Professional Free Until 31 Dec 2026: What Connecting Switches On
Three browser tabs open right now, and you're on the one with the Professional column. Your current setup has a plugin or a hosted page doing the job, and before you commit to a change you want to know what FW Real Estate Professional actually adds. That comparison is worth running carefully. Professional normally costs $199/yr. It's free through 31 Dec 2026 for any WordPress site that connects to fastw3b.com, and it's a set of add-ons stacked on top of the free plugin already in the WordPress.org directory.
Here's what this post covers:
- What Professional adds to the free plugin, item by item
- How the connect mechanic works (no form, no code, granted automatically)
- Three of those add-ons running on a plain theme so you can see the real output
- What the permanence clause means for decisions you make before 31 Dec
What is FW Real Estate Professional?
FW Real Estate Professional is the subscription tier of the FW Real Estate WordPress plugin that activates all available add-ons (MLS and IDX data import, agent profiles, interactive map search, and saved-search email alerts) for one site, at a normal price of $199/yr. During the free-until-31-Dec-2026 programme, it's granted automatically at the moment a site connects to fastw3b.com.
What the Professional column actually lists
The free plugin covers the core listing workflow: unlimited properties on your own domain, your own database, rental listings in the free download, custom fields, search filters, and a widget-ready archive page. No subscription is needed for any of that.
Professional sits on a different layer. It's a set of add-ons, each with its own toggle in the plugin settings. The ones that matter most to an agency site:
- MLS and IDX import: a live feed of property data from an external source, connected to your listings. This is an add-on.
- Agent profiles: a separate post type for each agent, pulling in the listings assigned to them. This is an add-on.
- Map view: an interactive property map with listing pins and summary cards. This is an add-on.
- Saved-search alerts: a visitor stores their search, and your site emails them when a matching listing appears. This is an add-on.
None of those four are in the free download. That's the honest answer to the tab-comparison question.
If none of those four features apply to what you're building right now, the free plugin is likely all you need. Professional is worth switching on if at least one of them is on your list for this year.
How connecting grants Professional, and what $199/yr normally means
The FW Real Estate product page lists Professional at $199/yr per site. That's the standard rate: one site, all add-ons, one year. A site connecting after 31 Dec 2026 pays that to activate any add-on.
Before that date, the process is one action: install the free plugin, open the Settings panel, and connect your site to fastw3b.com. At the moment the connection goes through, Professional is granted. No form to fill. No confirmation email. No code to enter. The plugin verifies the site and the subscription activates in the same step.
Holding $199/yr in mind as you read this matters. That's not a discounted rate. It's the full tier, at no charge, for the duration of the free programme.
Which of those four add-ons is actually worth connecting for? The free plugin is at wordpress.org right now, and connecting your site to fastw3b.com before 31 Dec 2026 grants Professional, normally $199/yr, at that moment with no form, no code, and no confirmation email. Once it's granted, you can see which of the four toggles are available before switching any on; anything you switch on before 31 Dec stays active after that date under the permanence clause; and your listings stay in your own WordPress database however the subscription runs. The install is free, the connect is one step in the plugin settings, and the decisions you make before 31 Dec hold after it. Install the free plugin and connect before 31 Dec →
Professional is every add-on, each still labelled as one
After your site receives Professional (normally $199/yr, free through 31 Dec 2026), the plugin's add-on settings look the same as before. Each item still has its own toggle and its own label. MLS and IDX import is an add-on with its own toggle. Agent profiles is an add-on. Map view is an add-on. Saved-search alerts is an add-on.
What Professional changes is access. Normally, switching any of those toggles requires an active subscription. With Professional granted, you can switch any of them on at any point before 31 Dec 2026.
The labelling matters for one practical reason: if you decide later to stop using an add-on, or the subscription lapses at some future point, the core plugin and your listings database are unaffected. Your listings data belongs to you, stored in your own WordPress database.
Three of them running on a plain theme
Agent profiles, map view, and saved-search alerts were each tested on Twenty Twenty-Four (WordPress's standard theme) with no custom CSS and no page builder. Here's what each actually produces:
Agent profiles create an Agents post type in the admin panel. Each agent gets a name, headshot, contact details and a short biography. The single-agent template pulls their assigned listings in automatically, no shortcode required, and the layout fits the theme's column width without adjustments.
Map view outputs an interactive property map using the coordinates stored against each listing. Each property shows as a pin; clicking opens a summary card with the photo, price and a link to the full listing. It runs on the listings archive without requiring a layout change.
Saved-search alerts let a visitor store their active search (by location, price range, bedrooms, or any custom field) and receive an email when a new listing matches. The subscription is managed from the visitor's account area, and the default email template is plain text, editable in the plugin settings.
All three ran on Twenty Twenty-Four without theme conflicts or layout breaks. The demo site uses custom styling. The plain theme output is closer to what your own site will actually produce.
What stays on after 31 December
This is the part of the deadline that tends to get missed. The cut-off is for switching add-ons on, not for keeping them running. Any add-on you switch on before 31 Dec 2026 stays active after that date, for as long as your Professional subscription (normally $199/yr) remains active.
In practice: connect in October, switch on all four add-ons, and those four are still running on your site in February. You haven't paid to activate them during the free period.
The reverse is also true: an add-on you haven't switched on by 31 Dec 2026 would require a paid subscription to activate after the deadline. So the decision you're making now isn't only about what you need this week. It's about what you might want in the next few months that you could switch on before the deadline and keep.
You don't have to switch everything on immediately after connecting. You have until 31 Dec 2026 to decide which add-ons your site actually needs, and the permanence clause applies to every one you switch on before that date.
The one thing to check before you connect
Connecting makes sense if your site is on WordPress, if at least one of the add-ons fits what you're building, and if you're ready to run the plugin going forward. That covers most agency sites reading this.
The honest caveat: if your current listings live on a hosted platform or inside a rented widget, and moving them would disrupt a client-facing site during a busy letting period, don't rush the migration just to hit the deadline. The free migration service covers five sites a month and it's there to make the move manageable. Timing it for a quieter window will almost always produce a cleaner result than moving under pressure.
We'd tell any site owner in this position the same thing: connect when you're ready to use at least one of the add-ons, not only to hold the deadline. If the timing is right, install the free plugin at wordpress.org/plugins/fw-real-estate and connect before 31 Dec 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does Professional include every add-on, or are some excluded? Professional (normally $199/yr, free through 31 Dec 2026 on connection) includes every add-on in FW Real Estate at the time of subscription. Currently that's MLS and IDX import, agent profiles, map view, and saved-search alerts. No add-on sits outside the subscription.
How does connecting work, step by step? Install the free plugin from wordpress.org/plugins/fw-real-estate, open the plugin's Settings panel, and connect your site to fastw3b.com. At the moment of connection, if it happens before 31 Dec 2026, Professional is granted automatically. No form, no code, no email confirmation.
If I connect now but don't switch on all the add-ons right away, can I switch them on later? Yes, up to 31 Dec 2026. Any add-on you switch on before that date is covered by the permanence clause and stays active after the deadline. Add-ons switched on after 31 Dec 2026 would require a paid subscription to activate.
Does the free programme affect my listings data? No. FW Real Estate stores your listings in your own WordPress database. The Professional subscription controls access to add-ons only. Your listings stay if the subscription lapses.
What does Professional normally cost after the free period? Professional is $199/yr per site after 31 Dec 2026. That covers all available add-ons for one year on one site.
Will the add-ons work on any WordPress theme? Yes. Agent profiles, map view, and saved-search alerts were each tested on Twenty Twenty-Four (the WordPress default theme) with no custom CSS and produced clean output without layout adjustments.
The plugin runs on WordPress. The MLS and IDX import add-on connects to the RESO Web API, CREA DDF, and the UK and European portal feeds; your board's or provider's feed fee is billed directly to you, in your name.
The plugin's free to install from wordpress.org. Professional, normally $199/yr per site, is free for your site through 31 Dec 2026 at the moment your site connects to fastw3b.com, granted automatically with no form and no code. Any add-on you switch on before that date stays active after it, under the subscription you hold then.
The demo at realestatewordpress.fastw3b.com runs the full add-on range, so it shows more than the free plugin installs on its own.
