There are two common methods for IDX integration. The options are either Branded integration or to Frame the IDX solution. The preferred method is Branded integration, but if done properly, the Framed integration can provide equally successful results.
If you are a developer or technically savvy agent...please see the information below. If you are not sure of which method would be best, contact support and request “Integration Help” and one of our support personnel can review your site and make a quick recommendation. When requesting support provide:
- Link to website the IDX will be added to.
- Contact name, phone and email address of the person responsible for website changes.
- Your contact information (if different than above).
Branded Integration
This method involves us providing you with links to your IDX solution and you simply add them to your existing website. Once added, we take a page from your website, make a duplicate, then use that to build an IDX template so it matches your site exactly.
Something to consider: Any time you make a change to your website navigation or design that is found on the IDX template, you will need to update your IDX Template (or have us update it) to reflect the change(s) as well.
If you make regular changes to your site that would require frequent updates to the IDX template and don’t want to make them yourself (or want to pay us to do it), then you may want to consider the Framed Integration.
Technical Explanation: A copy of your page’s html will be used to create the IDX template. All references to images, pages, javascript files, etc....will be changed from a relative path to an absolute path in the code. This way any time you update an image on your site it will be updated in the IDX template as well. The IDX template is stored on the IDX solutions server which is why it will need to be updated any time you want the template to change.
Framed Integration
You add some code to your site that displays the IDX solution “inside of” one of your website pages.
Something to consider: You will need access to your website’s code so you can enter some special code that will ensure your branded content and IDX solution display properly. The IDX pages can vary in height, so scroll bars may appear if the IDX page content is too long.
Technical Explanation: If you decide to Frame the IDX solution you will need to set up a Frameset page or add an iFrame to your page. An example of this iframe code would be:
<iframe src="http://Your-IDX-Search-Page-Here" width="100%" height="2500" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0" valign="top" onload="scrollTo(0,0)" ></iframe>
You are welcome to change the width, height or any of the other iframe options within the code to meet your needs.