Thread

Hi,

Before purchasing EE, I want to know from the community if it is right for my project -

A real estate directory.

Users pay to list properties that include an image gallery, attachments, google maps, etc.
Each user can also pay (upgrade) to have their listing featured on either the category page (state level) or front page.
Search can be by state, town, or map (radius search from zipcode).
Additionally, I want users to be able to purchase advertising slots around the site.
Also, I would like property listings to be exportable in html (for craigslist, etc.)

Now for visitors, I would like them to be able to create an account and save properties as their favorites - or share/email them to a friend.

Is this possible within EE and is there a developer list somewhere?

thanks!

There’s quite a niche market around real estate listings online - have you researched the space to ensure there isn’t something more targeted?

I’ve looked at doing real estate listing sites in EE, but interfacing with the whole MLS service looked like enough of a pain to make me just turn down the work.

Overall I don’t see anything in your list that says “No way”, but there is enough complexity there that pulling it off will involve some heavy lifting and juggling of many 3rd party addons.

In other words, “probably but not at a cheap price”....😉

Thanks,
I’ve developed many (5+) real estate sites using different platforms - however, this project is my own and I want to integrate some features that are not available with those other scripts (everything from Ez Realty for Joomla to Open Realty).

I was hoping to be able to build something out of bits & pieces rather than have a code/framework with a lot of customization that can’t be updated easily.

If EE still does the 30 day demo, I will try it out.

thanks for taking the time to answer!

EE is the shizzle, but like Boyink! said, if there’s something out there already that does your particular niche out of the box, it will be less time-consuming than rolling your own.

But… not nearly as much fun. 😉

Just so you know, what you’re suggesting borders on SaaS... A complex project like this is normally something a team of developers would normally develop from the ground up. Not to say EE can’t do it (and can certainly give you as a one-man army a huge boost with a reliable and flexible codebase built on CI + add-ons to handle most if not all of your needs listed above), but you’ll have to be prepared to roll up your sleeves a lot.

Unfortunately, EE doesn’t quite ship with an “Internet Success Story” tag just yet! 😉

Lol @ “internet success story”
I’m years away from making any money on this, but I’m in the pre-development research phase.

There are certainly a lot of scripts that almost work, but not quite. So, I have to consider - plug along with one of those scripts until I have enough money to build from the ground up - or kind of start in the ground up direction with EE.

It’s a tough call.

I really want to learn EE, but also know that I will need some help.

Any good developers that are good at developing for EE, but will also build in such a way as to be transparent?

In my experience, EE is not any more difficult to learn or get your head around than basic HTML/CSS. Most EE functions are abstracted away from the underlaying PHP, and if you ever need to, you can get into that.

It’s a very rewarding experience to develop with EE, as you’ll build skills to allow you to actually execute what you have in mind when you think of it, rather than relying on the expensive and trouble of hiring a developer, then explaining to them what you want and hoping you’re communicating clearly enough to make it happen.

“Scripts” isn’t quite what I’d describe EE and related add-ons as… What they do is a little more complex than that. EE is essentially a set of front-end development tools powered by PHP for a MySQL database, a model sometimes called “LAMP”.  Edit: Wiki link is broken, just Google that…

You could write it yourself from the ground up, or hire developers… EE makes it pretty easy to do it yourself and learn along the way.

In terms of support, that’s what these forums are! 😊 There are also a lot of great tutorials out there. I highly recommend Ryan Ireland’s series as a start ($5 per episode, or $60 for the series - worth your investment!). This is how I got my start with my first EE site, which is still running with great success today.

The advantage to doing it yourself is that you’ll understand your process all the way through… You may find that what you have in mind right now needs to pivot a bit before it’s really ready. EE will help you build whatever it is that you have in mind, and provides a very flexible way to do more with it later down the road.

I love having my clients come to me and say, “So we had a thought…” in regards to the site I’ve built for them, and not getting that cold, sinking feeling, because I know I can probably do what they’ll want pretty easily in EE.