Creating a “Recent Posts” page

Your IDX Blogger site includes a “Recent Posts” page by default, however this can be hidden or deleted if you do not wish to use it.  The “Recent Posts” page displays the five most recent blog posts that you have written, with the newest post on top.  This page displays all blog posts, whether they have been geocoded or not.  This page also does not have a map interface as the Blog Posts map does (Click here to see how a Recent Posts page and a Blog Posts map are different).  If you deleted this page, you can create another using the instructions below.  The page can be titled anything you wish, “Recent Posts” is only a suggestion, not a requirement.

Step 1: From the “Write” menu, click “Page”

 

Step 2: Enter your page title, and scroll to the bottom of the page without entering any page content.

 

Step 3:  From the “Page Template” drop down menu at the bottom, select “Blog Page” as the page template.

Anatomy of a WordPress page

IDX Blogger is based off of the WordPress platform which provides a very clean, elegant way to manage a blog and a website.  IDX Blogger adds onto WordPress to include the special mapping features as well as the HomeQuest integration features.  Follow along below to see the different pieces of a WordPress page and how they work together to form your IDX Blogger agent website.

1) The Header:  Your IDX Blogger header is automatically created by the template and will always appear at the top of every page.  The header includes information pulled from your HomeQuest contact information (Click here to see how to change your Contact Info).  If you change your HomeQuest contact information, your websites will reflect the new information automatically.  The header color and background color are determined by your “Theme” (Click here to see how to change your IDX Blogger theme).  The header is not customizable unless a Custom Header is ordered.

 

2) The Navigation Bar:  The navigation bar is the horizontal list of links that appears below the header of each page.  The navigation bar lists each page in your IDX Blogger system (unless the page has been hidden).  The links in the navigation bar are used by your website visitors to get to the different pages in your site.

 

3) The page content:  The page content is where the bulk of your information will be displayed.  Ultimately, the header, sidebar, and navigation bar are only supporting actors to this star role.  The page content is the star of the show because this is where the relevent information exists, while the header is only for aesthetics and contact information, and the sidebar contains only widgets.

 

4) The Sidebar:  The sidebar of your IDX Blogger site is where the widgets will appear.  Widgets are great for displaying little “accessory information” tidbits.  This can include things like your agent profile, logo, agency information and logo, as well as other useful items like a mortgage calculator or a list of your recent blog posts.  Click here to see all articles on widgets.

Note: The widget sidebar does not appear at all on pages with a map.  This includes the Search Listings map, the Blog Posts map, and the Daily Email signup map.  The special mapping functionality requires the use of the entire page, so the sidebar is not shown.

Creating new pages on your IDX Blogger website

You can create custom pages with static content on your IDX Blogger site to include extra information for your clients.  The information that you enter on your custom page is up to you, which can include text, images, slideshows, galleries, and even embedded YouTube videos.  The page that you create will fit your content automatically into the correct spot below the header and next to your widget bar.  Each page that you create is automatically added to your upper navigation links bar, but can be hidden afterwards if you do not want it to appear there (Click here to see more about hiding pages).  Follow the instructions below to create a new page on your IDX Blogger site.

How to add a page to your IDX Blogger website:

Step 1: From the “Write” menu, click “Page”.

Step 2: Enter the title and content of your page.  (Click here to see how to add images and media to this page.)  Click “Publish” when you are finished to add this page to your site.

Note: This is just a quick example, you will want to add more content and explanation than I have entered on this example site.

Step 3: Reload your website to see the new page that we just created.

Creating an “Archives” page

An Archives page in your IDX Blogger site lists all of your blog posts and pages.  Posts are listed by category, month, and most recent.  The Archives page is helpful to your clients because they are able to navigate to it for use as a site map, and they are able to see a list of many blog posts at once.  Archives pages are also useful for SEO purposes, since a search engine is able to index a lot of your content at once quickly and easily.  You are not required to have an Archives page.  You may already have an Archives page, but you can follow the directions below to create an Archives page for your site if you do not have one.

Creating an Archives page:

Step 1: From the “Write” menu, click “Page”

Step 2: TItle your page at the top, but don’t add any content.

Note:  Content added to this page will not display, it will be ignored since this is a special page.

Step 3: In the “Page Template” drop down section, select “Archives Page”

Step 4: Click “Publish”.

Your IDX Blogger site now has an “Archives” page displaying your page and blog links.

Editing existing pages

Pages in your IDX Blogger system can be edited after you publish them to your live website.  Managing pages is important in order to edit the content and keep it relevant and useful for your website visitors.  Your static pages can contain text, images, galleries, and slideshows.  You can even embed YouTube clips (using the embed code listed with each YouTube video).  You may also delete pages from your system using this management screen.

Editing and managing your pages:

Step 1: From the “Manage” menu, click “Pages”.

Step 2: Click on the title of the page you wish to edit.

Step 3: Edit the page until you are satisfied with the content.  Click “Save” to publish the changes to your live website.

Using Photo Albums

A photo Album is a grouping of photo galleries in your IDX Blogger website.  An Album is created using existing photo galleries.  Click here to see how to create a photo gallery.

Step 1: Create an Album to be included in posts and pages.  From the “Manage” menu, click “Album”.

Step 2: Enter a name for your Album, and click “Add”.  Once the Album is added, select it from the drop down list on the left to add galleries to this Album.

Step 3: Drag and drop photo galleries from the right hand side onto the space on the left hand side.  The galleries added to the left are the ones that will be included with this Album.  Remember to click the “Update” button above to save your changes.

Step 4: From the WordPress page editor, click the “Add NextGEN Gallery” button.

Step 5: Select the “Album” tab.  Then choose your Album from the drop down list.  Click the “Insert” button to add it to the editor.  Please note that you will only see some special text in the post editor, and it will not appear as an album until you save and view the post.

Your Album is now viewable on post/page once it has been saved.

Add a navigation menu widget to your IDX Blogger site

IDX Blogger has an available widget called “Pages”.  The Pages widget will display all of the pages that are published in your IDX Blogger site.  This can be useful if you would like to add a set of navigation links to your sidebar (the same set of links that makes up your upper navigational links).  Click here to see more information on adding and removing widgets from your IDX Blogger system.

Your pages widget will appear similar to the one displayed below:

Which do I create a post, or a page?

While using IDX Blogger, you will notice that in many locations there are references to posts and pages.  How are they different?  When should I use a page instead of a post?

Posts are entries in a blog, and are generally updated frequently.  Use posts when you would like to add a new entry to your blog, show off the “Featured Listing” for this week, or add something to your website that is newsworthy but is going to be changed, updated, or replaced soon.  Posts can also be geocoded.

Pages are static on your website and are generally for placing information prominently that might not change often.  A page will also appear in your navigation header by default, but can be hidden.  Pages could include information like “About Me”, “About my company”, or “References and Recommendations”.

Adding an image to a post or page

There is no better way to illustrate a point in your blog post or page than by adding an image.  Pages with images are also far more attractive to the human eye, so you can hold the attention of your internet visitors for longer.  You can also add a Gallery of images into a post or page.  Click here for information on Adding a Gallery.   You can quickly and easily add an image to your IDX Blogger site by following the steps below.

Step 1: Click the “Add Image” button above the edit window of your post/page.

Step 2: Click the “Browse” button to select an image from your local computer to insert.

Step 3: Find and select an image from your computer.

Step 4: Click the “Upload” button to copy the image from your computer to your IDX Blogger site for use.

Step 5: You may optionally edit the details of this image file.  Click “Insert into Post” when you are done.

Your image has now been copied to your IDX Blogger site and has been included in this post/page.

Unpublished Posts and Pages

WordPress (the base technology for IDX Blogger) has the capability to save halfway done blog posts and pages in “Unpublished” or “Draft” state.  There is also a “Pending Review” status, though it is not as commonly used.  Leave a page or post in the Unpublished state as long as you need until you have the time to come back and finish writing.  Unpublished items will appear in the Site Admin, but will not be visible to your internet visitors.

All of your unpublished items can be viewed from their management menu.  From “Manage” select either “Posts” or “Pages”.  Use the links above the list to filter out items by publishing status.

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