I am a relatively new web designer and still learning what works best. I am creating a real estate website for a client that will be displaying their properties on the site. What would be the easiest way for the client to be able to add properties/images of properties without having to go back through me to add them in Blocs. Is there something to integrate into Blocs that would simplify this process ?
You will probably need a CMS. In the near future Blocs will be able to export themes direct to Wordpress via a native plugin direct from Norm. There is a third party option out there that does this already, however I have not tried it and heard it was complex.
Alternatively you could look at a solution like Surreal CMS. There is also a Blocs developer creating a CMS called Circle that should be ready before long. Circle should be very simple to set up and operate.
If your client does not need to alter text and simply wants to change images in fixed positions you could also just provide them with FTP access to a specific folder on the server and have them drop in new images of the same size and file name. That would retain all the current formatting and simply change the image. The caveat is that sooner or later they’ll mess up by adding 20MP images with incorrect format ratios and blame you.
Beware that anything involving clients making their own changes is frequently asking for trouble, leading to a lot of support requests they are not always willing to pay for. It needs some thinking through and study to minimise your potential headaches.
2 Likes
Today almost all listing are entered in some kind of MLS/Online database for the public. The agent already has done the work you’re asking about. Normally there are several options to achieve this.
Some require paid options and others are free. You’ll have to check to make sure what-ever service is used you have permission as some prohibit the use of the information.
You can just link to the agents “Listings” page which open in a new page or insert it in a page on the site. There are normally other paid options.
Here’s one of my sites that use a “My Listings” link in the menu. The agents does not have t do anything.
Casey
You could add a real estate listing script to the website and display its front end interface in your Blocs page. One such script can be found HERE and is relatively inexpensive. It also has an option where homeowners can upload their own property details with a paid listing.
Integrating such a script only requires the addition of some HTML code in the page where you want the listings to appear - done via the HTML bric. Once installed, your client can login to the administration area of his website and add and edit listings as he pleases without it affecting the website you’ve created in Blocs.
@hendon52 You keep suggesting script solutions from phpjabbers and I keep forgetting them, then find myself wondering why I am struggling to get things done… Perhaps it’s my background with Rapidweaver always waiting for a stack or in this case bric to come along with a solution.
Beautifully done 
Are you aware of this Casey?
When going to “My Listings”
http://distil.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/mainmenu.cgi?cmd=url+other/createlink/link_receiver.html&no_html_header=true&i=12jdnqbr73ze,18
I wish I could upvote this!
Script solutions are often best because they don’t interfere with the main site. Of course, as you’ve pointed out, there are users that can mess things up by uploading huge images etc. But at least they won’t mess the main site up - just their listing. Anyway, PHPJabbers do have some very useful scripts which are essentially independent web applications. I prefer these types of solutions because they are easily integrated into virtually any web development platform. For professional website developers, it’s probably worth buying their mega bundle. You get all the scripts and you can remove the branding and edit the source code, as well as use on as many sites as you wish. A good deal if that’s your business.
The way around clients using “20 megapixel image files” is to host all photos somewhere like Cloudinary This warehousing of video files (and videos) makes for might quick websites!
2 Likes
I haven’t heard of this before, but I’ll certainly take a look. Do you use this yourself and how does it help your business?
I have used this on a few image heavy websites, and starting to use it on most new websites as well. It’s a CDN for images and video, and has a “free” plan that works just fine for smaller “brochure” sites. Simple to use,
Client just uploads the images here, and the default optimization (that you can set) is applied to them, and just copy and paste the embed URL. For Wordpress, they also have a plugin that automatically uploads all pictures and videos from the Wordpress media folder, so even more client foolproof.
1 Like
I’ve bookmarked them and I’ll take a closer look at what they can do.