Your Global Wrapper is the primary tool in your account that matches all of your IDX pages to the look and layout of your main website. There are several options for you to use to implement the wrappers on your IDX pages. Go to Design -> Website -> Wrappers.
Wrapper Levels
By default, you should see the Global wrapper settings load here first. You can access the other wrapper levels by clicking on "Categories", "Pages", or "Saved Links". Category, Page and Saved Link wrappers are used if you want to have a different style or different content on only some of your IDX pages.
- Use a Category wrapper if, for example, you want to have different sidebar content on only your Results pages, or a different header on all your Search pages. Note: You can see which pages are included inside each category by selecting "Pages" and reviewing the list in the left-hand box.
- Use a Page wrapper if, for example, you want to have unique content on only your Map Search page or only your Featured Open Houses page.
The Category level wrapper will always take precedence over the global wrapper, and the Page level wrapper will take precedence over any existing category wrappers and the global wrapper.
Note: These options are specifically designed so you can wrap some of your pages differently than the others. If you would like to have the same design across all your IDX pages then the Global Wrapper is all you need.
See this article for more information about Category, Page, and Saved Link Wrappers.
Wrapper Types
There are three options that can be used for your Global Wrapper: Static, Dynamic, and Includes. Below are definitions of each type of wrapper, as well as links to articles describing how to create and implement each type.
- Static - This type of wrapper is built using static HTML code. It is essentially a "snapshot" of your website code which is then duplicated over all your IDX pages. This type of wrapper is static; meaning the wrapper does not change when you make updates to any part of your website. This is because it is housed in your Control Panel on our servers, separate from where your website is hosted. Any time your website design and/or navigation is updated, your static wrapper will also need to be updated to match those changes.
- If you signed up with IDX Broker directly (not through one of our Developer Partners) and paid a setup fee, the Support Team will assist you with wrapper revisions should you change your website design. This service is offered up to twice per year. If you have signed up through one of our Developer Partners, your partner will build your wrapper for you.
If you manage your own website and are familiar with HTML, you can create/update your Global Wrapper by following instructions in the following article.
Creating a Static HTML Wrapper
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Dynamic - This type of wrapper is a great time-saver, as it removes the need to manually update the wrapper every time a change is made to your site. This wrapper method is primarily useful for Wordpress websites, but it can also be used on many CMS (Content Management System) based websites that exclusively use absolute URL paths. The setup is quick and you don't need to have any code experience to complete the steps on your own. Once the Dynamic Wrapper is in place, any future changes to your website design or layout will be automatically reflected on your IDX pages. Instructions on how to set up a dynamic wrapper can be found in the following article.
Setting Up a Dynamic Wrapper
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Includes - You can use server-side include files to display the Global Wrapper. This version is very similar to the Static Wrapper, in that it is not dynamic, but you get to host the two sections of the wrapper ("Header" and "Footer") on your local server space with the rest of your website. This removes the need to log into IDX in order to update your wrapper. Editing and resaving your local Include files will update the wrapper. You can find further details on implementing a wrapper using include files in the following article.
Using Include Files to Create a Wrapper