If your team needs to show a building this week, start by defining how the prospect will open it. A link to a hosted viewer usually needs less commercial preparation. A GLB file makes sense when someone is already going to handle the application, the integration and the server. They are different deliveries, even if both include a model of the same property.
The useful question when asking for a quote is: “What will my broker receive, and what will they have to do to use it?”. If the answer ends in a folder nobody in the company knows how to publish, part of the work is still missing. This guide separates the pieces so you can contract a delivery that fits your resources.
Also for office interiors
Both forms of delivery apply to a building exterior or an office interior. For an interior it also matters to agree on the views, the accessible areas and how a proposed layout is presented. Having the model does not mean having an editor to change the furniture in real time.
What a GLB contains and what is still needed
GLB is the binary form of the glTF format. It can bundle geometry, materials, textures and other scene data. Khronos defines it as a format for delivering 3D content to applications and engines. It is useful to transport a model, but receiving it is not the same as having a property listing with controls, contact and a public address.
An application decides how to show that content: where the camera looks from, which gestures zoom in, which lighting is used and what happens if the device cannot open it. That is why the same file can look different in two viewers. If appearance matters for your marketing, review the result in the delivery application, not only in the modeling software.
Compare the complete delivery, not just the file
| Delivery | What your team receives | What you must organize |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted link | An address that opens the agreed experience in the browser. | Who maintains the link, for how long and what happens at renewal. |
| GLB model | The 3D content, with the resources and rights the contract includes. | A compatible viewer, publishing, controls and a check of the appearance. |
| Application for your own server | The viewer web app and the resources included in the delivery. | Hosting, configuration, updates and a responsible person. |
When to choose a hosted link
It fits when the broker wants to share it by email, open it in a meeting or link it from the brochure without coordinating an installation first. It also lets you test its usefulness with one building before tackling a broader integration. The address must be easy to find and stay stable in the materials you have already sent.
Agree on what happens when hosting ends. A printed QR code does not update itself because you change providers. Define whether the address will be kept, whether there will be a renewal or whether it can redirect to another page. Adding a readable company address next to the QR code offers another way in when the reader cannot scan it.
When to consider self-hosting
It makes sense if your company requires managing its own resources, already has a web team or wants to add the viewer to a platform it controls. The delivery needs instructions concrete enough for that team to install and check it. The server cost is only part of it: time must also be assigned to publish, maintain and resolve incidents.
Before deciding, ask for a sample to be tested at the intended destination. A content management system may allow links and restrict interactive blocks. The website’s security rules may prevent loading resources from another domain. Confirming those conditions prevents the integration from becoming an additional project discovered after paying.
Six questions that must be in writing
- Is the delivery a model, a link or a complete application? List the files and services included.
- Which commercial use is allowed and who keeps the editable files? Clarify third-party materials too.
- How long is hosting included and what is the renewal cost or procedure?
- Who maintains the embed if your website changes provider or template?
- Which adjustments are included and what counts as an extension of the modeling?
- How will you recover or replace the resource if you stop using the service?
Example decision for a small brokerage
Picture a brokerage that works with an external website and wants to present an office building. The team needs to send the brochure and explain the whole on video calls. Starting with a link lets them use it in both moments. Once they confirm prospects use it, they can ask their web provider for a block with a preview image and access to the 3D.
If that same company already has a viewer embedded in its catalog, the reasonable choice may be to deliver a model compatible with that system. Before contracting it, weight limits, materials, scale and permissions would have to be agreed. Choosing the link by default in that second scenario could duplicate infrastructure that already works.
How we approach it at Visedra
From €149 + VAT: each property gets a fixed quote in writing, within 24 hours if we have the material. The areas, views and options define the work, and it always includes three rounds of changes and twelve months of hosting. Anything outside that is quoted in writing before we do it.
Start with the use, then decide the format
Send us the building listing and tell us whether you want to show it in meetings, add it to your website or host it on your server. We tell you which delivery you need and which responsibilities it includes.
Leasing or selling an office or a building? We’ll tell you how we would show it.
Send the listing