An imported listing is only useful if something on your site knows how to store and display it. MLSImport gives you two ways to satisfy that: write into a real estate theme it has an adapter for, or run Standalone (any theme) mode, where the plugin supplies the whole property structure itself.
What it cannot do is write listings into an arbitrary post type you built yourself. This page explains why, and how to pick between the two supported routes.
Why the plugin cannot import into any theme
A listing is not one piece of data. It is a post type, a set of taxonomies, a few dozen meta keys, and the search and template logic that reads them. A price has to land in the exact meta key your property template prints, and a city has to land in the exact taxonomy your search form queries, or the listing exists in the database and appears nowhere.
MLSImport carries an adapter per supported theme that knows those keys. It does not offer a “choose your post type” setting, because choosing a post type would not tell it where a bedroom count or a status goes. That is why a page builder plus a custom fields plugin is not a substitute: those tools can display a structure, but MLSImport would have no map for writing into it.
Route one: a theme with an adapter
Four themes have a dedicated adapter: WpResidence, Houzez, Real Homes, and Wpestate. With one of them active, imported listings become that theme’s own property posts.
Everything you bought the theme for keeps working. Property pages, search forms, map search, agent pages, favourites, contact forms, and the theme’s demo layouts treat imported listings exactly like properties you entered by hand, because as far as the theme is concerned that is what they are.
Route two: Standalone (any theme) mode
Standalone mode removes the theme requirement. Instead of writing into somebody else’s structure, MLSImport registers and owns its own.
- Post types.
mlsimport_propertyfor listings, shown in the admin as MLS Properties, andmlsimport_agentfor Real Estate Agents. - Taxonomies. Eleven of them, covering property type, listing type, status, city, area, county, state, ZIP code, high school district, features, and labels.
- Templates. Single property pages, a property archive at
/properties/, agent pages, and taxonomy archives, all rendered by the plugin. - Search. Its own indexed search and filtering, independent of whatever search your theme ships.
- Design control. A MLS Import Design Settings admin screen and a matching panel in Appearance → Customize, both editing the same settings.
- Page building. Listing grids, sliders, search forms, map blocks, and agent blocks, available as shortcodes, Gutenberg blocks, and Elementor widgets so they drop into any page builder.
The active theme still supplies the header, the footer, the fonts, and the rest of the site. It supplies nothing about properties, which is why any theme works.
Standalone mode is not a downgrade for people whose theme is on the list. If a supported theme’s property layout is the reason you chose it, use route one. Standalone exists so the theme stops being a prerequisite, not because the adapters are second best.
Choosing between them
- You already run WpResidence, Houzez, Real Homes, or Wpestate. Use that theme’s adapter. You paid for its property features and imported listings will use them.
- You run any other theme and want to keep it. Use Standalone mode. Your theme keeps the site’s look and MLSImport handles everything property related.
- You are starting from nothing. Either works. Pick a supported theme if you want its ready made real estate demos, or Standalone if you want your design freedom and fewer moving parts.
You choose in the theme selector during setup, which is the same dropdown you can change later in MLS Import Settings.
Decide before the first import, not after. Each mode imports into its own post type, so switching modes later leaves the listings you already imported sitting in the old structure. They are not converted, and the new mode starts empty.
Frequently asked questions
I use Hello Elementor with JetEngine custom post types. Can MLSImport write into them?
No. There is no setting, hook, or add-on that maps listings into a post type you defined, because the plugin would have no way to know which of your fields holds a price or a status. Use Standalone mode instead, then build your pages with the Elementor widgets it provides.
Does Standalone mode need a real estate theme underneath?
No. That is the point of it. A blog theme, a page builder theme, or a default WordPress theme all work, because the property post types, templates, search, and design settings come from the plugin.
My theme is a real estate theme but is not one of the four. Is support coming?
Ask us about your theme, but do not plan around it. Every adapter is a per theme mapping we write and maintain against that theme’s data model, so the list grows slowly. Standalone mode is the answer that works today for any theme.
Can I use Standalone mode alongside my theme’s existing property posts?
They can coexist, but they stay separate. Your theme’s properties keep their own post type, search, and templates, and Standalone listings keep theirs. Visitors would meet two different searches, so it is worth choosing one to lead with.
Related
- What MLSImport is and how it works
- Requirements before you buy
- Choosing your theme mode
- How MLS websites work: import vs live IDX
If you are unsure which route suits your build, open a support ticket with your theme name and we will tell you which one to use.