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Looks great! One suggestion I have is to move the text with bullet point list that explains "How can MLS Property Finder benefit you?" to another page, or to the bottom of the page below the search feature. The reason being there is a tremendous need to scroll to reach the search function, results, details etc..
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Joy,
If you are going to look into IDX solutions you need to find one that works with the MLS that you or your client participates in. If its a large metro market nearly all IDX providers will be there already. If not, you might be able to have yours added, but I would not recommend it if you can find one that has an established service. DS IDX and IDX Broker are two that integrate well with WordPress.
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Joy,
I have seen this and similar questions asked around here before, but I have never seen anyone post a reply that indicated they made these modifications to AgentPress, or the AgentPress listing plugin.
Are you or your client only interested in updating those that register on listings that you have manually entered at your website? I ask because there are a number of IDX solutions that provide the functionality you are seeking (and a whole lot more) at a cost that I would not describe as "over the top". This may be why nobody seems to have devoted the resources to modifying the AP listing plugin.
Maybe some others will share their thoughts and experiences on this.
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Unless the website visitor feels there is something unique to be had for registering they will move on to another site to get the information. If they think there is something worth registering for but are required to do so under duress 90% of the information they provide when registering will be garbage. That's my experience with it.
So, you might be able to figure out how make the modifications to the plug-in, but you can probably find better ways to help your client. Why not help them implement an IDX solution that already provides lead capture functionality?
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If I were you I would ask some very basic questions about what you want and need from your website. Focus on the needs like communicating you firm's message and showcasing your firm's listings. Beyond accomplishing those two relatively simple goals the competition becomes brutal. For most agents and small firms it's more cost effective to buy leads generated at other websites than it is to have a website that produces them.
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This has been discussed here before. The listing slider displays non IDX data from the AgentPress Listings plugin. However, there should be no problem putting a DS IDXPRESS search widget in what is identified as the Property Search box at the AP demo site, or the widget space beside the slider.
I am not familiar with DS IDXPRESS, but I assume your would either paste code there using a text widget, or simply move a DS IDXPRESS search widget into that space. Regardless, you will be manually entering all data, including pictures, for the slider and all AgentPress search functions. Also, the DS IDXPRESS search will be returning IDX data for results, not data from from your manually entered listings.
I hope that helps.
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I think it would be even better if SP offered an IDX solution of their own. They are losing tons of revenue to DS and others by only selling themes. My IDX costs me every month, my SP Genesis themes are one time expenses. I would prefer to purchase IDX & themes from the same source. That's what DS has figured out and they are selling tons of Zillow branded WP IDX websites to agents right now. I am sure SP knows the market shifted and that they face many challenges to keep AgentPress relevant.
DS= Diversified Solutions
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It should be no problem to place an IDX search widget in the slider search box. Now, if you can figure out a way to get the slider to display IDX listing data let me know how you do it.
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I think it is explained at the demo site, but not as well as it should be. Let's take this page for example:
http://demo.studiopress.com/agentpress/idx/mls-20649431-34_sunny_st_laguna_beach_ca_92651
That's a listing detail page from the AP IDX demo. Right above the IDX demo data you have a quick search widget that is APLP functionality (which requires manually entered data). In addition, there is a secondary menu comprised of property searches that are entirely APLP functionality. Once again, that requires manually entered data.
I just think it needs to be perfectly clear that the APLP is not an IDX tool, and requires manually entered data. With this in mind the demo site is somewhat misleading as it spotlights APLP functionality and styling while suggesting it's fully integrated for IDX.
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Yes, that's a good example of using an IDX search widget. And yes, IDX providers offer numerous plugins-ins that work fluidly in the Genesis framework. This is what I was attempting to clarify:
“I understand they are different, but to me when someone says it is integrated, it means they are combined and the search functions will work for either.”
The search functions are not combined. When a prospective AgentPress customer views the AP demo they are not seeing IDX functionality or data. Therefore they need to be aware that they will indeed have to manually enter listing data, including pictures, etc. to replicate the look and feel of the demo site using the AgentPress Listing plug-in.
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"I understand they are different, but to me when someone says it is integrated, it means they are combined and the search functions will work for either."
No, they won't. All MLS IDX data providers are required to make it clear, the data is copyright protected. If StudioPress chose to become an IDX solution provider they would have do the same, and be subject to MLS IDX rule compliance. The AgentPress Listing plug-in is not compliant with any MLS IDX. That does not mean it's breaking any laws, it's just not an IDX solution.
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IDX data and AgentPress Listings data are not at all the same thing. You can probably make the AgentPress Listing display look like the idxpress display....but the actual data is derived from separate sources. Data entered into an AgentPress Listing post won't change the MLS data, and vice versa.
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Jeff, it appears you are using the dynamic wrapper option with sync tags for your IDX Broker Global Wrapper. You need to base your IDX Broker wrapper on a page page...not a post page. Then add this and nothing else to the body section of the page:
<div id="idxStart" style="display: none;"></div>
<div id="idxStop" style="display: none;"></div>Then change the settings in your IDX Broker dashboard to reflect the URL of this new page. For reference, the one you are using now is http://jeffmcdowell.me/idx_main_advanced/mls-activation-page/.
Here is an additional reference on how to do this.
http://www.idxbroker.com/support/kb/questions/389/Simplified+Wordpress+Synchronization+Tags
Good luck!
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I use a request registration pop-up...but the visitor can close it without registering. In my experience forcing registration creates low-quality leads.
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I should not have said that about BoomTown's pricing, it's really all about return on investment.
Boomtown looks and sounds similar to something I have seen before called TigerLead.
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