Scope your real estate IDX website.

Start with the requirement, not a plugin.

IDX is not a universal switch that makes every listing available on any website. NAR’s IDX overview ↗ describes participants authorizing limited electronic display of listings by other participants. Your brokerage, MLS and selected provider must confirm what applies to your project.

Use this sheet to turn “I want property search” into questions a provider can answer. It is a scoping tool, not an eligibility decision, integration tutorial or promise that a particular feed is included.

Choose the visitor journey first.

• Brand and enquiry website: explain your expertise, services and approved property examples; visitors contact you directly. Record whether on-site listing search is actually essential.
• Link to an existing search destination: identify the exact destination and who maintains it. Confirm permission to link and how visitors return or enquire. A link is not an on-site feed.
• Approved on-site search: identify the MLS coverage, eligible provider, functions and approvals. Confirm what the existing website can support before agreeing the integration.

None of these choices automatically connects property enquiries to a CRM. Record that connection as a separate requirement.

Give each confirmation an owner.

Keep seven fields for every row: question → current answer → MLS/provider source → confirming role → evidence/date → open question → effect on launch.

• Market and MLS: which geographic coverage and listing types are needed? Which organizations control the data?
• Broker approval: who can confirm participation and sign the applicable agreement?
• Provider and website: which vendor is eligible, and which integration method does it support for this site?
• Domain and display: what attribution, disclaimers, branding and domain approval must the provider confirm?
• Visitor functions: which search filters, detail pages or saved-search functions are actually required and supported?
• Enquiries: where will a request go, what property reference accompanies it, and who follows up?
• Costs: who bills each setup, subscription, usage or MLS-related charge, and what is already bundled?
• Exit and renewal: what ends if the vendor, brokerage or subscription changes?
• Readiness: which approval or check is outstanding, who resolves it, and does it block the chosen launch scope?

The CSV is a manual recording sheet. Replace TO_CONFIRM only with an answer supported by the actual provider or responsible party. Keep account credentials and customer records out of it.

One MLS example—not a national rule.

IRES’s broker FAQ ↗ says agents can participate with signed managing-broker approval and an approved third-party vendor or web developer. It also directs brokers to ask the vendor how fees are passed on. That is a concrete example of why the approval and billing questions matter, not a statement that every MLS uses the same process.

Ask your own MLS and vendor for their current requirements. Do not copy another market’s permissions, fees or timetable into your quote.

Know the difference between an answer and readiness.

Illustrative incomplete row: “Our current provider probably supports this” has no confirmed coverage, integration method or approval owner. Keep it TO_CONFIRM.

Illustrative documented row: “The responsible brokerage role confirmed the required approval route; the selected vendor supplied its supported method and written charges.” Record the actual evidence and date when available. That row may resolve a planning question; it still does not prove the website integration has been tested.

Before launch, agree the checks for listing display, mobile use, required attribution and the enquiry destination. Never mark a live connection passed because a worksheet was filled in.

Put the answer into the website scope.

Separate essential launch work from optional search features. If an approval is still open, agree how it affects the launch instead of quietly assuming it will arrive.

HomePage.Studio assesses IDX against the actual provider, permissions and agreed scope. This worksheet does not certify us with any MLS or make a feed part of the website starting price.