Help and technical documentation for MLSimport, from the first install to the settings you will only ever touch once.
MLSimport is a WordPress plugin. It connects your site to your MLS over the RESO Web API, imports the listings you pick, and keeps them in sync. There is no separate hosting, no iframe, and no second dashboard to learn. Pick a chapter below, or jump to the quick start if you are setting up for the first time.
Browse the documentation
117 published articles across 17 chapters. The chapters follow the order you meet them in, from deciding whether MLSimport fits to keeping a live site healthy. Every article also appears in the documentation archive.
Chapter 1
Start here
What the plugin is, what it needs, and what you can build with it. Read these before you buy.
Chapter 2
Installation and first-time setup
Getting the plugin onto your site and through the setup wizard, screen by screen.
Chapter 3
Getting MLS access
RESO Web API credentials: what they are, who holds them, and how to get them from your platform.
- What RESO Web API access is and why you need it
- Who needs to hold the credentials
- MLS approval processes that take time
- Bridge Interactive: getting your credentials
- CoreLogic Trestle: getting your credentials
- Spark and FlexMLS: getting your server token
- REALTOR.ca DDF: getting your credentials
- PropTx and AMPRE (TRREB): getting your token
- Rapattoni, Paragon, ConnectMLS and Realcomp credentials
- MLS Grid and MLSImport
- My MLS runs a server you do not support yet
- MLS Import RESO API Options
- Get MLS Access Without a Real Estate License
Chapter 4
Importing listings
Import tasks: the filters that decide which listings land on your site, how to run them, and how to keep two tasks out of each other’s way.
- What an import task is, and creating your first one
- Controlling which listings are imported
- Importing one agent’s or one office’s listings
- Title format, property status and owner
- Running a manual import, and stopping one
- Avoiding overlapping import tasks
- Closed and off-market listings
- Import History and the activity log
- Manual category names like FOR SALE and FOR RENT
Chapter 5
Automatic updates, cron and reconciliation
The hourly sync, the daily pass that removes listings which have left the MLS, and getting cron to actually run.
Chapter 6
Field mapping
Choosing which of the 400+ RESO fields are imported, where each one lands, and what to do when a search filter comes up empty.
Chapter 7
Theme integration
Dedicated support for four real estate themes; Standalone mode covers every other theme.
Chapter 8
Standalone mode
A complete listings front end on any theme: property pages, search, maps and the blocks you build pages from.
- Standalone mode: run MLSImport on any theme
- Properties, agents and the eleven taxonomies
- Building your pages: blocks, shortcodes and Elementor widgets
- The Design Settings page
- Editing design settings in the Customizer
- The Property List block
- The Search Results block
- The Search Form block
- The Half Map block
- The Map with Listings block
- The Property Slider block
- The Featured Property block
- The List Properties by ID block
- The Saved Properties block
- The Category Slider block
- The Display Categories block
- The Team Directory block
- The Contact Form block
- Arranging the single property page
- Property page building blocks
- Property card styles V1, V2 and V3
- Category images and descriptions
- Favourites and saved properties
- Elementor PRO compatibility
Chapter 9
Live mode
Querying the MLS on each page view instead of storing listings, what it costs you, and when it is the right choice.
Chapter 10
Maps and geolocation
Setting up the map, how pins cluster, and what to do about listings that are missing or land in the sea.
Chapter 11
Agents and offices
Importing agents, building office and agent pages, and keeping the same listing from appearing twice.
Chapter 12
Leads and contact forms
Where an enquiry goes when a visitor sends one, the consent checkbox, and the tour booking sidebar.
Chapter 13
Troubleshooting and support
Fixing what went wrong, reading the logs, and reporting an issue so it gets fixed fast.
Chapter 14
Account, billing and subscription
Your subscription, the trial, payment details, and using MLSImport across more than one site.
Chapter 15
Hosting and performance
What the plugin asks of your server, and why an import stops early on some hosts.
Chapter 16
SEO and compliance
Ranking imported listings, and the MLS display rules that decide what you are allowed to publish.
Chapter 17
Developer reference
Hooks, template overrides, WP-CLI and forwarding leads to your own systems.
Quick start
Before you install you need three things: a WordPress site you can install plugins on, MLS membership with API credentials from your MLS or its data provider, and an MLSimport subscription. The 30 day free trial is enough to complete every step below. Requirements before you buy goes through all of it, and who can use MLSimport covers whether you qualify.
If you are not sure whether your MLS is covered, check the RESO certified MLS list. There are over 800 markets across the US and Canada, and if yours is missing we can usually add it.
1. Install the plugin
Install MLSimport from the WordPress.org plugin directory, or upload it from Plugins › Add New. Activate it, then sign in with the account you created at checkout. Full walkthrough: installing and activating the plugin.
2. Run the setup wizard
Six steps, and nothing touches your live site until the last one.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Welcome | A guided start. No configuration yet. |
| Account | Verify your MLSimport account. |
| MLS selection | Type-ahead picker. Metadata for your market loads automatically. |
| Credentials | Enter your MLS keys and live-test the connection before saving. |
| Field mapping | Choose which of the RESO fields you want imported. |
| Test import | Pull a sample batch and look at it before you commit. |
Every screen is covered in the Setup Wizard, step by step. The credentials step is the one that stalls people: RESO Web API connection details explains what your MLS has to issue you, and connecting your MLS in the wizard covers which fields each platform uses.
3. Build your first import task
An import task is a saved, reusable set of filters, and it decides exactly what lands on your site: location, price range, property type and sub-type, status, agent and office, area and subdivision. Each task also carries an import cap, a title template built from any MLS field, and the WordPress author the listings are assigned to. Start narrow. One city, one status, a cap of 25, then widen it. See selecting what listings to import and how many listings you can import.
4. Map your fields
Over 400 RESO fields are available. Turn them on or off in a searchable selector, rename any of them to a label your visitors will understand, drag to reorder, and route each one to a WordPress custom field or a taxonomy term. Saving is chunked, so a large configuration will not time out. See the Select Import Fields screen, and the API reference for where each kind of field ends up in WordPress.
5. Let it sync
Once a task is live it maintains itself. Hourly, new and modified listings are pulled, and modification timestamps mean unchanged records are skipped. Daily, reconciliation removes listings that have left the MLS, and you choose which statuses to protect. Sync runs on WP-Cron by default, and there is a URL trigger if you would rather drive it from a real server cron. See the auto-synchronization process.
6. Photos and your theme
Listing photos are never downloaded. They serve from the MLS or its CDN as remote references, so your uploads folder stays the size it was and re-syncing does not rebuild them. MLSimport has deep integrations for WpResidence, Houzez, Real Homes and WpEstate; on any other theme, Standalone mode gives you a complete listings front end. See why a compatible theme or Standalone mode is needed and compatible themes.
Reference and guides
- API reference: where each kind of RESO field ends up in WordPress.
- Migration guide: moving an existing listings site onto MLSimport.
- Compatible themes: the four supported themes and what Standalone mode gives every other one.
- RESO certified MLS list: the markets we connect to today.
- MLS guides: background on individual MLSs and associations.
When something looks wrong
The activity log records every add, update and delete, with title, ID, ListingKey, URL and the task that caused it, and it is searchable and filterable. Detailed logging is an optional verbose mode you switch on while you troubleshoot. A daily health heartbeat flags a stalled cron or a failing connection. Housekeeping covers one-click cache clearing, bulk property cleanup by taxonomy term, a field-data reset, and a reindex command for the Standalone search index. See update logs and administrative tools.
Get help
Read the FAQ first, it answers most of it. If it does not, open a support ticket from your dashboard, or talk to a human. Every plan includes full assistance with setting up your import, and you can book an onboarding call from the dashboard. Getting help from support explains what to include so we can fix things faster.