The IMPress for IDX Broker WordPress Plugin includes a popular search bar widget called the Omnibar. It can be placed anywhere on your website and giving your site visitors a simple search bar to search MLS properties. If you don't have the WordPress plugin follow these instructions to install the IMPress for IDX plugin .
Omnibar Settings
The Omnibar has a dedicated settings area which can be accessed by clicking on IMPress and Omnibar Settings in your WordPress Dashboard.
Here you will find the following settings:
City, County, and Postal Code Lists
If you create a custom city, county, or postal code lists in IDX Broker, you can apply those lists to your Omnibar. They will appear in the drop downs. To learn about creating custom listings see these articles to create custom city, county, and postal code lists.
Property Type
Here you can designate a default property type like "Single Family Residential" which your site visitors will see when they are searching.
Addresses
When visitors begin typing in an address, the Omnibar can autofill with the closest listing address based on their input. The addresses will only populate with addresses provided by the Property Type selected in the MLS Specific Property Type section above.
When using this option, do not add Address as a Custom Field below. This will cause an error.
Custom Fields
In addition to Core fields like Price and City, the Omnibar lets you add up to 10 additional MLS fields. In the Custom Fields box type in the name of field you want to add.
Custom Placeholder
After you add additional fields make sure your visitors know they can search for those fields. In the Custom Placeholder field type in a custom message. If you added the Neighborhood field, you may want to change your placeholder text to say "Search for City, Address, or Neighborhoods".Add to Your Site
Navigate to the page that where you want the Omnibar to display. The Omnibar looks great on the homepage but can be added anywhere on your site. Click the Add IDX Shortcode button and select the Omnibar or go to Appearance and Widgets. Find the Omnibar widget and drag it to the location you want it to appear.Omnibar FAQ
Why does Listing ID not display in the autocomplete dropdown?- Listing IDs will not autocomplete but as long as the Listing ID (MLS #) is correct the search should return the correct listing.
How do I include fields such as Price, Bedroom, Bathroom, etc?
- You can include these fields by checking the box for Extra Fields when putting the widget on your WordPress site. This will include fields such as Maximum Price, Bedrooms, and Bathrooms. You can also include the Minimum Price field by checking the box for Include Min Price, but Extra Fields has to be enabled first.
How does the omnibar search work?
- It is connected to your IDX account via the API key which pulls is Cities, Counties, and Postal code data. It then writes these to a file. When a search is performed, the front end checks if the input matches city, county, or postal code data. It then runs a listingID search. If there are spaces, it checks for numbers. If there are numbers, it runs an address search with number and street name. No numbers, runs a search for street name.
Can I add the Omnibar to a site not built on WordPress?
- Not at this time, but we have developer partners who may be interested in creating a custom search for you. Find a developer, or send a request to developers@idxbroker.com.
Considerations
My cities, counties, and postal codes are not updating when I click the Refresh Plugin Options button. How do I get them to update?
- Cities, Counties, and Postal codes are stored in a JSON file after hitting Refresh Plugin Options. Confirm that your web server has permissions to write to JSON files. Your website host should be able to confirm this.
When I click search, the page refreshes instead of a search being performed.
- This can happen if you've added custom fields that are already defaults for the OmniBar.
- Login to your WordPress admin
- Go to IDX IMPress and Omnibar Settings
- If you see any of the fields (City, County, Postal Code, Address, or Listing ID) in the Custom Fields section, remove those items and save changes.