86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better user experience.
Any modern app offering a seamless and efficient user experience is on the winning streak. One way to enhance your app's functionality and reach is by integrating with popular platforms.
Finn.no, Norway's largest online marketplace, provides a huge API that allows developers to incorporate its features directly into their applications. This way, integrating Finn.no can significantly enrich your app's offerings.
In this blog post, we'll guide you through the steps of Finn.no integration into your app. We'll cover all the backend steps you need to know to get started. By the end of this guide, you'll have a clear understanding of how to use Finn.no's API to improve your app's capabilities and provide more value to your users.
More About Finn.no
Finn.no is Norwegian digital marketplace, offering a comprehensive platform for buying, selling, and finding services. Established in 2000, Finn.no has become a household name in Norway, providing users with a wide range of categories including real estate, vehicles, jobs, and general classifieds. With millions of listings and a user-friendly interface, Finn.no connects buyers and sellers efficiently, making it a trusted resource for individuals and businesses alike. Its robust search and filtering capabilities, combined with extensive reach, ensure that users can easily find what they're looking for, whether it's a new home, a car, or a job opportunity.
Benefits of Finn.no Integration
Integrating Finn.no into your app is a strategic move that can greatly benefit businesses. By leveraging Finn.no's extensive and diverse listings, your app can provide users with a richer, more comprehensive experience, driving higher engagement and satisfaction. For businesses, this means attracting a larger audience and tapping into new customer segments. For example, when integrating with FINN.no, real estate companies can showcase their properties to a broader market, job portals can offer a wider range of employment opportunities, and retailers can list products more effectively. Moreover, Finn.no's reliable and well-documented API ensures smooth integration. Finn.no API integration can significantly enhance your app's functionality by providing access to a wide range of real estate, job postings, and classified listings.
How To Integrate Finn.no Into Your App
Get started
FINN integration is based on the REST API. The import to FINN.no relies on receiving XML files.
Before uploading a file, the advertiser must be registered within the FINN system. When registered, the advertiser will receive an ID that must be put within the <PARTNER> - tag. Any file containing an unrecognized partnerId will not be processed.
The transfer system / company must also be identified. This is done by providing a providerID in the <PROVIDER> tag.
You can choose your own providerID as long as it does not already exist as an ID in the FINN system and you have told FINN what your providerID is so they can register it in the system.
There are DTD files for each ad type and separate DTDs for sales information, stopping ads, and transferring multimedia content (images, logos, documents, etc.).
When integrating with FINN.no, it offers HTTP upload (REST) for transferring files.
REST/HTTP-Upload
You can upload a plain XML file or a zip file. If you are uploading images, you need to use a zip file. According to the IAD-response dtd, the response is an XML string.
An advert in the system is defined by the unique combination of the elements <PARTNER> and <ORDERNO>. If an advert with this combination already exists, an update will be performed. This combination is also used to add extra info, i.e. images, to the advert.
The URL for the file upload is:
https://import.finn.no/finn/import/fileimport (test environment)
https://www.finn.no/finn/import/fileimport (production environment)
Any upload will result in an XML file according to the DTD IADIF-objectresponse.dtd This file will be returned when doing an HTTP transport.
DTDs
All DTDs are available from www.iad.no/dtd/. In most cases, each ad type has its own DTD. In addition, a set of common DTDs is used to manage an ad’s lifecycle or add more information.
IADIF-head
This defines the start of any XML file provided to the iad-system.
IADIF-objecthead
This dtd is included in another dtd and is defining common elements of the advert.
IADIF-objecthead-product
Similar to IADIF-objecthead but also includes choice of different products.
IADIF-mmo
This DTD defines how to upload images and other graphic elements to the system.
IADIF-salesinfo
Defines how to create the XML file for marking an advert sold or disposed.
IADIF-stop
Describes how to stop or remove an advert. The advert will immediately go offline.
Validations
File structure
The file will be validated with a standard XML parser. All files uploaded must be valid to one of the supported DTDs. Any file not being well formed will be aborted. Any tag not defined in the DTD will not be read
Advert
All adverts will be validated against the contracts of the partner. Any advert not fitting the contracts will not be published
Severity levels
1. Fatal, a fatal error could either be a temporary system error or a mistyped xml. The consequence is that the advert will not be stored in the database.
2. Error, an error may occur when the advert does not match the contract, or the advert content is poor. This severity level will result in the advert not being published
3. Warning, may occur when mandatory elements are missing.
4. Info, typical where the system is doing element checking, and this fails.
Useful information
In Finn.no integration, the response XML file contains a URL to a statistics page for each advert.
The URL may look something like this: http://www.finn.no/adstats.html?finnkode=xxxxxxxxx&s=ae192a02834fbf06e581e2d5a64f84 840743960e518c9b7d8bee47a1100ae15c
This includes number of clicks, email notifications, push notifications and favorite markings. You can either get statistics for a single ad, or for all ads owned by an organization. Email addresses either specified in the xmlfile or within the admin module, will receive a short message when a file is uploaded.
Conclusion
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can seamlessly conduct Finn.no API integration with extensive listings and services, providing your users with a richer, more comprehensive experience. Whether you're looking to add real estate listings, job postings, or other classifieds, integrating with Finn.no's API will save you development time and effort.
Start Finn.no integration today and get a huge potential of your app. Contact us today to discuss your app integrations!
