Open Realty Addons

We are pleased to announce the release of our Intelliegent XML Importer. This will allow site admins to import XML/RSS feeds directly into their websites.

For more info http://www.openrealtyaddons.com/index.php?action=page_display&PageID=15

Well, November was a crazy month both personally and professionally. We had some major drama go down and want to assure everyone that we are here to stay and that no matter how bad the bashing and bad-mouthing gets, we will not cave… EVER! So, enough of that, that is in the past and we haven’t looked back.

My wife was in a minor car wreck, and I was left to tend to the three yougins for about a week! Great fun!!! We also lost the family pet the day after Thanksgiving, which was very sad and hard on the kids. We had a small funeral and said our goodbyes… we will miss Rico.

So, on to the lighter side… site visits, new memberships, return users, and addon downloads where through the roof last month and we just want to thank everyone for your continued support. Me and Al both are very grateful. We will continue to offer our services and those out there who need and value what we do.

On a secondary note, I quit my day job to do the web development thing full time. Today was my first full day as a full-timer! I am very excited about the opportunities and challenges that face me, but it is a life long dream that I am finally beginning to fulfill.

UPDATED: (10/23/2008) Since this post was made, along with comments made by Jared, he has retracted his post and apologized for the misunderstanding (you can see his reply to this post). I fully believe that Jared did not mean to sound accusing of Al, if I did not I would not have updated this post, as I believe that when you slip up… as an adult you should be accountable.

Al and Jared have spoken, as well as me and Jared and ammends have been made.

Our WordPress plugin puts Open-Realty into your WordPress blog or page. Install the plugin add a simple {tag} the watch in amazement as WordPress and Open-Realty combine to make a truly impressive Real Estate Listing Manager with blogging capabilities.

Bridging WordPress and Open-Realty together with Real Estate Listings Managemet from a single administrative interface is a major advancement for CMS and Real Estate Listings Management. No more trying to combine a powerful blogging and Content Management System with a Real Estate Listing Manager. Our plugin offers the integration of two of the most powerful and widely used Open Source projects in a single interface.
 

For years realtors have struggled to create a website that looks great and is easy to manage. Combining WordPress and Open-Realty brings the management of such a website to reality. Not only do you now have Content Management with powerful Real Estate listings software, you can also blog with the most respected Open Source blogging software available. And get this a single template to manage it all. That’s right using our plugin there is no need for two separate templates. We’ve taken care of that for you.

I’ve finished the plugin for WordPress to integrate Open-Realty within. I have a few others testing it now. I have a demo site up now www.wp-or.com The plugin once installed will allow you to integrate Open-Realty into your WordPress pages and I’ve also included some tags to let you put listing details with your post.

So if you wanted to write something about a property then add information you use a simple tag that reads a template file and includes that listing detail in your post. See http://www.wp-or.com/page-8.html/ to see it in action. More to follow soon!

We have just completed the launch of the Open Realty Addons Support Forum, located at http://www.openrealtyaddons.com/support. This will be an open forum for technical support, addon discussion and other general topics.

Open Realty Addons is pleased to announce the release of the new addon store, which is now located on the main page of the site. The blog will be residing at www.openrealtyaddons.com/blog. This is in an increasing effort to make the site more user friendly and easy to find the addons you want. You will notice our huge list of addons, both free and commercial. We are working to add even more great addons, so keep coming back.

The new store has many features and benefits and is written from Open-Realty.  Al and I  have constructed a cart system that will allow users to download addons immediately. Other features include a rating system, allowing users to rate addons, a newsletter, to allow you to stay informed about site updates and the latest addon releases. You can also add addons to your favorites and save searches.

We are also opening up the site to developers and resellers. As a developer, you can put your addon on our website and sell it. There are two options to choose from as a reseller,to learn more click here. As a reseller, you can buy addons at great discounts and resell them to your clients. To learn more about the reseller program, click here. 

The cart system is scalable and we have many plans in the near future, including the ability to download the lateset updates by inputting your PayPal transaction number.

To celebrate the grand-opening of the site, we are offering most of our addons at a discounted rate. But these sale prices won’t last forever… so grab you some addons!!!!

Open Realty Addons is proud to announce that Al Smith of HereToHost, LLC has joined our team of developers to bring you some of Open Realty’s most widely used addons. JNT WebDesigns, Inc. and HereToHost, LLC will be partnering in the future development of the Open Realty Addon site and the top addons featured on our site, beginning with the OR XML Feeds. Look for updates and news about the progression of this partnership.

Okay, we want to address a point that is brought up with some frequency, whether to purchase an addon rather than go with a free alternative that claims to function the same way. The first obstacle is that most times it is hard to compare the two… you cannot work with the commercial version unless you buy it. So there tends to be judgment based on one factor…. cost. So, let’s weigh the pros and cons.

The major pro of a free addon… IT’S FREE. This is always a driving factor in todays market.  The cons of free addons are that they probably will not be maintained or updated past their initial release. Some developers create addons for clients, then post them in order to give back to the community. This is a great gesture, and one that we encourage, but typically this means that no further attention will be given to the addon. Also, developers that release free addons will eventually get pulled away from free project to work on paying jobs.

The pros and cons of commercial addons are pretty much the stark contrast of those for the free addons. Commercial addons, if developed by reputable and stable developers will in all likelihood be updated and maintained, so that when new versions of Open Realty are released, and development of PHP and MYSQL advances… the addon will keep pace with these changes. On the flip side, they cost money. So, you must consider what your goals are and where you see your website down the road. Are you building a website to showcase your family pet, or developing a professional real estate website that needs to function properly to justify its existence?

We are working to build a community of Open Realty addons, not just to sell addons… but also advance the development of addons and the interaction between developer and user. Our goal is to broaden the horizons of Open-Realty and help users achieve their goals, and enhance the features that Open-realty offers.

Recently OpenRealty Addons and JNTWebDesigns, Inc. have taken over the Open Realty XML Data Feeds from Ocean Voyage. The OR XML Feeds addon allow users to feed their listings to larger listing sites such as Google Base, PropSmart, Trulia, Zillow, PropBot, Vast, ByOwnerMLS, CityCribs & Properazzi. This allows site owners to increase their traffic exponentially, overnight.

OpenRealty Addons has recently added BackPage to the addons feed list and have plans to add FrontDoor and HotProps in the near future. The feeds can be purchased individually or all together with a discount. To view the OR XML Feeds addon, go to www.openrealtyaddons.com/orxmlfeeds