Vertical integration is all the rage in technology these days. Apple has built their company around the concept. Other companies are starting to follow suit, like Amazon with their Kindle Fire.
The reason for this trend is to provide more control over the end product. When Apple designs both the hardware and software for a Macbook, they can reach a level of harmony in the device not seen in competing devices.
This is the exact same reason that we have built our own WordPress framework, Equity. We want much more control over the way our themes perform.
Historically, Agent Evolution has built child themes for the Genesis framework. This has been a great experience because Genesis is an amazing framework. It offers a strong platform to develop WordPress websites for businesses in any industry.
The problem is, we don’t build for any industry. We build for one, real estate. When you are a leader in a niche market, you must excel through specialization.
We did this through our Turn Key family of themes. By adding IDX Broker specific code, we delivered real estate themes with the highest level of home search integration.
Through developing the Turn Key themes, it became quite evident that we needed to have more control over the framework. We were going to hit limitations on adding industry specific tools to a child theme. What we needed was a WordPress framework built for real estate.
Enter Equity
Equity is a WordPress framework built for real estate agents and brokers. It is the culmination of the knowledge and experience we have gained in the last 7 years while building WordPress websites and themes for exclusively real estate professionals.
Through Equity, we have attained the level of control that was lacking in building other frameworks.
Industry specific features like IDX integration can now be placed in the framework instead of in the child theme. This will provide much more flexibility for child theme development from us and any other developer looking to build on Equity.
Looking Forward
We understand that there are a lot of Genesis fans out there. We don’t blame you. It is a great framework.
Since we have the best collection of real estate child themes for Genesis, we will keep those themes going. They will continue to be supported just as they have been.
New development will be focused on Equity and Equity child themes, though, as we see the most potential there.
As an IDX Broker company, we will have unprecedented access to IDX resources and development. What will be available in future updates to Equity will be like nothing seen before on WordPress.
Don’t be mistaken, Equity does not require IDX Broker tools. It can be used with other IDX services or no home search at all. But once you experience the tools coming down the line for IDX Broker subscribers, you are sure to want to have them on your website.
Check out a full list of Equity framework features or take the first Equity child theme, Must See, for a test drive.
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