Web design is moving rapidly to be responsive, no need for a mobile theme or site. Using a theme that detects the screen size of the viewer and adjusts content accordingly is the current design standard among many web developers in 2013.

Tabs & Accordions are a way to get more use of the screen real estate and not make your site seem so crowded. But many of these tab plugins are not responsive which can break a responsive designed theme if used. However, Squelch Tabs & Accordions is responsive (as long as you don’t put a script in a tab that is not) which is not the fault of the plugin.

Squelch Tabs is very flexible in design with multiple types of tabs and accordions using shortcodes in posts or pages. The skin or theme of the tabs are set from a selection of styles in a dropdown. You could create your own style but after checking out each of the available styles that come with the plugin I believe you can find one of those that will work with just about any theme’s color scheme.

The one thing you might need to change because of your hosting or php version is the Javascript version in settings. It defaults to 1.9.1 and I had to set it back to 1.8.2 for the plugin to work on site.

You will find the settings under Appearance – Tabs Accordions The skin I’m using here is called smoothness.

If you want to see the plugin in use on a live site check out Dallas Homes Center.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Tabs Accordions & Content

The post Tabs Accordions & Content appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

The Background Management plugin is a wealth of options that can easily be applied to a real estate blog.  A quick summary of what is possible:

1. Create sets of background slideshows
2. Use an individual image or slideshow on individual pages/posts
3. Use images from a post or page as the background images
4. Set the image sizes to full screen or normal, center if you wish or tile
5. Custom CSS for each background set you create
6. Set a background color instead of images for the background
7. Multiple options for transitions, overlays, transition duration, opacity, etc.
8. Make background images click able to a separate link
9. Add a pin it button to your background images
10. Prevents right click on background images

Custom backgrounds per post

This post is using a custom background image set.  They are images from my recent trip to Irvine with one Arizona sunset thrown in for measure.  (I’m still in Irvine).  I also use custom css with this post.  The site title is ordinarily black and so is the top navigation options.  The background for the post area is clear, but since the site background is white you wouldn’t know that.  This post sets the title, description and navigation to white.  It adds a transparent white background to the post sections so the background images show through lightly.  Go to any other post and the site switches back to its original color styles.

The Genesis based theme allows me to set a page template of sidebar left, sidebar right or full-width (no sidebar)  I get great flexibility in how content can be presented to the viewer.

How does this apply to Real Estate

I can think of a couple of good ways off the top of my head.

Community focus page

Make the background images photos from the community you are writing about in the post or page.  Then select this set of images for that post.  You can add the community images to a gallery to make them easy to add titles and descriptions as well using native WordPress or NextGen Galleries.

Listing Pages

Add as many exterior or interior mages as backgrounds for the listing post.  You could also simply set the background to a single color, ex. black to show a gallery of listing photos.  Black makes a great background color for viewing photos.

Map or Chart Pages

Make a background image for this that is a combination of maps and charts or simply an old world map or community map as a background then set custom colors for the Post title and a custom background color for the post content area.  Make it stand out.

Landing Pages

Need I say more about how you can make very unique landing pages?

I’m sure there are more ways to apply this Background feature in other real estate related situations.  Make your posts truly unique.  Take some time to learn Background Managements options and you will have a great tool for your real estate blog.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Background Management Make The Site a Slider

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All They Want to do Is Search For Homes

I can’t tell you how many conferences I’ve been to on RE blogging over the past 4 years where the mantra of “All visitors to your site want to search for homes. So you better have listings, listings, listings on your site.”

The problem comes with the word “All”;  both uses:  (1) All they want to do.  (2) All visitors to your site.

All they want to do

If your site does nothing to engage the reader and is just a visually glorified MLS listing book, then that is probably all they want to do.  If your main focus is to “Sell That House” and move on, (moving on meaning, you don’t stay in touch with buyers and sellers, you don’t build your sphere of influence, you simply push houses like a toilet sales person) then this All might apply.

But if  your site is a source for community and regional information as well then Listings, Listings, Listings isn’t the only reason they are coming to your site.

All visitors to your site

This goes hand in hand with all they want to do.  Here’s the difference.  You don’t build relationship and referrals by “Sell That House” mentality.  You are looking for “THE SALE”  period.  Your site wills serve you a lot better as a garden for referrals if you plant more than just one crop.

How did we go from selling real estate to gardening?

Well, think of it like this.  If you had a garden and the only thing you grew was Kale, when would you go to the garden?  WHEN YOU NEED KALE.

But what if your garden had all sorts of veggies growing in it.  Do you think you would go back to the garden again and again?

Why yes you would and so will the visitors come back to  your site again and again, if you plant more than one kind of information on your site.

Yes, Listings are Important

But they aren’t the only thing.

Think about it.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Real Estate Blog Myth

The post Real Estate Blog Myth appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

Many of us want to use our own custom favicon instead of the Genesis default.  The simplest way to do this:  Install the Genesis Favicon Uploader plugin.  Once installed and activated you upload your custom favicon and it replaces the default G.

But we all know (Or have heard over and over) plugins slow your site.  All add to that over stated mantra, it depends on the plugins, but I digress.  So if we can do this without a plugin . . .

Your Custom Favicon Using Genesis Without a Plugin

It only requires two things:

1. FTP access to your site.
2. Knowing where to upload the favicon.ico file.

If you don’t have #1, then use the plugin.  If you have FTP access then upload the favicon.ico file to the child theme’s images directory.

Typically a favicon is in the root.   Which is where many of us have put our favicon and it never shows up.  We give up, and install the plugin.

Not any more.  Put the file in the child theme’s images directory and it will show up.  (Your browser might be caching the G for awhile but it is there, be patient)

Quick simple tip for those on the Genesis platform.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Genesis Favicon Uploader

The post Genesis Favicon Uploader appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

600px wide centered

Ajax Thumbnails Rebuild

I’ve been building a few sited on Genesis using some of their Responsive theme designs.  One thing I noticed as I ran page speed tests on each of the conversions had to do with the thumbnail images usually displayed on the custom home page.  I thought I’d share this insight and dig into how images are handled by various Studiopress themes and what you should do to help your page speed score once you switch.

Genesis Child Themes and Images

300 px float right

There are two places you set image size defaults when using a genesis child theme.

First, there is the Settings > Media where we can all set the default sizes for Thumb, Medium, Large, images.  When you upload an image to the media library WP adds the original image and then adds three more copies in the sizes indicated in the media settings.

I like to setup my media settings accordingly.  I always load my original size images at 1024px wide.  I set the Large width then to either 600px or 550px depending on the size of the theme’s content area.  I use large images for posts where I want just an image centered at the top of the post.  I set the medium size to 300px  these I can use in a post and right or left justify and have enough room for text to flow around the image and not look narrow.  The Thumb size 150px which is sometimes handy for use in places when I want a small image as a tickler to a paragraph.

I make sure all images are linked to the media file not as an attachment.  This way I can use a lightbox effect to allow all images no matter what size to be viewed larger.

Second, each Genesis child theme adds more sized which are determined in the theme function.php file.  Genesis then uses these image sized in their custom widget areas for the homepage or the portfolio page if the theme includes one.  You can find these sizes listing in the functions.php file.  Ex.  I’m currently using the Balance theme.  There are two additional sizes added in the theme functions.

/** Add new image sizes */
add_image_size( ‘grid’, 295, 100, TRUE );
add_image_size( ‘portfolio’, 300, 200, TRUE );

As long as I’m using this theme every time I add a new image to the media library these two additional sizes will be added.

What Happens when Displaying Older images without these sizes in the media library?

150 px Thumbnail

I”m glad you asked that question.  If the theme doesn’t find an image in the size designated it picks one that is larger and re-sizes to fit the needed location on the fly.  Not so bad you think, right?  Well, it is so bad in this sense, You want to only serve images in the size needed to display because they load faster.  Larger images that are re-sized by size or percentage of size slow down your page load time and ding your page speed score.

Next, I can hear the wheels turning, “But it is only for a few days till my homepage posts are replaced with new posts and images that are new and have the right sizes.”  Good thought, what about search pages? Archive pages, Category pages, almost all of us display the featured image in those display results using a specified size.  (If no featured images is designated it uses the first image in the post/page)

Ajax Thumbnails Rebuild is the answer

Install this plugin and then go to Tools > Rebuild Thumbnails.  You don’t have to rebuild all thumbnails but you do want to add those new sizes being used by your child theme.  Uncheck the ones you don’t need, or check the ones you do need depending on what you see on screen and rebuild the thumbnails.  This will add to the media library the new sizes your theme wants to display and there is no need for it to re-size larger images on the fly.

End result your page load time is not effected by displaying images using your new Genesis Child Theme.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Switched to Genesis? Did you Rebuild Thumbnails?

The post Switched to Genesis? Did you Rebuild Thumbnails? appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

This is a follow-up post to the one a week ago on how to add social media share buttons without a plugin.

Today we are covering follow buttons.

AddThis.com Follow Buttons

If you used the code from the last post to add the social share buttons you won’t need to add it again.  But if you are only adding Follow buttons then you will need to place this code in the header.php before the </head> tag. If using Genesis place in the WP_Head Hook (I recommend getting the Genesis Simple Hooks Plugin) check Execute PHP on this hook?

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-503266ce7d1b990a"></script>

A Video is worth a few thousand words

In the video example I’m using the balance theme (Modified of course) and for any Genesis theme with a header right widget area this should work about the same.

But you can put these social Follow buttons anywhere; in the theme files (Not recommended) or in a text widget, which is easier. Once in place you have social Follow buttons to all your social media accounts and you did it without adding another plugin to your site. That is a job well done.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Social Media Follow Buttons

The post Social Media Follow Buttons appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

Cotton Harvest Marana Arizona

There is always one major gateway to each social media site.  For Facebook it is getting “liked” for Twitter a “Re-tweet”  For Pinterest is it getting “Pinned”  The biggest difference with Pinterest,  Only images can be pinned, not content. So why not make it easier to pin your images?

Die-hard Pinterest Addicts

For the die-harder they typically have a browser extension on the browser that lets them quickly pin anything they find on a site.  But sometimes they aren’t in their regular browser, sometimes they aren’t even on their own computer.  So why not make it easier for them to pin.

Newbie Pinners

And those just getting started, well, they need all the help they can get, right.

So why not make it easier for them.  Enter the Pinterest Pin It Button For Images
plugin.

Install this on your site, tell it your content area width in pixels and you will see a pin it button appear over all the images on your site.  (Well almost all of them)

Check it out.  Scroll over that image to the right.  See it?  click it, pin it.

Checking the links back to your site from Pinterest

Of course you want to know how many of those precious back-links you are getting from Pinterest pinners.  Here’s how to find out.

in your browser type http://www.pinterest.com/source/YourWebsite.com  Ex.  http://www.pinterest.com/source/realestatebloglab.com

That’s all there is to helping those that are helping you.

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt if you have some great images (That You Took) on your site for visitors to pin.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Helping The Pinterest Adicts to Pin

The post Helping The Pinterest Adicts to Pin appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

The Two Sides of SM

Many never think about this, but there are two sides to social media sharing.

1.  FOLLOW: There are the links to YOUR social media profiles which allow people to connect, follow, add YOU to their social media Followers, Circles, Connections, etc.

2.  SHARE: Then there are the easy share SM icons we provide to visitor so they can share our content on their SM accounts.

This means we often have TWO SM plugins on our site taking their share of resources and executing queries to our database when loading our page content.

In this post I’m going to “Share” how to provide the second option above without a plugin.

You can go to AddThis.com and setup your own social share account and get the code for both FOLLOW and SHARE icons.

Social Share with Add This

First you need to add this code to your header.php file:
If using Genesis place in the WP_Head Hook (I recommend getting the Genesis Simple Hooks Plugin) check Execute PHP on this hook?

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-503266ce7d1b990a"></script>

Next you put this code in the single.php and the page.php file where you want the icons to appear.
With Genesis Simple Hooks add this code in either genesis_after_post_title Hook or genesis_before_post_content Hook

<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " style="margin-top:5px;display:block;">
<a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_pinterest_pinit"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_google_plusone"></a>
<a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a>
</div>

You can see what this looks like at the top of this post just under the Post Title.

Now readers can share this post any number of different social media sites. The option “Share” at the far right of the list is a catch all which is nice.

Want your readers to share your content? Want to do it without the weight of a plugin? Now you know how.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Sharing Content on Social Media without a Plugin

The post Sharing Content on Social Media without a Plugin appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

Well, I have.  Some theme’s provide css for the visual editor which makes it easy to adjust the font size.  But then you change theme’s and all of a sudden the font is very tiny and hard to read.

Have you found yourself at the end of the day with tired eye.
Did you leave your reading glasses at home and need to write or edit a post/page.

Well, there’s a simple little plugin that lets you adjust the visual editor font size.

Once installed and activated you will find the option at the bottom of the editor.  Simply click the + or – and see the example text size change.

You don’t have to live with eye strain any longer while working with the Visual Editor.  (Granted, the text goes back to small in the text tab, but who uses that anyway

Save your eyes.  Vanity is for storing stuff in, not for ruining your vision.

Grab a copy of Visual Editor Font Size and save your eyes.

Little acknowledged fact:  Most active REALTORS (squiggly thingy here)  are over 50.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Visual Editor Font Size

The post Visual Editor Font Size appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.

When I create a listing post I like to include in the sidebar document links pertaining to the listing.

1. SPDS
2. HOA Info
3. Well Agreement

It is nice to be able to display these in a list in the sidebar of the listing and lightbox these PDF documents.

Check this out Test PDF nice isn’t it.

There are several plugins that will do this, I’ve used Lightbox Plus and now Easy Fancybox.

Easy FancyBox Settings

The easy fancybox settings are located under the media settings Settings>Media>Scoll down.

Enable Fancybox For:
I leave these as they are currently set.

Links:  None None

Overlay: Check both boxes
Opacity: 0.5
Color: #000  (black)

You can make changes to other settings for personal preference.

Lightbox another site

If you want to lightbox another site you need to add a class to your link
To make a website or HTML document open in an overlay, use the class “fancybox-iframe” for its link. Adjust its specific settings below.

A Website

How’s that for looking at a mirror in a mirror in a mirror.

Lightbox your images

Of course it also provides the lightbox effect for all your images as well.
If you install the Nextgen Gallery Optimizer it uses fancybox.

Easy Fancybox is lightweight, loads quickly and provides a nice way to lightbox PDF files, Images, and even URLs.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Lightbox a PFD with Easy Fancybox

The post Lightbox a PFD with Easy Fancybox appeared first on Real Estate Blog Lab.