Have you been searching for an IDX solution for real estate pro’s? In the world of real estate technology, there are few topics that cause as much confusion for agents as IDX or Internet Data Exchange. Through IDX, brokers and agents can display listings offered by their MLS on their website; however, finding a solution that offers an easy-to-use back-end dashboard with a beautiful interface for consumers is not always easy–in fact, it can be quite overwhelming due to complexity and range of options offered by IDX providers.
IDX OPTIONS I’VE TRIED
As a broker owner and Realtor, I’ve tried many different solutions ranging from IDX Broker, Real Geeks, Ihomefinder and Diverse Solutions. Ultimately, there was always one or two functionality items missing and more importantly, these options did not provide the visual appeal that I was looking for. After many years of trial and error, I came across a company called Showcase IDX and as of today, I have six IDX feeds through their solution that provide MLS access to visitors across six different websites.
WORDPRESS FRIENDLY SOLUTION
What I’ve found is that no provider has a perfect solution with every single option that I want, but with Showcase IDX, the WordPress connection is seamless and quick, the dashboard is very user friendly, the customer support (provided by an email ticket system or when needed by phone) is outstanding and the display of listing data is absolutely gorgeous. My clients love the look of how the listing data is displayed and after switching to Showcase IDX, my visitor sign-ups have increased dramatically. The Showcase platform is definitely an IDX solution for real estate pro’s!
FINAL THOUGHTS
My advice to agents with WordPress sites is to compile a list of providers who can offer solutions for your MLS, then visit example sites offered by those providers–talk to agents who actually use the IDX solution and try to discover what positive and negatives they’ve experienced. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but for now, I’m quite happy. To view the Showcase IDX solution in action, check out the home search pages of this site or view one of my niche sites:
I’m certainly no expert on this subject, but I’ve had plenty of experience with a number of different providers–feel free to reach out if you have a question.
