Requirements
In order to use the flexmls IDX WordPress Plugin, you must:
- Be a member of an MLS using flexmls Web;
- Be authorized by your MLS for IDX;
- Be a subscriber of flexmls IDX 2.0 Smart Frame; and
- Purchase an API key for the plugin from FBS and accept the Terms of Use. You can purchase your key by sending an email to idx+wpdevcenter@flexmls.com or calling (866) 320-9977.
Once you have your key for the plugin, you next need to install the plugin to your WordPress site.
Please see our Recommendations page for other info.
Installing and Activating the Plugin
The easiest way to download and install the flexmls IDX plugin is by clicking the option under the menu in WordPress.
(Note: Some hosted services may not allow you to install plugins, and so you’ll have to contact your hosting service to have them install it for you. The plugin also can be downloaded from WordPress.org.)
Clicking the option on the Plugins menu in WordPress will produce the following screen on which you can search for plugins; type flexmls in the search box as shown below and hit enter.
- Click the button to install the plugin.
- Click the Click the link to activate the plugin you installed.
Installing the API Key
Once the plugin is installed and activated as described above, click on the option menu in WordPress.
The top of the flexmls IDX settings screen should like the screen shot below. Enter the API key and secret you received from FBS into the boxes provided below, and then click the button at the bottom of the page.
If you entered the key and secret properly and clicked the button, you should see a message next to the key that says “It works!”
Behavior Settings
Before beginning to use the widgets provided by the plugin, you should review the remainder of the settings available as shown below, which can make it easier to setup and manage your flexmls IDX widgets and improve the experience for visitors to your site.
One of the primary purposes of the flexmls IDX plugin is to provide visitors to your site information and links leading to your flexmls IDX search. The slideshow widget, IDX search, and 1-click search widgets all directly lead to your flexmls IDX search, and the following settings control how those links work.
Use Default Widget Titles – This option should be left to the default of Yes to ensure that there always is a title for your widgets, even if you forget to set one.
Neighborhood Page Template – The purpose of this setting is to allow you to specify a page that will serve as the default template for the neighborhood page widget. You should only set this option once you have created such a template as a “draft” page (do not publish the template) as the options available for selection are only the draft pages. You can read more about neighborhood pages here.
When A New Lead Is Created – This option will allow you to choose if you want to receive a notification in your flexmls account when a new lead has been created from one of the widgets. Notifications can be found under Daily Functions>My Messages in your flexmls Web account.
Multiple summary lists – This option will allow your WordPress site to display more than one listing summary list in a page. Some themes or plugins override our code, this setting will help push ours forward so the listing summary pages work.
Listing not available page – When a listing goes off the market (or the status changes to one that is not allowed in IDX), if a user has bookmarked the page, you can either display the message “This listing is no longer available” (default) or select a custom page on your site to display. We do suggest creating a page dedicated to handling this situation. In that page you should include some widgets that show other listings available in your market.
Sold Listings Search – If your MLS allows the display of sold listings in IDX you’ll have this option. By selecting the “Yes, allow visitors to search for sold listings” option it will allow you to apply the status field to the IDX Search widget so users can select active or sold as their search criteria.
Default IDX Link — This selection list presents all the flexmls IDX links you have set up in your IDX Manager in flexmls Web. By selecting a default link with this option, you can then use this default when you set up widgets. There are two key advantages to this: (1) you can change this one option and all of your widgets using the default setting will change automatically; and (2) you don’t have to worry about selecting a link when you create the widgets.
Open IDX Links — We recommend you keep the default settings here, which are to open the links framed within a WordPress page. We believe this is best because your customer will stay on your web site. The only reason not to open the links in a frame is if you have a very narrow format to your web site that will not frame the IDX search properly. We’ll create a Search page automatically upon installation of the plugin called Search and this is the page you should select. That page will contain this shortcode:
[idx_frame width='100%' height='600']
By using this shortcode, it allows the flexmls® IDX plugin to catch links and show the appropriate pages to your users. If the page with this shortcode is viewed and no link is provided, the ‘Default IDX Link’ will be displayed.
Note: If you’re using a SEO plugin, you may need to disable Permalink Cleaning for this feature to work.
Permalink Slug – This will change the directory name for the search result pages. Check out our SEO Tips page on how to best use the plugin on this topic.
Property Types – Here is where you can control the labels for the property type search field. See example here.
The Search Results Fields section allows you to select the fields that display in the search result pages on your site. You can also select a different display name for the field. (i.e. instead of displaying the field BedsTotal you could change it to # of Bedrooms)
Google Maps Settings
Google Maps API Key
As of version 3.5.8 of the plugin, we’ve added the ability to display Google Maps on the search result pages showing where each property on the page is located. In order to activate this feature you will need to generate a Google Map API Key – https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/get-api-key#get-an-api-key
Default Map Height
You will also need to enter a Map Height in pixels(px) or percentage.
Google Maps JavaScript
If your theme or another plugin is already including the Google Maps API JavaScript code, you can check the Do not load the Google Maps API script box
Once you have the settings as you want them, click the button at the bottom of the page.
Style (New in Version 3.12)
New Style settings tab under: FlexmlsIDX > Settings > Style
- Select Version 1 or 2 For Listing Summary, Listing Detail Pages, and Widgets
- Primary Color Selection
- Heading/Body Font Selection
Next: Learn how to use the widgets available with the plugin.