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We continuously refine and add new features to our websites. See our blog posts below.


AUG 2024 15

Updated property alert emails

15 AUG 2024

We have updated our property alerts emails with a more modern and elegant layout.

Updated property alert email.

They display beautifully on both mobile phones and desktop computers. We have tested them extensively on many different email clients and devices to ensure this is always the case.

Your property alerts are an extremely powerful sales tool for the following reasons:

  • They are the quickest way to present a listing to your database of buyers.
  • They present properties to buyers before other agents. Buyers can deal with multiple agents in an area, and if a property is an open mandate, the agent who presents the property to the buyer first gets the sale. Property alerts are the best way to ensure this agent is you.
  • All you have to do is to upload the listing onto your website and the property alerts are emailed automatically the next morning. You can also send them before then should you wish.
  • They generate more website traffic for you, with people clicking on the email to view the property and then browsing your other properties.

We hope you enjoy your new-look property alerts, please let us know if you have any feedback or questions. 


MAR 2024 04

Admin console password reset

04 MAR 2024

You can now change your password from the login screen of your admin console.

Password reset link on the login page.

When you click the link provided, you get sent an email with a link to reset your password.

You can also change your password when you are logged in as shown below.

Change password in the admin console.

Plus, you can now use your email address to log in, which is easier to remember than a username. 

We recommend that you use either of these methods now to change your password to increase the security of your account. If you need any help with this or have any questions please contact us.


FEB 2024 01

Tags replace showrooms

01 FEB 2024

We have replaced showrooms with tags. Showrooms were used to create a page showing specific properties like ‘Auctions’ or ‘On Show’. You can now do the same with tags. However, unlike showrooms, visitors can use tags as a search criteria on your website, making them a much more powerful feature.

Searching for properties tagged as 'Retirement'.

You create tags in your admin console and then assign them to a property or a development. 

Here are some examples of tags that could be created: 

  • On show
  • Auction
  • New stock
  • Furnished
  • Retirement

Your admin console properties page shows the tags associated with the properties for easy management.

Admin console view of tags the property has.

We strongly encourage all clients who use showrooms to use tags* instead, just email us instructions to switch you over and we will do so. Or, if you don’t have showrooms and would like to start using tags, please let us know.

*Showrooms and tags only available on premium sites


MAY 2023 16

Birthday and home anniversary emails

16 MAY 2023

You can now automatically send birthday and property purchase anniversary emails from the admin console to your clients - a great way to easily keep yourself top of mind.

Research shows that this can help you get repeat business and make you look good. Two things that are very important in the competitive world of real estate. 

A birthday email.


A property purchase anniversary email.

To start sending out these emails, you must set up and enable templates for the birthday and property anniversary emails. Then add dates to your contacts so they start receiving these emails.

This short video will show you how to do that. Here is a quick reminder on how contacts work.

If you need any assistance in setting this up, please contact support.


FEB 2023 08

Portal feed update

08 FEB 2023

In the properties page of the admin console, we now have two types of links to your properties that have been fed to the portals:
  • The reference number link: This is for portals that give us a listing status and their reference number for each property we feed to them. This confirms the property is on the portal and we can link directly to it. Portals with this link are Property24, Private Property, Gumtree, TPN Prop BayImmoafrica and Property360
  • The new search link: This is for portals that don’t give us feedback on or reference numbers for properties we have fed to them. While the property was fed to them it might not always appear, so the best we can do is provide a link to a search page on the portal that should include the property. Portals with this new link are Mitula, Locanto and Trovit
Search link in the Amin Console. Click to view the property on the portal.

This new search link will appear 3 days after the property is uploaded - giving the portal time to import and display the property.  

The new search links and portal icons have also been added to the Owner email - making it look even more impressive. 
Owner email with links to the property on the portals.

We understand that maximising your property’s exposure is vital. That is why we work hard to ensure that your properties show on as many portals as possible (both free and paid). Plus provide you with links to view them there, to confirm they are there and presented correctly. 

If you have any queries, please contact us.


NOV 2022 02

Contacts

02 NOV 2022

We have added a new feature in your admin console called Contacts. This allows you to add contacts, like owners, buyers, sellers, tenants, and then link them to a property.

Below is a quick video explaining how Contacts work.

How to use Contacts.

Our new contacts feature enables you to do the following:

  • Keep all contacts for your properties in one place & have them available to everyone in your agency.
  • Associate many different types of contacts with a property, be it the owner, tenant, seller, landlord, managing agent, or viewing contact.
  • See all the contacts for a property. 
  • See all the properties a contact is associated with.

We would like to hear what you think about this new feature, so please give it a try and let us know if you have any questions or feedback.


OCT 2022 20

Properties Reports

20 OCT 2022

We have created a new properties report feature which is available in your admin console under the Properties drop-down.

With this new feature, you can create reports by choosing the columns (property features) and properties to appear in the report. They can be downloaded, either as PDF or Excel, and can also be saved for future use enabling quick and easy generation of these reports going ahead.

Example of a downloaded PDF sales report.

Examples of reports you could possibly create are:
  • All properties for sale or rent.
  • All properties for sale or rent by a specific estate agent.
  • All residential or commercial properties for sale.
We have created a short video to explain how the reports work - watch it here.

Please note this feature is only available on our premium package.

We know that setting up the reports for the first time can be a challenge, so please contact us to help you with this if needed.


SEP 2022 22

Change agents on Property Brochures

22 SEP 2022

We have added further flexibility to our Property Brochures. When downloading or printing a brochure from the admin console you can now select any agent to appear on it. 

This is for agents who only want their own details to appear on the brochure when they send or give it to clients. 

Please note this does not change the agent associated with the listing on the website.

Change agent on the brochure.

We hope you will find this update useful. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear it.


SEP 2022 15

New Admin Console menu layout

15 SEP 2022

We have made some changes to the menu items in your admin console. This is to accommodate future new menu items. Please note that some of the menu items mentioned below might not be enabled on your website.

The changes are as follows:

  • Showrooms have moved to the Properties drop-down
  • Articles, Links and Documents have moved to a new drop-down called Uploads 
  • For those with multiple logins, Users can now be found under the Settings drop-down
  • The POPI and PPRA settings are also under the Settings drop-down
New Uploads drop-down in Admin Console.

We know in these fast-paced times change can be challenging, so if you ever need any help please contact support@webbox.co.za or call us on 021 460 0456.


JUN 2022 15

Email addresses removed from Lite Sites

15 JUN 2022

Recent industry norms have been to not display email addresses on websites. This is to stop bots and people from copying the email addresses off websites and then sending spam, scamming or phishing emails to them. Phishing emails attempt to get the recipient to enter their email password, enabling the hacking of their email account. 

You will note that Property 24, Private Property and many other estate agency websites do not display email addresses anymore.

We have now implemented it on our lite sites and we will be rolling it out to our premium sites. The delayed roll-out on the premium sites is due to having to update each of them individually. If you have a premium site and want us to make this change as soon as possible, let us know and we will put you at the front of the queue. 

The changes are as follows. All email addresses on the Contact Page, Property Page and Agent Page have been replaced with a link to a pop-up form in which the agent or agency can be messaged

Form to message agent.

When this is filled out the agent or agency will have the message emailed to them.

Email sent to the agent.

A confirmation email is also automatically sent to the sender.

Confirmation email sent to the sender.

A copy of the email will also be saved to the admin console enabling the principal to see the leads and messages sent.

Record of emails sent in the admin console.

We are confident this will work for you, but should you want to keep the email addresses displayed on your website please contact support@webbox.co.za and we will revert your website to do so.


MAR 2022 29

Property Practitioners Act Compliance

29 MAR 2022

 The Property Practitioners Act which recently came into effect requires that the wording “Registered with PPRA” must appear on all your marketing material. In order for your website to comply, we have added a setting in your admin console which you will need to enable in order for this to show. 

Choose the show wording from the dropdown.

Once you have enabled it, the wording will appear in the following places:
  • In the footer of your website
  • On your property alert emails
  • On all your property brochures
Another requirement is to change the title Estate Agent to Property Practitioner. You can also do this in the admin console by editing your agent info and updating the “job title” field.

Edit your job title on the edit agent screen.

If you have any questions about any of this, please contact us.


NOV 2021 30

Development Listings

30 NOV 2021

You can now upload a development to your site in the same way you would upload a property. You will find this new “Add Development” feature on the Properties dropdown in your admin console. 

Doing it this way means you can create and update developments yourself without asking us to do it for you.

Much like the property pages, the development is displayed in a professional and consistent layout.

Developments will show as a menu item on your properties dropdown.

The development upload page allows for images, floor plans, marketing brochures, videos, and show days. You can also allocate agents to the development.

Professional and consistent layout of a development page.

Please note these developments do not feed to the portals and it is only available on our premium sites. 

If your site currently has developments we would suggest you move them to this version. If you would like help moving them, we will be happy to help you move them - please let us know.


OCT 2021 28

Subscriber emails double opt-in

28 OCT 2021

Earlier this year we set up double opt-in for all new property alerts and newsletter subscribers on our client websites. This was to be in line with POPIA requirements. 

How it works is when a subscriber signs up or is added via the admin console, they receive an email with a link for them to confirm they want to sign up.

Double opt-in email.

Once they have clicked the link, they are added to your list of opted-in subscribers. Only opted-in subscribers will receive property alerts or newsletter emails.

In your admin console, you can easily see who has not opted in, with the number of opt-in emails sent to them and the date the last one was sent. 

Non opted-in subscribers in the admin console, with the number of opt-in emails sent and the date of the last one.

You can send an opt-in email to non opted-in subscribers by adding them again in the admin console’s  ‘Add Subscribers’ screen.

Should you wish to disable subscriber double opt-in, you can do so by changing your POPIA compliance settings in your admin console - read more here.

If you have any questions about this or any other website query, please contact us.


OCT 2021 06

Updates to Lite Sites

06 OCT 2021

We are always working hard to ensure we provide our clients with the best websites. To this end, we have recently upgraded our Lite Site template to include the following:

  • An About Us Page (to enable please send us the text and a picture if you have one).
  • An Our Team Page showing your agents (it will appear automatically if you have added agents via your admin console).
  • A map on the Contact Page (we have set this up if your address was presented on the Contact Page).

New Lite Site About Us Page.

See what the changes look like on newlite.webbox.co.za.

We are sure our Lite Site clients will love these new additions to their website  - we look forward to your feedback.

Working for you.

The web-box team


AUG 2021 26

Property Brochure PDF downloads

26 AUG 2021

We have changed the way your brochures work. You can now download them as a print-ready PDF. This makes creating them much quicker and easier. We have also implemented a new much more powerful interface for you to create them in.

New property brochure interface in admin console.


You can now also edit the brochure description and points directly without having to change the property listing. Brochures are now restricted to 1 print page. If the description or points are too long for the allocated area in the brochure they will be truncated. 

The new brochure system works really well on mobile as well. It is very easy to share the PDF via WhatsApp or email on your phone.

Brochure PDF shared on WhatsApp.

Give it a try, we are sure you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. Should you need any help with the new brochures, please let us know.


JUN 2021 30

POPIA and Property Alerts/Newsletters settings

30 JUN 2021

We have implemented emailing only opted-in subscribers by default as per our blog post POPIA and Property Alerts/Newsletters. This ensures that your website is by default POPIA compliant.

The agency principal can override this default through the settings page in the admin console. To remain POPIA compliant this should only be done if consent has been obtained from the subscribers.

Your admin console subscriber screen will now by default show the subscribers your website is set to email. You can toggle this view via the drop-down shown below.

Updates to admin console subscriber screen.

Opt-in subscribers are those who signed up via the front end of your website or confirmed that they want to continue receiving these emails through an email opt-in confirmation like the 3 email opt in process.

To see how each subscriber signed up we have added 3 new columns to the admin console subscriber screen:

  • website opt-in: signed up via front end of website
  • email opt-in: opted in via email confirmation
  • opt-in: true if website opt-in or email opt-in

If you have any questions on this please contact us, we are here to help.


JUN 2021 08

POPIA and Property Alerts/Newsletters

08 JUN 2021

POPIA states that from next month all direct marketing and related emails must be opt-in. 

To adhere to this we will by default, from next month, only send Property Alert and Newsletter emails to subscribers who have signed up via the front end of your website (website opted-in subscribers). Not to subscribers who have been added via your admin console or you have requested us to add for you.

You will be able to override this default and send to everyone by checking a box to say that you wish to email all your subscribers and have consent to do so.

You can now see how many of your subscribers are website opted-in vs not at the top of your admin console’s subscriber screen.

If you want to try to convert admin console added subscribers to opted-in subscribers, we can send them emails asking them to opt-in to carry on receiving Property Alerts and Newsletters. This will be done by sending 3 emails over the next 3 weeks. Be aware that the conversion could be low. There will be a R500 + VAT charge to set up and run this process. Please let us know if you would like us to do this for you.

We will update you on further POPIA compliance for your website in the next couple of days.

If you have any questions on this please contact us.


FEB 2021 18

Feed your properties to Facebook

18 FEB 2021

Don’t forget you can feed your properties from your admin console to your Facebook Business Page. We have seen that this generates significant traffic to our client websites.

Admin console link to feed to your Facebook business page.

You can easily keep track of which properties have been fed to Facebook via your admin console, plus click through to view them there. Just like your feeds to the property portals. Plus a link to the property on Facebook will appear in your Owner Email.

Admin console link to view property on Facebook.

Feeding sold properties to Facebook is the best way to show that you make sales.


A sold property on your Facebook business page.

Don’t forget to update previously fed ‘For Sale’ properties to ‘Sold’ when this happens. This is easily done through your admin console.

If you do not already have a Facebook Business Page, we strongly recommend that you either set up one yourself or get us to do it for you. WEB-BOX has a team of online marketing specialists, contact us to find out more.


MAY 2020 28

Feed all your properties to Gumtree for free

28 MAY 2020

Good news! From the 1st of June web-box clients will be able to automatically feed all their listings to Gumtree for free. Before you could only feed 5 properties to Gumtree at no cost via your web-box website.

All new properties you now upload will be ticked by default to feed to Gumtree - you do not have to do anything. To also feed older properties, select and edit them in your admin console and tick the Gumtree feed box.

Feed your older properties by ticking their Gumtree feed box.

We are sure that in these stressful times that getting all your properties onto Gumtree, with their 1 million a month visitors, without incurring any additional cost will be a great help to you. 

If you want to maximise the exposure your listings get on Gumtree you can buy an optional package from them that automatically bumps up your properties so they will appear at the top of the default search results. This costs R1999 + VAT per month per branch (a 33% discount on the current rate). This significantly increases your exposure. You can email Gumtree at property@protool-support.com for more information.

If you already have a Gumtree subscription in place, you can benefit even more - contact your Gumtree account manager for these details.

If you do not want your properties to automatically feed to Gumtree, please contact us and we will disable this for you.


MAY 2020 06

Filter Property Alerts by city and suburb

06 MAY 2020

Your Property Alerts are even better. Subscribers to your Property Alerts can now filter them by city and suburb. This is in addition to the current property type and price range filters.


Filter Property Alerts by city or suburb.

You can choose which suburbs are available to filter by from the new Property Locations screen.

New Property Locations Screen.

Existing subscribers can also add area filters via a link on their Property Alert emails.

Link to change property alert filters.

We have enabled this for all websites. However, if you do not want it, please contact us and we will turn it off. 

In these challenging times, we want to reassure you that web-box is working hard to improve your website as much as possible. 

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Be kind.


APR 2020 20

Property Alerts not just for new properties

20 APR 2020

With the Covid-19 lockdown in full effect, the chances are you have not been able to get new stock. However, nothing is stopping you from sending out Property Alerts for your current properties to your subscribers. The only way you can reach potential buyers right now is online, and email is the best way to reach as many people as possible.

Here are instructions on how to send out an alert immediately on an older property.

Get your current properties out to all your subscribers.

Now is the perfect time to make sure you have added all your contacts to your subscriber list. If you have a big list, please send it to us to do a bulk upload for you.

Just a reminder not to re-send older properties too often as it might result in some people unsubscribing.

If you need help with any of this, please contact us - we are here to help.


OCT 2019 24

Group Your Subscribers

24 OCT 2019

You can now group your subscribers and send a different newsletter to each group. Some people want to receive your newsletter, but not property alerts (or vice versa) or you might have an investor newsletter and a homeowner newsletter which you would want to send to different people.


Subscriber Groups feature in your admin console.

You can add or remove subscribers from any group.

Add or remove subscribers from a Subscriber Group.

Your subscribers are also able to subscribe or unsubscribe from any group themselves by clicking the link in the property alerts or newsletter email which takes them to the screen below.

Subscribers can add and remove themselves from groups.

We are sure you will love this new feature - please give it a try and let us know what you think.

Please note that newsletters are only available on standard and premium responsive sites.


SEP 2019 19

Track What’s Happening On Your Website

19 SEP 2019

Activities happening on your website can be tracked in the admin console by going to the monitoring menu dropdown. From there the principal can easily see what is happening on the website, what their agents are up to as well as website communications to and from their agents.


Admin console monitoring menu dropdown.

Sent (Records of emails sent by the agency using the website.)
  • Owner Emails - List of all Owner Emails sent from website - showing owners their property on the different portals. 
  • Emailed Properties - All property detail emails sent manually from the admin console. (Not to be confused with Property Alerts.)
Received (Records of emails and SMSes sent through the website to the agency.)
  • SMS Agent - Logs of any SMSes sent to your agents. (If you would like to buy more credit at 65c per credit, please email us.)
  • Enquiry Forms - All Enquiry Forms completed on your website.
  • Property Enquiries - A list of all Property Enquiries received by your agents. 
  • Owner Email feedback - Logs any feedback received from owners to the Owner Email that was sent.
Misc
  • Quick Notes - List of all notes made on properties.
  • Stats - Details a history of your website visitors, as well as where they are coming from. 
We are sure by checking this tab you will be able to run your business even more effectively, allowing you to focus on getting listings and making sales!

Don’t forget that we’re just a phonecall away if you need any help.


SEP 2019 05

Bulk Upload of Email Addresses

05 SEP 2019

Did you know you can send us a list of subscriber email addresses to do a bulk import into your admin console for you? How easy is that!

We do this because we want to help you get your property alerts to as many people as possible. 

The property alerts are an incredibly powerful tool for a number of reasons:

  • Enables buyers to be immediately notified whenever you have new properties for sale.
  • Enables you to present properties to hundreds or thousands of interested buyers. 
  • They happen automatically - no extra work (phone calls or emails) or costs (phone calls) are required to get your new properties in front of all of your interested buyers. 
  • They happen fast - go out automatically at 7am the day after the property is uploaded or you can send them immediately (see how here). Sending them out immediately is especially important if its an open mandate as it could mean you are presenting it to the buyer before another agent … and therefore making the sale! 
  • They ensure that all of your interested buyers are notified - there is no human error where you or one of your agents could forget to present the property to a buyer. 
  • Builds brand recognition - people know you are professional and active.

A property alerts email.

We have noticed that agencies that have great success with their website are often the agencies with a lot of subscribers. These agencies continuously add email addresses to their website subscriber lists.

By using the following 3 simple sources for subscriber/buyer emails you will be surprised at how quickly you can build up your subscriber list and increase your sales. 
  • showhouses
  • when talking to potential buyers over the phone 
  • from your incoming emails
And don’t forget you should be uploading all your properties to your website as soon as you get them - so that they can automatically be emailed to your subscribers.

Please let us know if you have lists to import by contacting us. We love hearing from you so if you have any questions please let us know.


AUG 2019 01

New Feature: Email Properties From The Admin Console

01 AUG 2019

You can now send an email with property information from the admin console instead of having to compose them yourself.

Example of an email sent from the Admin console.

All you have to do is select which properties to include and then personalise the intro paragraph and click send.

Select properties to include in the email.

No more spending of time and effort finding and putting together this information. Instead you can send a personalised email that, while it looks professional, also has the look and feel of one composed by yourself.

All emails that have been sent this way are viewable from the monitoring menu in your admin console, enabling you to keep track of what emails you or your agents have sent.

We are sure this will save you lots of time, so please give it a try by sending yourself a test email and see how easy it is. 

We would love to know what you think about this new tool, please let us know.


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