Propstack × WordPress
Properties from Propstack on your own website. A comparison of three methods.
The properties are listed in the CRM, the property descriptions are ready, and the listings are live on the portals – only your own WordPress website is lagging behind. There are three technical ways to integrate Propstack. They differ significantly in terms of cost, complexity and whether Google can find your properties at all.
3 ways to create your own property page
01
iFrame
Installed in minutes – invisible to Google
02
OpenImmo Export
ZIP via FTP – indexable, standard data set
03
API integration
Straight from Propstack – the most data fields
Recommendation for Propstack users: API
The short answer
The iFrame can be set up in minutes, but makes your properties virtually invisible to Google. The OpenImmo Export transfers the files as a ZIP file to your server via FTP and generates genuine, indexable pages – but requires server access and only provides the standard set of data. The API integration retrieves data directly from Propstack, is quickest to set up and provides the most data fields. For estate agents who want to be found via their own website, the API is usually the best choice.
01 / Why have your own website?
Portals provide reach. But above all, yourself.
Anyone making an enquiry via ImmoScout24 or Immowelt will have looked at twenty other properties beforehand and rarely remembers the estate agent’s name. Your own website is the only channel that belongs to you.
Important to bear in mind: Your own website does not replace the portals; it complements them. Portals generate enquiries, whilst your own site builds brand awareness, improves local search rankings and provides sales pitches.
Local visibility
Search queries such as „buy a detached house in Leipzig Südvorstadt“ lead to property portals – but also to estate agents’ websites with well-designed property pages. Every property listing is an additional indexed page on your domain.
Landlord acquisition
Sellers should check how an estate agent presents properties before instructing them. An empty or out-of-date property listing costs business.
No duplicate data entry
Without an integration, you’ll have to update each property twice: in the CRM and in WordPress. This takes time and leads to errors as soon as a price changes.
02 / Method 1: The iFrame
Quick to install. But from an SEO perspective, it’s a dead end.
An iFrame is a window on your website through which content from an external page is displayed.
You copy a code snippet, paste it onto a page – that’s it. The object list appears, and it continues to be maintained elsewhere.
Technical
How it works
The browser loads your page and, within it, a second, standalone document from a third-party domain. To the visitor, it looks like part of your page. To search engines, however, it is not: the content remains associated with the source domain.
Advantages
| Advantage | What this means in practical terms |
|---|---|
| Ready for immediate use | Paste the code and save it. No plug-in, no configuration, no import. Often done in under ten minutes. |
| No running costs | Can usually be used without an additional licence, provided the provider allows embedding. |
| No technical requirements | No FTP access, API key or specific version of WordPress is required. |
| Always up to date | The content comes live from the source; there is no import cycle that might fall behind. |
| No maintenance required | Updates and bug fixes are the responsibility of the provider of the embedded page. |
Arguments against the iFrame
- No custom URLs. All items are located under a single address on your website. You cannot link to an individual item, promote it in a newsletter or get it to rank on Google.
- No title tag, no meta description. The building blocks that Google uses to construct a search result are missing for every object.
- Design inconsistency. Fonts, colours and spacing are taken from the external document and can usually only be adjusted to a limited extent.
- Load time and Core Web Vitals. A second document is loaded, often along with its own scripts. This causes a measurable drop in performance.
- Data protection. When the page loads, the IP address and browser data are sent to the third-party provider, which usually requires consent via the cookie banner. If someone clicks away, they will not see any content.
Conclusion: An iFrame is the right choice if you need a temporary solution whilst the actual website is being developed. If you use it as a permanent solution, you’ll be throwing away all the SEO value of your content.
03 / Method 2: The OpenImmo export
A tried-and-tested industry standard. A bit cumbersome from a technical point of view.
OpenImmo is an XML format agreed upon by the German property sector over twenty years ago.
Almost any estate agent software can export it, and almost any property plugin can import it. The standard acts as a bridge between systems that are not interconnected.
Technical
How it works
In Propstack, under „Administration“, create a new portal of the type ‘FTP: OpenImmo’ and enter the FTP or SFTP login details for your web server, usually with a destination directory such as /openimmo/. Propstack packs the objects, along with their images, into a ZIP archive and uploads it there. A WordPress plugin unpacks the archive, reads the XML file and creates a post in WordPress for each object.
Advantages
| Advantage | What this means in practical terms |
|---|---|
| Genuine, indexable pages | Each item becomes a separate piece of WordPress content with its own URL, title and meta description. Google indexes it as your content. |
| Manufacturer-independent | If you switch from Propstack to onOffice, FlowFact or JustImmo, the data flow remains the same. Only the export needs to be set up again. |
| Wide range of plugins | As almost every property plugin supports OpenImmo, you are free to choose how you want it to be displayed. |
| Regardless of CRM availability | Once imported, the data is stored in WordPress. A disruption at the CRM provider will not cause your property pages to go down. |
| Complete design freedom | The objects are standard WordPress content and can be freely customised using the theme, page builder and CSS. |
Arguments against OpenImmo
- Server access is required. You will need FTP or SSH credentials and a writable directory. With managed hosting, this is not always straightforward, and the login details are subsequently stored in Propstack.
- Limited data coverage. OpenImmo transfers the data as specified by the standard. Any fields that you maintain additionally in Propstack will be lost in the process.
- No multilingualism. The standard does not provide for parallel language versions of the object data.
- Troubleshooting is a pain. If nothing arrives, it could be down to the path, file permissions, an export that hasn’t been carried out, or the extraction process. There are many links in the chain.
- Time delay. The export runs at intervals. A price change does not appear on the website straight away.
04 / Option 3: The API connection
The most direct route. And usually the best choice.
An API is a programming interface: Propstack provides the property data, and your website retrieves it directly.
No need to go via files, no server in between. Propstack offers this interface in versions 1 and 2.
Technical
How it works
You generate an API key with read-only permissions in Propstack and enter it into WordPress. The plugin then uses this to retrieve the objects and save them to the WordPress database. From then on, they are standard WordPress content that you can design and optimise just like any other page. The import then runs automatically in the background or at the click of a button.
Advantages
| Advantage | What this means in practical terms |
|---|---|
| Set up in minutes | All you need is an API key. No FTP details, no export portal, no server configuration. |
| Significantly more data fields | The Connector for Propstack comprises around 270 fields, including all images – far more than the OpenImmo standard stipulates. |
| Genuine, indexable pages | As with OpenImmo: a unique URL for each property, a unique title tag, a unique meta description, and no iFrame. |
| Fewer sources of error | The chain is short. If something goes wrong, it’s almost always down to the key or its settings – a quick check, a quick fix. |
| Data flow in both directions | What OpenImmo cannot do: Enquiries submitted via the contact form can be sent back to the CRM via the API. |
| Do not hand over your login details | An API key with read-only access is far less of a security risk than stored FTP credentials for your web server. |
Arguments against the API
- Manufacturer-specific. The key only works with Propstack. If you change your brokerage software, you will need a different connection.
- Dependence on the interface. If the provider changes the API, the plugin must be updated accordingly. A well-maintained plugin is therefore more important than it is with OpenImmo.
- Fewer plugins to choose from. There are simply fewer providers that support the Propstack API directly.
05 / Direct comparison
All three ways At a glance.
An overview of the key differences. The first four lines are usually the most important.
| Criterion | iFrame | OpenImmo Export | API integration |
|---|---|---|---|
| A separate URL for each object | No | Yes | Yes |
| Indexed by Google as your content | No | Yes | Yes |
| Title tag and meta tag per object | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cost of setting up | very short, minutes | moderate, server access required | minimal, just an API key |
| Technical requirements | none | FTP or SFTP access, writable directory | API key with read permissions |
| Scope of data | depending on the provider | limited to the standard | the largest, around 270 fields |
| Fully customisable design | hardly | in full | in full |
| Effect on charging time | negative, external document | neutral, local content | neutral, local content |
| Consent required via the cookie banner | as a rule, yes | no | no |
| Multilingual property details | depending on the provider | not provided for | possible |
| Enquiries back into the CRM | no | no | possible |
| When changing CRM systems | new embedding | The data path remains the same | New connection required |
| Timeliness of the data | live | Export interval | Import interval or at the touch of a button |
| Common source of error | Cookie banner blocks display | Paths, permissions, export not working | Key has expired or has the wrong authorisation |
| Recommendation | only as a stopgap | It’s good to know when a change of CRM system is on the cards | Standard recommendation for Propstack users |
The rule of thumb: If you’re planning to switch your estate agency software in the medium term, there’s a lot to be said for OpenImmo. If you stick with Propstack, there’s hardly any argument against the API – it’s quicker to set up, provides more data and doesn’t require any server login details.
06 / The practical approach
The plugin „Connector for Propstack“.
At laOlaWeb, we are developing a WordPress plugin that implements precisely this third approach: a direct link between Propstack and your website.
It is listed in the official WordPress directory and can be used indefinitely in its free version. The plugin retrieves your properties via the Propstack API, imports them into the WordPress database and displays them as a list of properties, with filters and a detailed view – as standard WordPress content on your own domain.
You can find a comparison with other Propstack plugins on our Comparison page.
Connector for Propstack
- Propstack API, version 1 or 2
- Around 270 data fields, including all images
- List of items, filters and detailed view
- Your own domain, e.g.
ihre-domain.de/objekte/ - No iFrame
- Free version in the WordPress directory
07 / For estate agents’ offices
It’s not just the plugin. The complete estate agent’s website.
A plugin solves the data issue. It does not, however, answer the question of whether your website is attracting customers. That is why we are not just plugin developers, but first and foremost a WordPress agency – and we build complete websites for estate agents.
laOlaWeb is a web agency based in Leipzig that has specialised in WordPress and WooCommerce for over ten years. We are an official Elementor partner with experience dating back to 2018; we also work with Avada and develop our own plugins – the Connector for Propstack is one of them.
As a certified Google Partner for Google Ads and with our own SEO expertise, we take visibility into account right from the start.
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Tobias Ebert
Managing Director · laOlaWeb