Newest KB Articles

COOLSite Mobile for Real Estate Customers

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 19:52:51 GMT

Overview:

When a visitor is on a Mobile Device (ie: Smartphone, Tablet, etc…) and goes to any Domain Name that is associated with a “Mobile-Enabled” COOLSite, they will automatically see a Mobile Optimized version of the corresponding COOLSite.

The Mobile Optimized version is not the same as the “Desktop” version (ie: what a visitor would see if they went to the same Domain Name(s) via a computer) of the corresponding COOLSite. It is an entirely separate website with limited integration with the corresponding COOLSite Admin Pages and Settings. However, a link to view the full site (ie: the “Desktop” version) will always be available as an option on the Mobile Optimized version. Therefore, visitors will still be able to view the full “Desktop” site from their Mobile Device if they choose to do so.

How the Mobile Optimized version works:

The Mobile Optimized version will only include the following Main Menu buttons / pages to navigate through the website - Home, Property Search, About Us, Contact Us, and My Account / Login. Most of these pages will contain static / fixed content that cannot be updated via the corresponding COOLSite Admin, and so Colony One will have to make any ongoing updates to these pages as needed. The only exceptions are the following pages - Property Search, Contact Us, and My Account / Login. These pages are somewhat dynamic and integrated with the corresponding COOLSite Admin (see notes below pertaining to these pages).

Property Search - When a visitor clicks on this page from the Main Menu, they will see a list of all your Visible IDX Pages that are setup in the corresponding COOLSite Admin. Therefore, the list of pages shown here will always be dynamic. Additionally, these pages will use the following settings (ie: Settings, Access, Listing Filters, and Search Form) as specified on each of these individual pages in the corresponding COOLSite Admin. Please note however that some of these settings are not supported / available on the Mobile Optimized version. If you would like to make any of your Hidden IDX Pages available to visitors as well, we can include links to the applicable pages on the “Home” page or Footer area (bottom) of the site.
Contact Us - The Form Fields shown on this page are static / fixed, and by default, all Form Submissions will be sent to the Site Owner’s e-mail address (ie: the e-mail address used to login to the corresponding COOLSite Admin). Optionally, if you setup a new “My Form” Page Type called “mobilecontactus” (as a Hidden Page) in the corresponding COOLSite Admin, the “Contact Us” page will then use the “mobilecontactus” page settings (ie: Form Properties), with the exception of the “Confirmation Page” selection. This page will also collect to the “Form Submissions” section of the “mobilecontactus” page as well (in addition to sending the Form Submissions via e-mail). The “Contact Us” page will not show the Form Fields that may be setup on the “mobilecontactus” page, and therefore will still be static / fixed.
My Account / Login - If a visitor registers for a new account on this page, they will show up in the “Registered Users > Manage Users” area in the corresponding COOLSite Admin. Additionally, if “CRM” is integrated with this COOLSite Admin, then the visitor will also show up in “CRM” as a new lead as well.

Getting Setup:

You can view a Demo of COOLSite Mobile at http://12079.Colony1.Net. Please note that you will need to view this from a Mobile Device and NOT a Desktop / Laptop Computer.

If interested in having your COOLSite “Mobile-Enabled”, please e-mail our Support Team at Support@Colony1.Net to confirm pricing, as additional fees may apply.

Should you decide to move forward, we will need the following information from you in order to setup and customize the Mobile Optimized version. Please note that all information below will be static and cannot be updated via the corresponding COOLSite Admin. Therefore, Colony One will have to make any ongoing updates to these pages / content as needed.

Site ID # to be activated for “Mobile-Enabled”.
General Color Scheme (ie: two or three colors) to use on the site.
Content to show on the “Home” and “About Us” pages.
Brokerage Logo.
Contact Address, Phone Number(s) (ie: Office, Cell, etc…), and Email Address.
URL’s / Links to your specific profile pages on any applicable Social Media sites.
URL’s / Links to include in the Footer area (bottom) of the site (if applicable).
Specify whether or not you would like to include a link to the Mobile Optimized version of the site, on the “Desktop” version. This will allow visitors on Mobile Devices to easily toggle back and forth between the Mobile Optimized version and the “Desktop” version of the corresponding COOLSite.

Understanding DMARC

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 21:13:36 GMT

Overview:

There have been some changes made by e-mail providers such as AOL and Yahoo! regarding how e-mail messages are approved for deliverability.

In summary, e-mail providers are trying to prevent “e-mail spoofing” of a From address. You can do a Google search for “DMARC” and find various articles on the topic. Most of them are a bit confusing and not a great read.

The non-technical explanation is that e-mail providers such as AOL and Yahoo! will no longer allow someone to send an e-mail with a From address of @aol.com or @yahoo.com, unless the e-mail originates from their actual e-mail server.

You can view AOL’s DMARC Policy at http://postmaster-blog.aol.com/2014/04/22/aol-mail-updates-dmarc-policy-to-reject and Yahoo’s DMARC Policy at https://help.yahoo.com/kb/postmaster/yahoo-dmarc-policy-sln24050.html.

Please note that this is not specific to Colony One or our service. This will impact every company, every website form with a From field, and numerous other types of communication distribution tools.

What to do?

You will need to send e-mail using a From address that is your own website domain, and not AOL, Yahoo!, Gmail, etc… For example, we would send From support@colony1.net. You will have to setup a domain e-mail address with your Registrar (ie: GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc…). As a side benefit, this also looks more professional to your customers.
In order to ensure that your messages are delivered to the recipients, you will need to add our e-mail server’s “information” within your domain's DNS Records. Once you have setup a domain e-mail address, we will provide you with the DNS Records to add. This association serves as proof that you are truly the one sending the e-mail and own that domain.

QR Code for your COOLSite

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 19:50:26 GMT

Overview:

QR Codes contain contact information (phone, e-mail, etc...) which can be decrypted via a QR Code reader application on a mobile device (Smart Phone, Tablet, etc...). QR Codes look very similar to barcodes and are found not only on websites, but on printed flyers, business cards, etc... The purpose of a QR Code is to allow your customers to quickly download your contact information to their mobile device, without having to manually input this information.

Creating and Installing a QR Code on your Website:

There are many QR Code generators available online, which can be used to create your very own QR Code. One example can be found at http://www.moongate.ro/en/products/qr_code-vcard. The final output of a finished QR Code is generally in a standard Image Format (.PNG, .JPG, etc...). You can add a finished QR Code to your website the same way as adding any image to your website. It's that simple. Please see the following Knowledge Base article for instructions on how to add an image to your website - http://support.colony1.net/KB/a273/add-images-to-pages-and-design-regions.aspx.

Demo QR Code:

Below is a QR Code that we generated for Colony One. Try scanning it with a QR Code reader application on your mobile device to see how it works.

Manually Adding Listings

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 15:34:48 GMT

Overview:

Your Real Estate COOLSite is integrated with an IDX Data Feed. This allows your visitors to search and view Active properties in MLS on your website within your specific market.

By virtue of having an integrated IDX Data Feed associated with your website, there is no need to manually add listings since the listings will come over automatically.

However, there may be certain scenarios in which you will choose to manually add a listing to your website.

Examples:

If a particular listing changes status to something other than Active and you still wish to have this listing displayed on your website.
If you want to display a listing on your website that is not yet in the MLS.
If you are not integrating your website with an IDX Data Feed.

Please note that these listings will need to be updated as needed on a manual basis (ie: Price Changes, Remarks, etc...), as these listings will not feed over to your website automatically.

Instructions:

Login to your COOLSite Admin.
Click the "Add My Listing" button from the menu on the left.
Select a "Property Type" from the drop-down menu.
Using the form provided, enter as much information as you can (including uploading photos) into the corresponding fields, for the property that you are adding.
When done, click on the "Submit Listing" button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
You can verify that the listing has been added by clicking on the "View My Listings" button from the menu on the left. The property that you added will appear as a "User Defined" listing.

Note: In order to display your manually added listings on your website, you will need to have an IDX Listings page configured to show "User Defined" listings.

COOLSite Training Videos Available!!!

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:30:34 GMT

We offer FREE training videos for our COOLSite Real Estate customers.

These videos are designed to provide relevant and helpful information that covers our powerful COOLSite Web Builder and CRM Lead Management System.

Our Web Builder video covers our powerful COOLSite Web Builder and shows you how to navigate the system to build and maintain a professional website.
Our CRM video covers our CRM Lead Management System and shows you how to use the CRM application to manage your website leads, send automated drips, ensure contact communication with them and achieve the highest possible closing rate!

You can view these videos at your convenience, by clicking on the links below.

Web Builder
- Desktop: Click Here for Video
- Mobile: Click Here for Video
CRM
- Desktop: Click Here for Video
- Mobile: Click Here for Video

We hope that you find these videos helpful!!

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at Support@Colony1.Net or call us at 954-341-7031, M-F from 9AM to 6PM, EST.

Client Portal

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 17:43:50 GMT

You can use our Client Portal to update your credit card information, make payments, view invoices, and complete other billing related functions associated with your account. Our Client Portal is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week at: https://clients.colony1.net.

Once you have logged into the portal you can click on the "Billing" or “Account” tabs to complete various functions.

Billing

You will see two buttons: "My Billing Summary" and "My Credit Cards".

The “My Billing Summary" section will show your invoices and payments. You can also make payments from here.
- To Pay All Open Invoices: Click the "Pay All: $xx.xx" button if you wish to pay all open invoices.
- To Pay Individual Invoices: Select the invoices you wish to pay by checking the box under the "Options" column and then clicking on the "Pay Selected (below)" button.
The "My Credit Cards" section will allow you to update the credit card information you have associated with your account.
- To Edit or Delete a Credit Card: Select the Edit or Delete button located under the "Options" column.
- To Add a Credit Card: Please complete the fields at the bottom of the screen and click "Add Card" when done.
- Please note, if you have multiple cards on file you must select one to be the default. You can activate this setting by checking the box in the "Default?" column.

Account

You will see two buttons: "My Services List" and "My Account Details".

The "My Services List" section will show you a summary of your Services and allow you to change the Payment Method for each Service.
- To access the details of each Service, click the "+" next to the corresponding Site ID.
  - "Services" displays your current service package with Colony One.
  - "Billing" displays your Recurring Billing Amount, Next Bill Date, and Payment Method. You can change your Payment Method to Automated Payments by selecting this option from the drop-down box, and then clicking on the "Change Payment Settings" button.
  - "Domains" displays the Domain Names that are currently connected to your COOLSite.
- You can also login to the COOLSite Admin for any of your Services, by clicking on the corresponding "Login To Admin" button.
The "My Account Details" section will allow you to update your Client Portal login credentials (Username & Password) as well as your contact information. If you update any information in this section, please remember to click on the "Submit Change of Account Details" button when done.

If needed, you can obtain your login credentials for the Client Portal by clicking the “Forgot Password" link from the login page.

If you prefer, you can always update your credit card information and/or make payments by calling us direct at (954) 341-7031.

Change Design

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:05:34 GMT

Your template is what defines the overall look / design of your website. This can include specific color schemes, layouts, etc... We have a gallery of free templates that you can browse through and apply to your website. Please see below for instructions on how to choose / change the template on your COOLSite.

1. Select A New Design

Click on the "Change Design" button from the menu on the left in your COOLSite Admin.
Select from the categories below to find a template for your site.

Once you have found a template you like, click on the thumbnail image and then click on the "Apply This Theme/Template Now!" button at the top of the following page, to apply this template design to your website.

2. Apply Saved Content

After updating a template the system automatically backs up any content that you added in the “Configure Layout” regions of your template.
This content needs to be applied to the new template that you have selected.
After you clicked the “Apply This Theme/Template Now!” button, the system automatically takes you to the “Configure Layout” area which is where you can re-apply this saved content following these steps:

A) Click into any of the “Configure Layout” regions on your new template and scroll down to the “Saved Content Library” section on the following page.

B) You can click on the “Preview” link associated with any of your Saved Content, to view the content.

C) When you find the content that you would like to reload into the specific region that you are within currently (ie: Header, Footer, etc…), you will need to click on the corresponding “Load to Editor” link. When prompted to save the current content to your “Saved Content Library”, you can choose to do so or not, depending on your preference.

D) You will now see the content that was reloaded from your “Saved Content Library”, in the editor box.

E) Click on the “Apply to Site Now” button below the editor box, to save your content to this region.

You can repeat the above steps as needed, to reload content from your “Saved Content Library” to the various “Configure Layout” regions on your new template.

NOTE: If you are interested in a custom template for your website, we are happy to offer several solutions. Please see our "Custom Template Designs" Knowledge Base article at http://support.colony1.net/KB/a80/custom-template-designs.aspx, for more information.

Related Articles: http://support.colony1.net/KB/a166/configure-layout.aspx

Real Estate Upgrades Package

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:53:05 GMT

Our Real Estate Upgrades Package includes features and/or tools to help enhance the productivity of your website and retain users on your website longer. Below is a breakdown of what is included in this package.

Please contact us at 954-341-7031 or Support@Colony1.Net for pricing and to add the Real Estate Upgrades Package to your account.

Featured Properties

This is a slideshow of the listings you want to highlight and showcase on your website.

Quick Search

Allows your visitors to do a quick listing search on your website, without having to navigate to a specific IDX search page on your website.

Home Scout

Allows your visitors to save their search criteria and have automated e-mails sent to them with new listings that match their search criteria.

Custom IDX Display

This is an enhanced listing details display that prominently shows your contact information (name, phone number, e-mail address, photo, etc...) at the top of every listing that is viewed on your website.

Conversion Codes

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:26:01 GMT

Conversion Codes are used to track the number of hits to your pages and/or the number of conversions from your pages. These codes are typically provided by a 3rd Party for you to incorporate into a page on your website that requires a form submission (ie: a My Form page or an IDX Listings page). Upon a successful submission, this data will be recorded / sent to the 3rd Party for them to track it as a hit and/or conversion.

This data will then be used by the 3rd Party to provide you with metrics on the number of hits to these pages and/or conversions from these pages, so that you will know what your conversion rates are like on these page, etc...

If you have Conversion Code that needs to be placed on either a My Form or IDX Listings page, please see below for instructions on how to do so.

My Form Page Type:

1. Login to your COOLSite Admin.

2. Click on "Pages" from the menu on the left.

3. Click on the corresponding icon under the "Edit" column, for the My Form page that you need to add Conversion Code to.

4. Click on the "Form Properties" link above.

5. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and check the "Run Conversion Code" box.

6. Copy and paste your Conversion Code into the "JS Snippet" and/or "Tracking Pixel" box (see the notes section below).

7. Click on the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page when done.

IDX Listings Page Type:

1. Login to your COOLSite Admin.

2. Click on "Pages" from the menu on the left.

3. Click on the corresponding icon under the "Edit" column, for the IDX Listings page that you need to add Conversion Code to.

4. Click on the "Search Form" link above.

5. Check the "Run Conversion Code" box.

6. Copy and paste your Conversion Code into the "JS Snippet" and/or "Tracking Pixel" box (see the notes section below).

7. Click on the "Save Settings" button at the bottom of the page when done.

Notes:

The “JS Snippet” box accepts Java Script code and must be surrounded by Script tags - <script>...</script>.

The “Tracking Pixel” box accepts HTML code and could be surrounded by Image tags - <img>...<img/> OR I-Frame tags - <iframe>...</iframe>.

The Conversion Code will only run once per User-Session.

The Conversion Code will not run if the User is already logged in to your website. This is due to the fact that you already “know” them and therefore cannot be considered as a “new conversion”.

The Conversion Code should not be displayed visually anywhere on your website, unless the 3rd Party does something unexpected, which we cannot control.

Java Plugin Security Vulnerability Warning Message in Firefox when working with "Photo Gallery" Page Types and Product Images / Files

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:02:06 GMT

There has been a recent security vulnerability discovered with the Java component / software that could allow unauthorized access to computers. As a result, it is critical that you update the Java on your computer with the latest version from Oracle.

Downloading the latest version of Java

You can download the latest version at http://www.Java.com. Before you download and install the latest version of Java, please be sure to remove any / all older versions from your computer. More information on this can be found at http://java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml.

Issue in Firefox when uploading images

Once you remove any / all older versions of Java from your computer and install the latest version, you may experience the following in Firefox when uploading images to any "Photo Gallery" Page Type or when uploading images and files to your Products. You may see the following screen / window (see Screenshot # 1 below), and eventually after waiting about a minute or so, you will get a message saying that "This plugin has security vulnerabilities. Click here to activate the Java(TM) Platform SE 7 U plugin." (see Screenshot # 2 below).

Screenshot # 1

Screenshot # 2

If you click on the message to activate Java, the uploader will come up and you will be able to upload your images / files. However, the next time you need to upload an image / file, you will have to wait again until that message comes up and will then have to click the message to activate Java in order for the uploader to come up.

Bypassing the Security Vulnerability message - "This plugin has security vulnerabilities. Click here to activate the Java(TM) Platform SE 7 U plugin."

You can bypass this security vulnerability message for your COOLSite Admin only, and have the uploader come up immediately every time you need to upload an image / file, by doing the following once this message appears.

Click on the red Lego icon next to the address bar in Firefox. You may see this icon next to the main address bar or the address bar of the pop-up window (see Screenshot # 3 below). You will then see the following screen upon doing so (see Screenshot # 4 below).

Screenshot # 3

Screenshot # 4

Select "Always activate plugins for this site" from the drop-down selection box.

The uploader will now come up and you will be able to select and upload your images / files.

Please note that by doing the above, Firefox will remember your preference. Therefore, every time you have to upload an image / file again, the uploader will come up immediately (bypassing the "This plugin has security vulnerabilities. Click here to activate the Java(TM) Platform SE 7 U plugin." message) and you will not have to repeat the above steps again.

Resetting the Plugin Security Vulnerability Warning message in your COOLSite Admin

If for some reason you would like to reset the plugin security vulnerability warning message in your COOLSite Admin, you will need to do the following (see below). However, by doing the below, you will also be removing your browser's cache files associated with your COOLSite Admin, as well as your saved password (if you have your password saved when you login to your COOLSite Admin).

Type "about:permissions" in the address bar in Firefox.

Once this page comes up, you will notice a search box in the upper left corner (see Screenshot # 5 below).

Screenshot # 5

Type "coolsiteadmin1.colony1.net" (without the quotes) into the search box and you will see one entry directly under the search box.

Click on that entry and you will notice on the right-side of the page (at the top), it says "Permissions for coolsiteadmin1.colony1.net".

Towards the far right of that heading, you will see a button for "Forget About This Site", which you will need to click on.

You can now close this tab / window. The next time you try to upload an image / file, you will see the plugin security vulnerability warning message again (assuming that the Java plugin is still vulnerable).

If you have any questions regarding the above, please let us know. Thanks!