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What is the BEST Real Estate IDX Plugin For Wordpress?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Fox eMarketing

For My Money there are 3 Best Real Estate IDX Plugin for WordPress

Spot on Connect Wordpress IDX Plugin 

IDX Broker, Diverse Solutions, and Spot-On Connect IDX Plugin for Wordpress

I know there are a few more options out there but there is no real unique quality proposition, in my opinion.

Diverse Solutions is owned by Zillow and offers 2 levels of IDX Service.  I do not recommend their dsIDX solution wich is an IDX Plugin.  Unfortunately this is the more affordable plan.  Although it does implement well with Wordpress and is pretty easy to use it lacks the features that you can get with the other 2 providers at the same price or less.  The dsSearchAgent product is probably the most feature rich of all IDX services available.  It is also the priciest.

IDX Broker offers virtually all the same features and a few unique features for a lower price.  And offers an IDX Plugin.

Spot-on Connect is unique not just because it is the least expensive, but because it actually builds all the listing pages as new pages onto your Wordpress site.

IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange and  is a real estate property search enabled site that allows the public to conduct searches of approved Multiple Listing Service (MLS) properties in a certain area.  It is the exchange of the MLS Data to the IDX customer giving the IDX customer the ability to display all listings that are on the MLS.  Just like Redfin, Zillow or Trulia.

Having the MLS data on your website can be quite advantageous (see aforementioned business models for proof).  You see when people begin their new home search they want to find a website that will show them all the homes that match a certain set of parameters, that is easy to use, that is easily accessible, and that makes sense.

Often times they will use an IDX enabled Real Estate Website such as Redfin.com, CB.com, KW.com, etc.  But we want them to use your Real Estate Website to start their new home search. They can't do that if you do not have an IDX feed built in to your site.

The other place that new Buyer's and Seller's will go to find what they are looking for is Google, Bing or Yahoo, the search engines.  

They will type in the Keywords that match their particular search criteria, such as:

  • Downtown Condos
  • Waterfront New Construction
  • Big City Homes On a Golf Course
  • 4 Bedroom Homes on Country Club
  • Homes for sale in the City

Many times the results they find will be Realtor.com, the big local brokerages, or Zillow, but often times the results they find are Real Estate Agent Websites that have been Empowered with an IDX Wordpress Plugin.

If the Buyer or Seller finds what they are looking for on a beautiful Wordpress Website that is strategically laid out with the Full Power of the MLS, that Real Estate Agent has instant credibility.  

There are many ways to get IDX on your Real Estate Website.  

  • Iframes
  • Links
  • IDX Plugin for Wordpress

Neither Diverse Solutions or IDX Broker were designed around being an IDX WordPress Plugin.  Both of these companies were designed around being an HTML Website focused IDX provider utilizing Links.  That is why I think there is a Better IDX Wordpress Plugin Available for WordPress Real Estate Sites.

I Recommend Spot On Connect (Disclaimer:  I am an affiliate for this product and make a small commission if you buy it) 

It is my new Favorite IDX plugin.  Well it is the only IDX Plugin for Wordpress that I would use for integrating IDX into a Real Estate Site.  Because it is the only one that was designed Specifically to be a WordPress Plugin.  In addition it has all the features needed to build a world class site at an unbeatable price.  What does that mean for you and I, the consumers?

    • It is Less Expensive because it does not require the provider to run Massive Servers to store all your data 
    • It is Easy To Use because it was designed that way
    • It is Works Better and with less bugs with your Real Estate WordPress Website
    • It creates More SEO Friendly links back to your Website, each custom search that you create generates 10′s to 100′s to 1000′s of SEO Friendly Indexable Links back to your Website and MLS search functionality
    • Backend Management that is In your Website and not another Backend you have to keep track of
    • It Has Multiple Lead Capture Widgets built in
    • It has a Featured Listings Slider Widget
    • It has a built in Quick Search Widget
I will admit that Spot On Connect is not as feature rich as the others I mentioned, and they are less established.  
 
For example:  IDX Broker (Disclaimer:  I am also an affiliate for IDX Broker and make a small commission if you purchase it) comes with an iPad / iPhone App that offers a branded GPS enabled MLS Search App available for download on iTunes.  
 
Spot On Connect is only approved for 11 MLS’s right now but as a way to grow their presence they are offering FREE IDX to the first member of each MLS, this won’t last for long.
Other Spot On Features:
  • Fast and Fresh and Automatic Listings
  • Beautiful Map Search Functionality
  • Featured Property Slider Widget
  • Quick Search Widget
  • Backend Management in your WordPress Dashboard
  • Lead Capture
  • Matches Your Website
  • Easy Neighborhood and Niche Search Page Creation
  • Blog and Categorize Properties
  • SEO All Your listings
  • Publish listings to social media sites
  • All properties linked back to your domain.
  • No iframes 
  • Indexable Property Listings 
  • Automatic Sitemap Generation 
  • Friendly URL’s
If you want the Cadillac of IDX go with Diverse Solutions, if you want heavy on the features and a powerful backend for less go with IDX Broker, and if you want a less expensive option that is full integrated into your Wordpress Website go with Spot-on Connect.
 
If you have additional questions about What is IDX? How IDX Works, what is the best IDX solution for you and your Real Estate Business, or you need help getting it all set up, Please Comment Below and we will follow up with you.
Mike Crosby
Mike Crosby Realty - Placentia, CA
Placentia- Yorba Linda Real Estate - 714-742-2897

thank you for the informative post. 

May 11, 2013 06:06 AM
Daniel Vachon
Navigation Realty® - La Mesa, CA

Nice post, Jason, thanks!
I just want to comment that I'm a 6+ month user of SpotOn for my IDX service on my wordpress (Genesis) site.  Although, like any of the IDX plugins, it may take a little bit of tweaking to get the plugin fitting your site perfectly, the customer support has been nothing but GREAT!  I've had a few questions on things over the past few months.  Upon a quick email, I receive a reply within minutes.  

Nothing but good things to say about Jeff and the crew at SpotOn Connect!  Still working on my site, but here's some proof:  http://www.theLinkedGroup.com. 

-Daniel

Jan 06, 2014 01:54 AM
Jeffrey Hogue
Jeffrey Hogue Realtor Group - Reading, PA
Real Estate Pro in Pennsylvania Since 1993

SpotOn is the most intuitive home search there is on the market. I have tried 5 or 6 in the last several years. This is easily the best one and getting better. http://sponconnect.com

 

Check it out!

Aug 12, 2014 03:14 PM
Arnold Figueroa
Realblvd, LLC - Seattle, WA

Looks like Spot On is clichy. I really like their IDX Map search; it's attractive. How is the back end? I understand you need to export the information to your CRM system. Also, looks like the mobile version of this map search is bugging out. I toured the mobile map search you your sites and Spot On's costomer sites and all are having issues with "No CSS theme loaded" errors. 
Really hoping this gets fixed before I decide to go with Spot On 

Nov 17, 2014 10:26 AM
Tod Franklin
Dallas, TX

Does anyone have an opinion of iHomefinder? I am new to this and trying to figure out the best plugin. Here are my main priorities:

Responsive and runs on all devices

SEO value from my site

Fast enough to not lose clients

Flexibility to customize listings, create featured listings or custom searches

Good Lead Capture/CRM

Does anyone have an unbiased feature chart of the leading solutions?

Nov 22, 2014 10:57 AM
Jerrie Lema

There are literally number of real estate WordPress plugins are available over internet but the best one that I have ever come across is “Simple Real Estate Pack”. It is specifically crafted tool for the real estate businesses websites and incorporates bundles of all the essential tools needed to build such websites with complete ease.

 

Feb 11, 2015 01:36 PM
Arnold Figueroa
Realblvd, LLC - Seattle, WA

Daniel Vachon , what IDX provider did you end up using? I see you're not using Spot On Connect anymore from visiting your website. 

I've been a "customer" with Spot On Connect for a little over 4 months. From my experience, the service has been dissappointing. The IDX doesn't work properly, users cannot log in once they've registered! Defeats the point of having an IDX... Spot On has a great layout and the appeal is great but the support from the team at Spot On has been horrible. Weeks go by without replies. Heck, I still haven't received a response to this issue for over 8 weeks. 

They seem to just given up. Would love to see SOC bought by a realiable company with actual customer "support". SOC has the facade but not the support to retain agents. Guess I'm backing to the hunt.


Apr 20, 2015 10:28 AM