Latest Updates from December 2022
Keep up to date with the latest updates from December 2022, including features and functionality implemented over the last month
Are you up to date?
If you haven't already, be sure to read the November 2022 updates!
First, some bad news...
I received an email informing me that the free-to-use Zoopla API, which this website relies upon heavily, is moving away from a free tier structure, and will be charging £950 p/m +VAT from January 2023.
After putting in as much work as I have recently, and the plans I had moving forward, this was a very painful read.
I replied asking if there is any potential for exceptions, as I was forwarding all traffic to Zoopla, they have no affiliate referral scheme, and that I had very little hope of monetising the website to even a 10th of what they were proposing to charge per month for access.
I was promptly told "no".
This means I'll be forced to find and implement a workaround if this project is going to not only succeed, but exist at all.
December 2022 Updates
This month has been all about adding support for all UK countries, including N.Ireland, Scotland, and Wales on derelictproperty.net.
With the website being launched with bare-bones functionality in early-mid November, I have been adding features regularly ever since.
Features and functionality added
One of the biggest and most important pieces on functionality implemented was the importing of properties from not just England, but the whole of the UK.
With properties from 4 corners of the UK now being imported, the ability to filter by country was a priority in order to help you find derelict property for sale.
Features and functionality added this month were:
- Advertise with us page, including contact form
- Retrieving and storing property listings from N.Ireland, Scotland, & Wales
- The ability to filter properties by country
Some example property listing queries
Below we provide some example queries that help show how useful the new filtering and ordering functionality can be.
Find derelict property for sale by country
- Cheap derelict property for sale in England
- Cheap derelict property for sale in Scotland
- Cheap derelict property for sale in Wales
Plans for January 2023
With access to the Zoopla API effectively being inaccessible, I'm going to need to plan, build, and launch a workaround. So that is the highest priority right now.
I like to build things with an agile mindset, this means that features and functionality will be developed and released regularly, and to no strict timetable.
The following table highlights items that I would like to implement in the coming months.
| Feature | Description | Tier | Priority | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoopla API access workaround | I need to find a way to create property listings from Zoopla | All | High | Doing |
| Blog functionality | The ability to create and publish basic blog posts, with categories | All | High | Done |
| England property listings | Source and display England property listings | All | High | Done |
| Filter and paginate listings | With listings being collated, the ability to filter them is required | All | High | Done |
| N.Ireland Property Listings | Source and display N.Ireland property listings | All | High | Done |
| Wales Property Listings | Source and display Wales property listings | All | High | Done |
| Scotland Property Listings | Source and display Scotland property listings | All | High | Done |
| Filter Property Listings by Country | Once all country listings are being retrieved and stored, provide ability to filter by country | All | High | Done |
| Member signup | Members can signup to receive benefits (to be defined) | Member | High | Todo |
| Email newsletter | Members can opt-in to receive regular property email updates | Member | High | Todo |
| Save filters | Members should be able to save filters | Member | High | Todo |
| Instant email notifications | Premium subscribers should be able to set up instant email notifications | Premium | High | Todo |
| Guest posts | Experts can publish blog posts | Expert | Medium | Todo |
| Submit property listings | Estate agents should be able to submit property listings | Service | Medium | Todo |
| Building contractors | Reputable, specialist and experienced derelict property contractor advertisement listings | Service | Medium | Todo |
| Ad-free experience | Users can signup to have an ad-free experience | Member | High | Todo |
