If you’re helping a client—or yourself—launch a real estate website, WordPress is one of the best platforms to use. It’s flexible, cost-effective, and doesn’t require any coding. In this guide, I’ll show you how to build a complete real estate website from scratch using WordPress. Whether you’re a developer or an agency owner, this guide helps you get started with clear, beginner-friendly steps.
Step 1: Choose the Right Hosting and Install WordPress
Start with a fast and reliable WordPress host. A slow website will drive away visitors, and this is especially true for real estate websites, where images and maps are essential.
Look for:
- Free SSL (Necessary for trust and security)
- Daily backups
- Good customer support
Hosts like SiteGround and Cloudways are excellent choices. Once hosting is ready, use their one-click installer to set up WordPress.
If you’ve never done that before, you can always practice WordPress locally by following this guide:
How to Use WordPress Locally: A Beginner-Friendly Guide
Step 2: Install a Real Estate-Ready WordPress Theme
Don’t start blank. Real estate themes come packed with listing layouts, map integration, and filters.
Three good ones:
- Houzez: Built for agencies with powerful listing tools
- RealHomes: Great for small-to-medium agencies
- HomePress: Clean design with built-in search
Install your chosen theme and use its demo import feature. That will provide you with a pre-designed structure you can replace with your content.
Step 3: Add Core Plugins (Don’t Overload)
Now, it’s time to add functionality. You only need a few powerful plugins to cover everything:
- Elementor to visually build your pages
- WPL Real Estate to manage listings and property details
- WPForms to create contact or inquiry forms
- Rank Math for SEO, metadata, and schema
Step 4: Add Real Property Listings and Agents
Using your theme or the WPL plugin, start adding a few demo properties. Include:
- High-quality images
- Location map
- Price, features, and availability
- Agent contact info
If you’re using IDX Broker, you’ll need to connect to an MLS feed. They’ll guide you through that, but allow some time for MLS approval.
Step 5: Build the Core Pages
Your real estate site needs five key pages:
- Home – With a featured listing search and quick links
- Listings – With filters for price, location, and bedrooms
- About Us – Show your brand story, credentials, and mission
- Contact – Simple form, Google Maps, phone, and email
- Blog – Great for SEO, market updates, and tips
Use Elementor to build custom layouts for each page. Most themes also come with templates you can tweak.
Need help building custom pages? Here’s a great walkthrough:
How to Build an Online Store with WooCommerce and WordPress
Step 6: Make It Mobile-Friendly and Fast
More than 70% of your users will be using mobile. Test your site on your phone, then use a tool like GTmetrix to check performance.
Tips:
- Compress images before uploading (use TinyPNG)
- Don’t overload with sliders or unnecessary animations
- Use caching and lazy loading for images
Step 7: Final Checks Before Launch
Before going live:
- Test every form (do the emails reach you?)
- Check listings on the mobile
- Remove demo content
- Set up your menu and footer
- Connect Google Search Console
Step 8: Internal Links and Smart Navigation
Use internal links to help Google (and your visitors) move through your site. For example:
- Link blog posts to listing pages
- Link property pages to agent profiles
- Use breadcrumbs and clear categories
Want more performance tips? You might like:
What’s Next?
Now that your real estate site is live, the next step is bringing in traffic. In the next blog, I’ll show you how to do real estate SEO the right way—local targeting, listing schema, and content that converts.
Would you like me to help you outline that next blog post as well?
Also, let me know your actual blog URL so I can format the backlinks to your domain next time.