Building a website with Wp Residence and IDX can be very frustrating if you want a nice-looking design. Most of the IDX providers offer only iframe solutions that will not look good, have zero SEO value, and will not let you use all the advanced features this theme has. That’s why we think MLS Import is the right choice.
If you’re starting into the world of real estate and want to understand the technology that powers it, a great starting point is this article ‘What Is IDX (Internet Data Exchange).’ This piece offers an in-depth look at IDX, explaining its significance in the industry and how it benefits both real estate professionals and clients. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of real estate technology or use a real estate API.
Back to our theme
WpResidence is one of the oldest and the most successful Real Estate WordPress Themes on the internet. Developed by WpEstate.org, a company specializing in building real estate products, Wp Residence comes with an impressive list of features. It is also a perfect match for your next IDX/MLS website.
This article will explain a few things about how MLS Import works with this popular theme. We will not go into details about the importing process at this point but rather show you the various things you can do after the import.
First of all, this theme offers a lot of choices regarding design options. Twelve demos and several front-page versions are pre-built and available to install with one click.
What’s important to know is that the MLS-imported properties will work with all the theme demos, shortcodes, advanced property search, and homepage templates. Check the full theme presentation here: https://wpestate.org/wpresidence-theme-presentation/
If you decide to go with the WpResidence and MLS Import plugin for your project, you first need to buy this theme from ThemeForest (it’s only $69).
After that, you install the theme and import a demo content package (if you want to use one). See how to install the theme from this page.
Setup and Import
Once the WpResidence theme is installed and activated, we can proceed with the actual import from MLS. The first thing our staff does for you is to set the proper settings on the MLS Import Api Options page.
During installation, you will be requested to review the MLS fields (which fields are stored for each listing) and select what listings you want to import. Read here a detailed article about the import process.
Once you save these, we will be able to start the actual import. Depending on your choice, you can have between a couple of hundred and over ten thousand listings. That’s why we will be the ones who handle the actual import – we need to supervise this process and make sure everything works smoothly.
Once this is done, you can create the website using the WpResidence theme.
Custom post type, taxonomies, and agents
In WpResidence, all the listings are imported as custom post types. That means you will find the listings in the usual place in the admin area.
WpResidence has six custom taxonomies, and during the import, we insert data in all except property status.
Agents are not imported. So you need to add one agent manually, and this agent will be assigned to these listing during the import.
WpResidence and IDX / RESO Fields
There are a lot of fields in RESO – usually a couple of hundred. In the WpResidence case, those are imported as custom fields and can be found in theme admin. You can edit the label, and these changes will appear on the front end.
And, of course, you can use all these fields in the advanced search section and build a custom search form. As long as the field exists, you can use it in any form and query the MLS database for any small detail.
Property Lists and Property page
Since all the listings are imported into your local database, you can use all the features of the WpResidence theme. You can use several slider types, display images as a masonry gallery, or show the property details in accordion or tabs format.
When doing the import, we also get the geo-coordinates of that listing. That means you can use features like WalkScore or display nearby points of interest from the Yelp database.
In the newest version of WpResidence, you have a mortgage calculator. During the import, we make sure that property prices and taxes are saved correctly, and you can use this tool.
In the end, you can use the custom page template builder and use all the RESO Fields to build a custom property page.
You can also create all types of property listings. In WpResidence, you can create a page with the “Property List” template and select categories or locations of the listings. Of course, all the Ajax actions work in both regular property lists and half-map property lists.
Features and amenities
Features and amenities are property attribute that is saved as a category. Some fields from the MLS database will not go into the custom fields section but into this taxonomy.
You will be able to see them on the property page, in their section, or use them inside the advanced search form.
And since they are saved as a taxonomy, you will have pages with listings that have a specific term. For example – dishwasher: http://wpresidence.mlsimport.com/property_features/dishwasher/
MLS Images
One of the significant advantages of the MLS import is the fact that we are NOT copying thousands and thousands of images on your server. Each property can have 20-30 photos, and this can have a severe impact on your hosting server and your site speed.
Images are saved into a local database as an “entry,” but the actual file is accessed directly from your MLS content delivery network. That means your site will be loading faster, and you can still use this particular theme feature.
You also need to know that not all listings will have quality pictures. Many of them have small and blurry images. We can do nothing here since we work with the provided material.
Shortcodes
Since the listings are saved locally, you can use any shortcodes provided by the theme author. In this case, WpResidence has Elementor, Visual Composer, or Gutenberg blocks. The imported listings will work out of the box; no extra work is required.
The only limitation comes from the images provided. Some shortcodes need big, beautiful media. But unfortunately, not all listings come with lovely photos, so you will have to choose what listings you will use on these shortcodes.
Maps
The WpResidence comes with two map providers, Google Maps and Open Street, and two types of markers: image and price. All the theme features will work as they should since the imported listings will have the correct data.
Edit and Delete of MLS listings.
There is nothing to do here. MLS Import will query your MLS every hour, and it detects any changes on a listing that will auto-update the property on the local database.
If the MLS listing has the status changed from “Active” to “Canceled,” Expired,” etc., we will delete the listing from the database. And of course, we will remove the “entry” images associated with it.
Road Map
Here is what you need to do if you want to have a site with WpResidence and IDX / MLS listings and the MLSImport plugin to import and sync the data.
- Contact us to check if we can work with your MLS ( or check here ).
- Get a domain name.
- Get a hosting account for your website. If you plan to import thousands of listings, you need a good plan, preferably a virtual private server.
- Get the theme from ThemeForest.
- Install the Theme and import a demo content pack for a smooth start.
- Subscribe to MLS Import and send us your hosting account details along with your MLS credentials. We will do the setup and the initial import.
- Nothing to do after that – MLS Import will be in autopilot mode, adding, editing, or deleting the listings.
Here are some useful links
Demo with WpResidence and MLS Import (sample data)
List of MLS supported by MLS Import
How to integrate Houzez with IDX / RESO
How to integrate RealHomes with IDX / RESO
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