George K.
Have you ever thought of having a website that’s a one-stop destination for real estate listings online? Some might think this hard because most of the searches for a new home online are done on large listing syndication websites. But it isn’t all that hard, you can own a website and integrate IDX into it and display real estate listings from multi-service listings — which is a large database of real estate listings — and even more so, display your listings. By doing this you could see a trajectory growth in your real-estate business.
I know you must be wondering what IDX is? In simple terms, IDX is an acronym for Internet Data Exchange, and it’s a program that enables real estate agents to share home listing information on their website through (MLS)multiple listing services – in practice, IDX is a policy, put in place by the governing body of the MLS, and it enables MLS agent share listings they have on the MLS database, on other websites owned by real estate agents.
Why is IDX Important For My Real Estate Website?
MLS leads all real-estate transactions, especially in the USA, some real estate websites use MLS directly or through IDX. Now we know a real-estate website would be missing a lot if it doesn’t have an IDX integration program, it’s all the more reason real estate consultants at https://showcaseidx.com/what-is-idx-integration/ recommend this integration. And they do this because it’s an easy way for them to reach more potential buyers by providing them with a wide array of real estate listings. According to NAR(National Association of Realtors), about 44% of potential buyers search online for property listings — it’s the first step they take when they intend to purchase a property — so integrating IDX into your website is a great choice for your real estate business, if you want to reach more potential buyers.
How Do I Integrate IDX Into My Website?
Going forward, since you know the importance of IDX in your real-estate business, here are detailed steps on how to integrate it to your websites, if you haven’t done it already;
One of the easy ways to integrate IDX on your website is through WordPress, and it’s important to know that while using the IDX program on your website there are rules involved – one example is, if a homeowner doesn’t permit you to upload their property listing on IDX you can’t unless the homeowner doesn’t care if you upload their property listing on IDX.
Why should I Use WordPress For My Real-estate Website?
WordPress is a great choice for creating an IDX compatible website, why? It’s easy to create a website, without having to code, and WordPress has a great content management system, more so, it’s very easy to integrate IDX into your site using WordPress, finally, it has a lot of real-estate themes, that’ll make your website a top-notch real-estate website.
You need the following things to make a quality real estate website using WordPress;
- You need WordPress hosting to host your website. This is important for storing all your files for your website.
- You’ll need a domain name – a domain name is the address of your website, that people usually type in their browser URL.
- You’ll real estate WordPress plugin to create listings, that includes the property’s price, image, details, etc.
Select A Good Real Estate WordPress Theme
WordPress has a vast array of nice real-estate themes you can use for your website, and some of the best ones are;
- Astra
- OceanWP
- AgentPress Pro
- Divi
- Altitude Pro
- Ultra
- Presence
- Realtor
- Estate Engine, etc.
The dsIDXpress Plugin For Your Website
This WordPress plugin easily integrates embed MLS listings on your website using IDX. The great thing about this easy-to-use plugin is that it’s free. You can easily download it online, install it and use shortcodes to embed live MLS listings on your website.
After installing this plugin, you’ll need to activate it, using an activation key, sent to your email, when registering. Thereafter you can now add an MLS provider and then start adding MLS content using the IDX widget – it’s the same thing as adding a widget in WordPress.
You can also add MLS content by creating a new post or page, you will find the IDX listing buttons, in the visual editor.
After these steps, it’ll be a good idea to promote your website to reach potential buyers, you can do this by practicing SEO, so your site can rank well in search engines. You can also create personalized web pages with listings targeted at specific people in a neighborhood, community, or city.
