Rental Property Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 10 votes
I typical use Squarespace to set up my websites when credit hacking new companies, but will Squarespace work for creating a direct booking website and possibly an LTR Property Management site?
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
3y
Hey @Brian Gilbert, I have never used Squarespace. Personally I think hosting a site on Bluehost and using Wordpress is the best way to go.
There are a ton of widgets and plugin's for real estate stuff. LTR, STR etc.
It does take more work and tech chops, but you can hire out Wordpress designers for just a couple of bucks. There are a bunch of templates to start with.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
3y
Hey @Brian Gilbert, I have never used Squarespace. Personally I think hosting a site on Bluehost and using Wordpress is the best way to go.
There are a ton of widgets and plugin's for real estate stuff. LTR, STR etc.
It does take more work and tech chops, but you can hire out Wordpress designers for just a couple of bucks. There are a bunch of templates to start with.
Real Estate Agent · Smoky Mountains, TN · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 984 votes
3y
Ownerrez supports Squarespace and they have widgets you can imbed on the site. Super easy. I’m rebuilding my page now and it should be live within the week.
Real Estate Consultant · OH · Member since 2023 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
Stay far away from Bluehost unless you want a nightmare and possibly lose money. I've heard Squarespace is pretty good, but we used GoDaddy for our STR co-hosting company site and love it! So easy and no issues! Plus, customer service is right here in the United States.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
3y
I have no idea what you have against Bluehost @Sarah Kensinger. it is one of the largest hosting companies in the USA with very little downtime and good customer support.
It's Wordpress offerings are among the best there is.
I have been hosting a bunch of websites on Bluehost over the years with 99.8% uptime.
It is still rated one of the best Wordpress web hosting companies around.
Please provide some specifics, like major articles that covers the nightmares.
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2023 · 16 posts · 14 votes
3y
Hi @Brian Gilbert. I'm currently building out a direct booking site using Squarespace for the landing page and Hospitable for the backend booking. In addition to managing property, I've been building websites for years. I'm a huge fan of Wordpress, but it does require a lot more website maintenance.
I have no idea what you have against Bluehost @Sarah Kensinger. it is one of the largest hosting companies in the USA with very little downtime and good customer support.
It's Wordpress offerings are among the best there is.
I have been hosting a bunch of websites on Bluehost over the years with 99.8% uptime.
It is still rated one of the best Wordpress web hosting companies around.
Please provide some specifics, like major articles that covers the nightmares.
I don't need a major article to give specifics on nightmares, I lived through one! Their rates have fallen dramatically over the last few months since they sold off to some overseas company and moved all customer service overseas. Very friendly customer service but they can't do a thing for you and place you on a call back list that never calls you back. I had to call customer service over 5 times, spending over an hour on the phone and then I only received emails to which I couldn't reply.
So, after building an entire website out we lost the entire thing because Bluehost pulled our account, refunded our money, yet no one could explain why. We lost an entire month of live time fighting for our website, had to pay money to get our domain name back, then found out no you can't have your domain name, and we won't refund your money for that domain name. So, we moved over to GoDaddy and have had zero issues!! Went live in a matter of weeks and we've enjoyed an easy to manage website ever since!
So, there would be the short version for a very long headache!
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
3y
I hear ya @Sarah Kensinger, but a single data point from someone who had a bad experience doesn't mean they suck and are terrible. I know folks who have had terrible trouble with GoDaddy and just about every other hosting company out there.
Toyota and Honda are considered top notch for reliability but I can find posts and info from folks who had big problems. No one is saying they are unreliable overall.
I just keep looking for experiences with Bluehost and nearly all are positive. Just saying.
Hey @Brian Gilbert, I have never used Squarespace. Personally I think hosting a site on Bluehost and using Wordpress is the best way to go.
There are a ton of widgets and plugin's for real estate stuff. LTR, STR etc.
It does take more work and tech chops, but you can hire out Wordpress designers for just a couple of bucks. There are a bunch of templates to start with.
Michael,
Do you happen to use a Wordpress Plugin for your PMS? I was looking at Vik Booking Hotel and it looks like a partial replacement for the SaaS PMS like Guesty or Hospitable. They don’t offer communications and a unified inbox but that could be handled through other tools. I am curious if anyone has used them. If you don’t use them, how do you sync your prices and calendar?
Hey @Brian Gilbert, I have never used Squarespace. Personally I think hosting a site on Bluehost and using Wordpress is the best way to go.
There are a ton of widgets and plugin's for real estate stuff. LTR, STR etc.
It does take more work and tech chops, but you can hire out Wordpress designers for just a couple of bucks. There are a bunch of templates to start with.
Michael,
Do you happen to use a Wordpress Plugin for your PMS? I was looking at Vik Booking Hotel and it looks like a partial replacement for the SaaS PMS like Guesty or Hospitable. They don’t offer communications and a unified inbox but that could be handled through other tools. I am curious if anyone has used them. If you don’t use them, how do you sync your prices and calendar?
My site is just sitting there at the moment. I haven't put much work into it at all. I have been meaning to get to it, but there never seems to be the time. So I can't really advise.
Hey @Brian Gilbert, I have never used Squarespace. Personally I think hosting a site on Bluehost and using Wordpress is the best way to go.
There are a ton of widgets and plugin's for real estate stuff. LTR, STR etc.
It does take more work and tech chops, but you can hire out Wordpress designers for just a couple of bucks. There are a bunch of templates to start with.
Michael,
Do you happen to use a Wordpress Plugin for your PMS? I was looking at Vik Booking Hotel and it looks like a partial replacement for the SaaS PMS like Guesty or Hospitable. They don’t offer communications and a unified inbox but that could be handled through other tools. I am curious if anyone has used them. If you don’t use them, how do you sync your prices and calendar?
My site is just sitting there at the moment. I haven't put much work into it at all. I have been meaning to get to it, but there never seems to be the time. So I can't really advise.
I hear you! I added a new property and decided to really take a closer look at my sites as I was setting up a new one. I am thinking that I will build a Wordpress site but use the out of the box direct booking site from Guesty who i am using for my PMS for now. I don’t have the time for a full scale exploration of alternatives and i am not sure that there is a ROi there either.
I hear ya @Sarah Kensinger, but a single data point from someone who had a bad experience doesn't mean they suck and are terrible. I know folks who have had terrible trouble with GoDaddy and just about every other hosting company out there.
Toyota and Honda are considered top notch for reliability but I can find posts and info from folks who had big problems. No one is saying they are unreliable overall.
I just keep looking for experiences with Bluehost and nearly all are positive. Just saying.
There is pros and cons for everything. We had done research before creating any website and yes Bluehost was a bit better then GoDaddy. But when all of this played out, we researched again and found that Bluehost had sold out, moved overseas and was an absolute headache for many people. That was finally our "it's time to move to a different hosting provider". There's even some on the forum that have spoken of similar troubles.
I typical use Squarespace to set up my websites when credit hacking new companies, but will Squarespace work for creating a direct booking website and possibly an LTR Property Management site?
Have you ever used an outside web developer or always done the work yourself? I have had some chats with guys on Fiver but have never pulled the trigger on it. I know Squarespace is supposed to be more user friendly, but I struggled a bit playing around with it and wasn´t that thrilled with the look of what I produced.