I want to create a park website. I was thinking of using a DIY company like WIX, GoDaddy or Squarespace.Has anyone used one of these or have any recommendations?Also what content is helpful? I was going to put in pictures of the park, pictures & descriptions of homes for sale, park rules and applications. Thanks!
Patrick,As the webmaster for this site and a few others, I would greatly advise you against using any of those companies as you will find it is very hard to do and the quality in the end just won’t be where you want it to be. I would recommend finding a cheep designer on Odesk.com and have them build something for you. You should be able to get something decent for around $100. Or if your budget allows, find someone you trust and pay them a setup fee and a monthly maintenance fee to keep it updated and running well.Just my 2 cents.
Yes, hire a designer and provide him/her/it with some good photos of your park to keep your site from being just another crappy web template filled with clip art and stock photos.
Squarespace rocks! We use it exclusively. Check out our most recent website at www.cherrywoods.net. That cost us about $150 from http://smplgrp.com (someone off ODesk).Whatever you do, don’t pay $1,000+ to do it in WordPress (OK, OK, I know Squarespace is really WordPress on the backend, but you know what I mean).Onward, upward,-Jefferson-
Jefferson,I like your websites!After you have your Odesk guy set it up, can you make updates yourself?For example can you add a new home for sale or update pictures?Thanks
Yes! Squarespace is so easy to use, they are idiot-proof. Even I can add/delete homes for sale, photos, descriptive text, etc. I’ve found it easy to add entire pages, and links within the pages to downloads (like my rules & regulations and leases, etc.) Rick at Simple Group will educate you on how to do that - very easy.Good luck,-jl-
Jefferson. - do you mind if I ask whet the lot rent is for that park.
Does it work well for you when tenants go into home by themselves without manager.
Cherrywoods’ lot rent is $275/month; that includes lawn mowing. But that is irrelevant to whether you should have a website. Every MHP should have a website - it does not matter if your lot rent is $100/mo. or $1,000/mo.I do not understand what you mean by “when tenants go into home by themselves without manager.”-jl-
Hey Jefferson, I wondered the same thing as Brian. From the looks of your website it looks like people are able to go into the home by themselves. It is under homes available. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, yes, now I understand. My managers got tired of waiting around for a prospective tenant to show up. And I began to think it unreasonable of me to expect them to do so. So now we just open the homes in the morning and close 'em up at night. Prospective tenants are welcome to come by anytime convenient for them up until 6 p.m. and see the house and pick up an application off the kitchen counter. They then return it with a copy of their driver’s license and application fee to our rent box or to the manager’s home. We believe in operating our parks in as ‘friction-free’ a manner as possible. Keeping your homes locked and having to be on-site to open them when a prospective resident eventually shows up (if at all) is a high-friction way to conduct business. We make it easy on our prospective residents to see the home, apply, and get it.So far we’ve had no vandalism; we have had a few really high utility bills in the winter when our mangers forgot to check the thermostat and turn it down.Your mileage may vary,-jl-
Good to know. I have left homes open for utility companies and contractors without problem. I guess it depends on the area.
One thing I do is screen the caller myself and then if it sounds good pass it onto the manager. This eliminates a lot of extra work.
Others might be too big for this. I do not have many if any vacant homes as a rule so it’s easy to just take the call.