customs take so long, http://www.prestonguyton.com/ was about 50 hours, http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/...omegevity/web/ is 60 so far etc.

Please let me know if this answers your question, and feel free to ask more
Cheers