Real Estate Website Design

Approximate budget: Maximum $2000 Time frame: 6 weeks from completion of bidding. I am expanding the functionality of my existing web-based rental property business. This project is essentially the creation of a fully customized clone similar to some existing real estate advertising sites, customized to fit with my current and future business plan. The site must function to replace the current website I am using, with major improvements and added function specified below, but the scripts must also function as a general United States nationwide geographically searchable real estate database of user submitted properties. The site should function on shared servers. I'm not a stickler on which coding language you use, but the more user-friendly and easier to modify the better and it has to look and function like my design specifications. To let you know for bidding purposes, this project involves creation of an admin module as well as the improvements listed below, proficiency at website design, and programming required for the functions I have described in detail. I would like to have commented code when applicable; I must own the source code generated, and it must not infringe on any existing copyrights. The successful bidder must agree to demo the fully functioning site on a test server for me to evaluate its functionality and design prior to receiving payment and to transfer the site to my server. Here's my project for you: The existing site is [login to view URL] I created this site myself, but I need the site you make to have the following improvements: cleaner look with better navigation, user accounts, user and admin messaging, user placed multiple listings, user uploaded photographs, admin module to manage content advertising and accounts, a searchable database, an automatic aerial mapping function based on listing addresses, and a map based search tool. The sites like which I would like it to function are: [login to view URL] [login to view URL] [login to view URL] (especially user login features) My site needs to be simpler (less home page links and directories) but with the clean look of [login to view URL] My site needs to be cleaner looking, with more aesthetic appeal, but similar in functionality to www.homeaway.com. Thank you for your consideration for this project. For the successful bidder for this job, there is the potential for additional work in the future which will involve minimal changes to the format, look, and function of the website utilizing the same scripts to rapidly generate other websites with broader appeal than my current business, or other identically functioning niche websites. Project Details: The purpose of this project is to completely redesign my existing real estate marketing website to improve the aesthetics, automaticity, ease of navigation, and functionality of the site. This will involve the creation of a new website which will be basically a clone of existing searchable, user submitted, rental property database websites with a few custom features. The site will be a searchable database. Users must be able to create accounts using custom data entry forms online. These forms will include standard name and contact information fields to be created and specified in admin module. After users have created accounts, they will have a greeting page after logging in. This page must contain a message inbox/outbox, a section which displays the listings they have placed on the website if any, and a section which contains favorite listings placed by other members which they can add automatically to this display section by clicking a button in advertisements when browsing or searching ads. Users must be able to send text messages to and receive messages from admin. Standard features for user accounts such as password retrieval should be integrated. Listings: Users must be able to place multiple individual listings. Listings will be of multiple types, selected at hte time of placement. Users may place free listings for which user contact information is not displayed. Alternatively, users may place paid listings which are paid for monthly/yearly, etc. based upon pricing and intervals of time which are defined in the admin module. The Website must have an integrated payment system which can securely obtain the user's billing information and which can utilize recurrent billing on fixed schedules such as monthly or yearly. This payment system and user payment status must coordinate with user priveleges such as messaging, display of contact information, and display of additional graphic content. Once a user chooses which type of listing they want to place, they are taken to another custom data entry form screen with fields such as property location (city) (alternatively defined automatically by zip code entry), state, street address, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, square footage, amenities (checkboxes), etc. There should also be a calendar form in which the user may select or deselect dates of availability for rental, and specify pricing for rental based upon a weekly and/or daily rate, specify a minimum number of days for each rental. The user must also be able to return to this screen in the future in order to edit any information, especially pricing or calendar availability. Admin should also have the ability to edit any of these fields in individual user listings. Also, users must have the ability to upload their own images to the server. Users should have the ability to select multiple image files to be uploaded simultaneously. After which, picture files should be automatically resized to a maximum 640x640 or other (admin defined if possible) resolution. The ads will then appear as thumbnails in the refreshed webpage for the user to view. Users and administrators must be able to add, delete, reorder, and use checkbox to assign as primary photo for all photos in the listing. Users should also be able to access a calender for which they may assing dates of availability or unavailability to appear under a calendar tab on the listing page. Once listings post they will appear in the user's "listings" section of their personal login page. They may return to and edit or remove these at any time. When the user clicks on the primary photo or title of their own or another user's listing, they will see the listing page. The listing page will retain all tabs and menus of the website as will all pages of the website. The listing should include a relatively large primary photo in the upper left of the listing page cleanly inside of a border, theoretically of the exterior view of the home. Information about the location, bed and bath, amenities, pricing and all other user entered data entry fields will appear to the right of that photo. An optional contact information section should exist for users who have purchased premium or monthly payment packages. below those fields will be a section where thumbnails of additional photos uploaded by the user will appear. These may be maximized in new individual windows to maximum size and resolution by clicking on the thumbnail. Additionally the listing should contain a Map section under additional photos. This map may be tied to Googlemaps or another functional mapping engine that takes property address from the listing and automatically generates a map of that location, default zoom to a level that shows street names and intersections. Additionally, there should be the optional choice for Admin on the backend to choose a default address, from which the distance of all properties will be displayed next to their mapped locations, as well as an admin defined text tag explaining from what location that distance is displayed. Finally, the listing should have buttons at the top and bottom for which users may choose to rent, or ask a question about the property. Questions will generate messages to the admin for free listings and to the property owner for paid listings. Rent selections will direct the user to a calendar page showing pricing and dates of availability, where they will be able to select desired range of dates, see the required payment, and submit their request for rental. For free listings, requests will go to the admin message center to be approved. For paid listings, requests will go to the property owner's message center and optionally automatically forward the information to personal email as well. The database should have standard search functions such as location, proximity to a particular zip code, selectable number of bedrooms/bathrooms, square feet, etc. similar to what would be found on www.rentals.com. Search results should appear in one of two ways as selected by the user. Either as a vertical stacked page of listings (user can select how many results per page) with a small (like 2.5cm x 3 cm) thumbnail picture to the left and text description on the right, or as columns of larger thumbnails (like 3.5 cm x 5 cm) in columns three listings wide with brief descriptions of properties and pricing below thumbnails. Search results should be stratified according to user selected criteria such as price, proximity, square footage, etc. in similar fashion to other real estate database search results. I would also like for properties to be searched with a map tool, which places all properties listed in a particular zip code on the map as pushpin icons, and users may mouse over the pins to see a small window with bedroom number, bathroom number, square footage, and monthly, weekly, and daily rental rate. Then clicking on the particular pushpin icon will direct the user to that listing. This project must involve the creation of an ADMIN module which I or other designated admin users may log into. Admin must have the following basic functions: -edit user profile text and contact information -create or remove fields from user profiles and listings -make user profile fields from the database visible or invisible in all listings -designate certain fields such as contact information fields to be visible to a particular user only after permission granted by admin, or permission granted automatically by the website after payment of a fee -add, delete, reorder, or reassign as primary photographs associated with listings -send messages to users which appear in a message box after login and which are automatically forwarded to user's email address. -edit text fields, photos, and banners which appear on the website's primary pages such as homepage, frequently asked questions, contact information, etc. -send messages and/or mass emails to all registered members -suspend, remove, or reinstate user accounts -modify payment system amounts to be paid for different types of access or priorities on the site -assign or remove featured listing status to listings to appear on the home page in a time delayed, rotating fashion, also to be able to force featured listing types to the top of search results. -to view site traffic statistical information -other minor features to be elaborated upon as the project progresses I prefer to escrow portions of the payment for the job on a weekly basis as project deadlines are met, files are transferred, and site features become operational on the test server. Thank you for reading my project description. Please message me with any questions. I look forward to working with you on this exciting project. I will be happy to help the programmer with any design issues, and I can quickly draw up schematics of page layouts and site features to communicate my ideas to you. This should be a fun collaboration. -Adam Webmaster [login to view URL] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Additional Info: Please submit links to portfolio or websites designed for other clients in the past along with your bids. Especially sites with similar functions i.e. rental/real estate sites with search functions, map functions, user accounts, photograph submission, etc. Thanks, Adam