Agent Center

1. Managing Your Website

One major benefit of WebBuilder is the control it gives you to help manage your web site. You can create new pages, edit existing editable pages and add photos or graphics to the site. This is all done in your web site's administration portal:

1.1 Administration Portal

Real Estate website administration portal (www.agentcenter.com)

1.2 Main Page

The image below illustrates the administration portal's Main Page. A highlighted checklist reminds users of important setup tasks.

The four-step customization process is illustrated with new reference images.

  1. Edit
  2. Preview
  3. Publish
  4. View
Website

1.3 Edit Layout Mode

By selecting the "Edit Layout Mode" tab you will enter a view of your current website with red edit buttons throughout the web pages. Simply select the highlighted Edit buttons to edit that specific section. This will take you into a new page and walk you through all of the steps required to make the changes to that section.

Illustrated below are examples of hypothetical Myers web sites.

Website

1.4 Preview Web Site

Preview Website

To preview any changes you made, follow the "Preview Web Site" link. You will maintain access to the Main and Edit Layout Mode links. Below this toolbar will be a preview of your website.

Your changes will be saved but not published to the Internet.

1.5 Publish Changes

When you are satisfied with the changes you made, select the "Publish Changes" button at the top right of the screen. Your web site as seen in "Preview Web Site" will be published to the Internet. If you have made several changes on several pages after you last published your site, all of these changes will be published at once.

2. Change Style & Color

WebBuilder offers you hundreds of possible layout combinations with different styles, colors, headers and elements.

Click on the Web Site tab and follow the links on the left nav bar.

Use the Change Style & Color section to select different color and style schemes for your website. It's a fast way to freshen the appearance of your site while keeping the original content.

When changing style the top header will change to the style's default.

2.1 Select Style & Color

Change Style and Color

2.2 Home Page Configuration

In the "Web Site" section of Agent Center is a link, "Home Page Configuration." Follow the link to the drop-down menu, "Select a home page style."

In the drop-down menu is a list of home page styles from which you can choose. Select a style to see it illustrated. Select "Preview" to see how your website will appear for the style you choose. Publish Changes when you want your new style to appear at your website. This is a good tool to help keep your site's appearance fresh and appealing.

Home Page Configuration

2.3 Configure Guest Book

You can enable your web site's Guest Book to appear in a new (pop-up) window at the moment a new visitor visits your site. This will allow your prospects to conveniently provide their contact information. Their contact information will be saved in your Contact Manager.

3. Search Engine Optimization and Editable META Tags

In your website administration portal, click on the Web Site tab, then click on Search Engine Optimization.

Follow any of these links to access wizards for editing the Meta tags (Title, Keywords, Description) on all your content pages, including your home page.

View the tutorial: click on the link and get a quick introduction to search engine optimization.

Also follow each of these wizards to help you set up your web site optimization.

Search Engine Optimization

3.1 Is My Web Site Listed With Search Engines?

Use this page to see if your website is listed in different search engines.

Website Listing

3.2 Submit My Site To Search Engines

Use this page to periodically submit your pages to search engines. You may manually submit your site or select an interval to automatically submit your site. The bottom of the screen will show the last time your site was submitted.

Search Engine Submission

3.3 View Referral Links Report

The more Internet pages linked to your site the better your odds are of being seen at search engines. This tool can help you determine how many pages are linked to your site. This report lists links per search engine.

Referral Link Report

3.4 Home Page and Flash Intro Page Titles | Default Keywords and Description for All Pages

Use this page to edit the Meta tag content (Title, Keywords, Description) for your Home Page and Flash Intro. Also, use it to edit default keywords and description for all pages. Since search engines may truncate long Meta descriptions, we recommend that you place the most relevant and important content at the beginning of your description.

The "Restore Original Values" button will restore the contents of your Meta tags to their original value.

A "title tag" is essentially an HTML code snippet. The contents of the Title tag appear on the browser title bar (top of browser) and in your link name seen at search engines.

Web pages will use the default Keywords and Description unless you customize them.

Home/Flash Titles & Default Keywords

3.5 Edit Title, Keywords and Description by Page

The letter "C" indicates the Title, Keywords or Description META tag(s) for a particular page have been customized. You may select pages and then edit the contents of the Title, Keywords or Description. Select the page and Continue to edit the META tags for that page.

Title/Keyword/Description By Page

You may use default keywords or edit them.

Title/Keywords/Description By Page

3.6 Edit Additional Default Meta Tags For All Pages

Use this form to add additional META tags to the <HEAD></HEAD> section of all your web pages. Some search engines may recommend and provide additional META tags to be included in your web pages.

Additional default META tags for all pages

3.7 Edit Additional Meta Tags by Page

The letter "C" indicates additional META tag(s) for a particular page have been customized. You may select pages and then edit the contents of the additional META tags. Select the page and Continue to edit the additional META tags for that page.

Use this form to reach individual pages and edit additional META tags therein.

Edit additional  META tags by page

Use this form to edit additional META tags by page. Some search engines may recommend and provide additional META tags to be included in your web pages.

Edit additional META tags by page

3.9 Count Keywords

Select a page and Continue to view the keywords contained in it.

Count Keywords

This page displays the number of keywords in the page you selected in the previous screen.

Count Keywords

4. Staff Directory

The Staff Directory is an add-on product. You can create a Staff Directory containing the contact information, photos and bio of your staff members. Here is an example of a consumer-facing Staff Directory:

Staff Directory

The staff directory is made up of two parts.

  1. When a consumer selects "Staff Directory" at your web site, they'll see a list of names, (photos if you've uploaded them), and contact information for your staff.
  2. When a consumer selects the name or photo in the above list, they'll reach the bio page for that staff member.

In Edit Mode, you can edit the page title and introductory paragraph of the Staff Directory.

Edit Staff Directory

Go to your back office and edit web site to create the Staff Directory.

Back Office Staff Directory

To create the directory you must add groups and members:

4.1 Staff Directory Groups

In your website administration portal, you can create different groups and assign individual staff members to them. Follow the "Add Group" link on the staff directory page to access the Add Group wizard. (See illustration below.)

When creating or editing a group you can:

4.2 Staff Directory Members

For each member you can define (enter) their:

You can:

4.3 Staff Member Bio Page

When adding or editing a staff member, use the bio page to present important contact and other information. This will be visible when viewing the individual staff member.

Staff Member Bio Page

4.4 Staff Member Bio Page Layout

Choose a style depending upon whether or not you want to post the member's photo.

Bio Page Layout

Add the staff member to a group of staff members visible at your web site, or add them to the Unlisted Members group and don't display them on your published web site.

Select Member Display

Select the group to which the staff member will belong.

Select the order in which staff members will appear in a specific group in the Staff Directory on your web site.

Select Member Order

4.5 Change Directory Style

Use "Change Directory Style" to change how the Staff Directory appears on your web site.

Change Directory Style

You can select a layout with photos or without photos.

If the photo style has been selected for the Staff Directory page, you can also control whether or not a silhouette appears when no photo is available for a particular member. The default is to show the silhouette. deselect the check-box to remove the silhouette.

5. View Stats

Your web site includes a statistics program to help you monitor your site's traffic.

Here is a list of definitions of some of the statistics displayed for your site.

6. Pages & Navigation

Edit Home Page

This link opens your home page in Edit Layout Mode (see Edit Layout Mode above).

7. Add Page

WebBuilder allows you to create an unlimited number of content (text) pages.

In the "Web Site" section of your website administration portal, select "Add Page" to begin the page creation process.

Name the page. (The page name will also be the link name if you link the page to your web site's Main or Quick navigation bar.)

When adding a new page to your web site you have four options.

  1. Create Editable Content Page
  2. Link to an existing page on your web site
  3. Link to an external web site (You will need the URL of the web site.)
  4. Create Custom Form
Create New Page

7.1 Create Editable Content Page

This option will let you create a new page and link on your web site.

NOTE: The following characters will produce an error if used in the name: ƒ " … † ‡ ˆ ‰ Š Œ Ž ' ' " " o -- ˜ ™ š › œ ž Ÿ ¡ ¢ £ ¥ | § ¨ © ª " ¯ ® ¯ ° ± ² ³ ´ µ · ¸ ¹ º " ¼ ½ ¾ ¿ À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ÷ ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ. The button will not be generated if these characters are used.

The Next screen you will use the WYSIWYG editor to create the content for the page.

Create New Page Create New Page

Choose where you would like the link to appear and how it should behave:

Link Display & Style

Link Display

Link Style

Link to open

Select Category

If you chose to display the link (you previously selected Main Navigation or Quick Navigation), you'll be prompted to select a category contained in the navigation bar. The drop down menu displays all available categories on your website's left-navigation bar.

Select Category

Select Order

Select where in the list order you'd like your new page link to appear.

Select Order

Preview and post the changes.

7.2 Link to an Existing Page on Your Web Site

Make this selection when you want to create a new link to an existing page. For example, you may want more than one link pointing to a particular contact form. If more links point to the contact form, there will be more opportunities (links) for the consumer to provide their contact information.

This process is very similar to creating an editable contact page (see Creating a New Editable Page). The main difference is in the "Links to" drop-down menu illustrated below. The "Links to" drop-down displays a list of all the existing pages at your web site. Select the page you'd like your new link to point to. (The title of the new link is, "My new link to an existing page..."

Link to Existing Page

7.3 Link to an External Web Site

You will need the URL of the web site.

Make this selection when you want to link to a referral partners or other consumer-oriented content page.

This process is very similar to creating an editable contact page (see Creating a New Editable Page). The main difference is in the "External Link" field illustrated below. In the "External Link" field, enter the URL of the page you want to link to. (The name of this link is "My new link to an external site..."

Link to External Website

7.4 Create a Custom Form (see Custom Forms, section 8.2 below)

7.5 Using the Text Editor

Throughout your website you can access the text editor to modify content. Use the tool bar buttons below to format the text.

Using your mouse, hover over each icon on the toolbar. In the text editor you can:

Text Editor

7.6 Known Issues for the Text Editor

8. Custom Forms

The data captured by custom forms will be saved in the Contact Manager (CRM) section of your website administration portal.

"First Name," "Last Name" and "E-mail" form fields are required in all custom forms. You may elect to create other required and optional fields.

How to create a Custom Form:

In your website administration portal, follow the "Web Site" tab to the "Add Page" link

Custom Forms

8.1 New Page

In this example a customer satisfaction survey is created. The name of the form is Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Note. You cannot create a custom form from an editable content page. You can use an existing form to create a new form, however.

Create New Page

8.2 New Form / Copy Existing Form

Select "Create New Form" to create a new custom form from scratch.

Select "Copy Existing Form" if you would like to make a copy of an existing form. Once you have made a copy of an existing form, you may customize it.

Create New Form

8.3 Header Text

The header is the area at the top of the form. A header often indicates the purpose of the form. Use the "Header Text" editor to create a header for your custom form.

For Header

8.4 Footer Text

The footer is the area at the bottom of the form. A footer can be used to provide important information such as your company name, address, phone number, etc.

Use the Footer Text form to customize the footer of your form.

Footer Text

8.5 New Form Line

This page illustrates the three preexisting required fields for all forms: First Name, Last Name and E-mail. For these fields, you can change the label which will appear on the form, but you cannot change the name of the Contact Manager (CRM) field in which the data is stored. To add a new question (form line) to the form, follow the "Add New Form Line" link.

New Form Line

8.6 Form Field

In this example, a new form question is created. The consumer will answer the question by selecting one of several radio buttons.

Upon selecting the "Add New Form Line" link, you reach the "Add Form Field" screen below. Illustrated are:

Upon selecting the Ratio Button Set, other options associated with the Radio Button Set appear:

Use "Create a custom Radio Button Set to save the value" to create and name the field you're creating in the CRM. The CRM field stores the value entered by a consumer. In this example, the form question and the CRM field name are the same.

Edit Form Field

Depending on the field type you select, you can create fields with these attributes:

Preview Now!

You can preview your form as you create it. Select the "Preview Now" button to see the appearance of your form. In this example, two radio button questions have been added to the form.

Preview Now

8.7 Text Field

In this illustration a new text field is created.

If you want to create a new, custom CRM field in which to store the data, select the "Text" link.

Edit Form Line

8.8 Select Field Properties

You can control the type of data allowed in the field.

In the previous screen a Text field was created. By selecting "Text" in the previous screen, this screen appears.

In this screen the CRM field name is created and a field property selected. Field property choices are:

Select Field Properties

If this field were to be used only for an email address, you might select "Allow only E-mail addresses."

After creating the custom field, you return to the Add Form Field page. In this example we see the form label and the form field.

8.9 Radio Button Set

Radio buttons are used to capture only one input from the consumer: "yes" or "no," for example. A consumer can't select more than one radio button. You define the values that will appear as radio buttons. You are provided with two radio buttons. You may add more. You may optionally set a default selection and/or make the field required.

Follow the "Edit Custom Field" link to arrange the order in which the radio buttons will appear on the form.

Radio Button Set

8.10 Radio Button Order

Use the arrows to arrange the order in which the Radio Buttons will appear.

Radio Button Order

8.11 Check Box

Check Boxes are used when the answer can be either "yes" or "no." Selecting the box indicates "yes."

Check Box

8.12 Drop-down Menu

A drop-down menu displays more than one selection. The consumer may select only one. In this screen, the Input Type is Drop-Down.

Drop-down Menu

8.13 Drop-down Menu Order

Use "Drop-Down" in the previous screen to access this screen, create a CRM field name, and arrange the order of the items in the drop-down menu.

Drop-down Order

8.14 Remove a Form Field Question From Your Form

You can delete a form field question from a custom form. This will not delete the CRM field or the data currently stored in the CRM field.

Remove a Question

8.15 Customize Output Page "Thank You" Text

Why not thank consumers for completing your form? Use this screen to create a "thank you" message. In the previous screen, select "Save & Continue" to reach the Customize Output page.

You can:

Customize Output

8.16 Where Are Leads Sent?

After submitting the "thank you" text page, you reach the delivery address page. By default, all forms will be sent to your primary E-mail address. You can change the delivery address for this form on this screen. Separate multiple email addresses with a comma (max of 255 characters).

Where leads are sent.

9. Add Category

You can add new categories to the left-navigation bar on your web site. Categories let you organize related links under a single category. Your website comes with a default set of categories. You may remove existing categories and add new ones.

To see the categories included in your website, follow the "Edit Pages & Categories" link. In the large area (frame) you'll see category names in black, bold font. A gray background extends across the page. Under a category name will be a list of links. Visit your live website to see the same categories and links.

Too add a new category select "Add Category." Name the category:

Category Name

In the next page you will select from a list of current pages which you'd like displayed within the category. The actual names of the pages on your site will appear in your Add Category screen. (You do not have to select pages to continue.)

Optionally Select Pages

Select the order in which the category should be displayed in the main navigation.

Category Order

Select Preview to see how the new category will appear at your site once you've published your changes.

10. Edit Pages & Categories

Edit Pages & Categories will let you edit or unlink existing pages on the Website.

Select "Edit" in a "page name" row to return to the page editor and modify the page

Select "Unlink" to remove this link from the navigation bar.

Select "Delete" to delete a category. Deleting a category will not delete the pages in the category. Links in a deleted category will no longer be associated with a category, but can be found in the "Unlinked Pages" section.

To associate links with a category, select the "Edit" link in the Category Name row.

Unlinked Pages

There are a number of unlinked pages by default, including two unlinked forms: Registration and Submit Testimonial. They are in the Unlinked Pages section of your web site administration portal. Edit and link them to your web site if you'd like to use them to capture consumer contact information. These forms can't be deleted. Custom forms that you create or add are tagged "Custom Form" and can be deleted.

Unlinked Pages

Select "Link" to re-link a page to a category.

11. Elements

11.1 Edit Flash Intro

All WebBuilder sites come with a Flash Intro. The Flash Intro is disabled by default. To add or change a flash intro, select "Edit Flash Intro".

You will have a list of Flash Intro's from which to choose. Each flash intro will have a different theme and allow for different types of customization.

Once you select the flash intro select "Save and Continue", and then enter in your custom text. Select Preview to see how the intro will look and then Publish if you are ready to have this be live.

11.2 Edit Slideshow

You may have a listing slideshow displayed on the home page of your website. Use the Edit Slideshow wizard to administer the slideshow. The wizard allows you to:

11.3 Edit Personal Photo

Some website styles provide a space for a personal photo. The Villa and Mirada styles are two such styles. The photo must be a GIF or JPG file. The personal photo will appear in a different location depending on the web site style.

The default photo will be a man's silhouette. To replace the silhouette with a personal photo, you must upload your own photo. You can only have one personal photo at a time. To replace the photo, simply upload the new one. Personal photos cannot be deleted or removed from the style template.

Edit Personal Photo

11.4 Edit Business Card

Your business card is your contact information that appears throughout the web site. Include information such as your name, address and phone numbers.

Customizable Business Card Fields

The business card includes two columns of customizable fields. They are located below the Zip Code: field. Both fields in a row must be used together. The left column is designed to be used to describe the data. The right column is designed to contain the data.

The contents of the business card appear in the footer of all your web pages and in your listings.

11.5 Edit Company Logo

Choose from a list of company logos or upload your own logo.

Logos must be in GIF or JPG format. The logo will be resized to fit within the height of your current header. Header sizes can vary from design to design. Due to height restrictions, your logo should be wider than it is tall.

You can also remove the Logo from the page by scrolling up on the list of available logos and selecting 'NONE at this time'.

11.6 Edit Header Image and Text

This page will allow you to select from a list of pre-created header images. You may also upload your own image or Flash header. Use the "Browse" button to upload your custom header.

GIF, JPG and SWF files are allowed. Choose an existing Myers header image if you want to edit the text contained in the image.

If you upload your own custom header it will e resized to the height of the style's standard header image. The width will not be constrained, so the image may appear out of proportion if it does not match the standard header size.

Header Image

11.7 Edit Footer

You can edit the footer which appears at the bottom of the content pages of your website. You may optionally display your company logo, and links to the pages of your website.

Edit Footer

Edit Footer -- Designations

Select which designation(s) you want to appear in your footer.

Designations

11.8 Edit RSS Feed

Continuously and automatically update your website content with late-breaking industry news. One of the keys to achieving top rankings at search engines is continuously updated site content.

RSS is a format for syndicating news. Myers Internet provides you with an RSS feed reader. You subscribe to a feed by selecting or entering the feed link in the RSS URL section of the Edit RSS Feed wizard. The feed reader checks your subscribed feed to see if there is any new content since the last time it was checked. New content is immediately presented at your website.

The acronym, RSS, refers to the following standards:

Edit RSS Feed Settings

11.9 Edit Flash Message

Your home page can display a customized Flash message. Choose among three preformatted and three free-form styles.

Preformatted styles let you display up to four lines of text. Free-form styles let you display customized text, .jpeg images, and hypertext links.

12. Documents & Images

In your web site's administrative portal, follow these links to manage documents and images:

12.1 Upload Documents & Images

Use Upload Documents and Images to upload files to your web site. A wizard guides you through the process of locating the file on your computer and uploading it to the Internet.

You can upload movies, sound files, images and more. The following file types up to 5 MB in size are currently supported:

GIF, JPG, TIF, PDF, DOC, XLS, TXT, HTML, PPT, PUB, WAV, RMF, AVI, AIFF, MIDI, AU, RAM, MOV, MPEG, WMA, WMV, MP3, and SWF.

File types not currently supported:

You may point to streaming video that is hosted elsewhere.

To upload files, select, "Upload Documents & Images."

Upload Documents & Images

Use the Browse button to locate the file on your computer. Select Upload & Continue.

Upload File

12.2 Manage Documents & Images

After you've uploaded documents and images to the Internet, you can access them via Manage Documents & Images.

Manage Documents & Images

13. Bizboard

The free BizBoard is for Myers' clients to use to communicate among themselves. Myers' clients make the Bizboard what it is: a bulletin board to discuss contract issues (Contract Corner), marketing ideas (Marketing), and more.

The Bizboard area is located below the Web Site Leads section on your Agent Center home page.

AgentCenter

Categories of discussion in the marketing section include:

Before you register, you will see the following right above the BizBoard: "Welcome to the FREE Myers BizBoard!" >> Learn more now! Click on the link to register a user name. (see BizBoard Registration section below)

After you register and select your nickname, the "Welcome to …" message will become the "Bizboard Main" access link. Clicking this link will take you to the BizBoard main page.

Bizboard

At the main page you will see the four BizBoard Forums.

Bizboard Forum

14. Bizboard Registration

To post content to the Bizboard you will need a nickname.

Follow the link, "Learn more now!" to reach "Begin Registration" button to create a nickname.

Create Nickname

Accept the "Myers Bizboard Agreement. Select Continue.

Bizboard Agreement

Select "Create Nickname" and click "Register".

Enter and confirm your nickname.

Enter & Confirm Nickname

Once you have created a nickname, the links immediately above your Bizboard will change to:

15. Vendor Directory

The Vendor Directory contains a wealth of resources and information. The categories and links are descriptive and provide guidance regarding the services and information available to you.

Vendor Directory

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