Matrix AWPs The Guide June 2014 How do I access the Agent Web Page (AWP) inside of Matrix? From your Matrix homepage, go to: My Matrix Settings My Information Agent Web page tab Want to see how a completed Matrix AWP can look? Check out the sample I created by clicking (link à ) right here. And I created this Web page with free tools! More information about resources (including the free tools we use) is farther down in The Guide. Important! While AWP is its own tab and much of the work you will do to set it up is done there, other tabs shown in the My Information section (Information, Header & Footer and Mobile Header) affect what appears on your AWP. That said, let s proceed with setting up your AWP in an orderly fashion left to right starting with the Information tab.
Information Tab The information you enter on the form in this tab will show up in the left sidebar of your AWP, like this: Header & Footer Tab Setting up a header you like can be tricky with Matrix AWPs, but let s look at it step-by-step. There are a couple of options. Option 1: Use one of the templates that are already provided within the system. To see these options and use one, click on the select a package button at the bottom of the page. The button you need looks like this: After you click on the select a package button, templates will appear, they look like this:
Select the header template you would like to use, then click preview at the bottom of the page. Your information will auto-populate onto the header, like this:
Important note! The header (either from a template or custom) will only appear to the left side of the page, unfortunately the image is not able to stretch across the entire length of the page. Additionally, your custom header image must be sized exactly 745 x 85 pixels to fit the space allotted properly. Okay, I uploaded my custom header image and it s Squished Too small Blurry Cut off This has probably happened because the image you are trying to use is too small or too big. The image must be sized to 745 x 85 pixels exactly to fill the header space. Also, sometimes even if you do size your custom header perfectly it may not look as good in the size required by the header section. Well that s frustrating. Yes it is. Here is another option for inserting a header image. Option 2: Leave the header section blank or add a basic placeholder image. Then add your custom image to the top of the Web page from the editing section instead of in the template header space provided. Say what? That sounds confusing, but take a look at the example on the next page.
Mobile Header Tab The mobile header is a basic template that is the same for everyone. You can add a photo and update your information (via the information tab), but the colors, layout and text style are not editable.
Agent Webpage Tab The AWP tab is where the most of the magic happens! If you currently use the AWP feature in MLX/Fusion you are likely used to having a template available. Matrix is fast because it is not bogged down with things that slow it down and unfortunately AWP templates are things that slow an MLS system down. Enter the Big White Box (BWB). This is your best friend while setting up your AWP. The BWB is actually called a (link à ) WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get; pronounced wizzy-wig) editor. This type of editor is commonly used and essential for those of us who need to create stuff for the Internet, but who are not computer smarty-pants. Within the BWB you will add text, images/photos, links and whatever else you like to turn your page into a representation of your business.
How to insert graphics and photos onto your page One of the most important things to know about the BWB is that photos and images of any kind must be hosted on another website before they can be inserted into your page. What does that mean? It means that you cannot upload images from your computer into the BWB. You can copy and paste photos from Facebook, another website or you can collect all of the photos and images you plan to use and house them at a photo hosting website like (link à ) photobucket.com (it s free!). For your convenience MFR staff has created a Web page on mfrmls.com that is hosting commonly used web icons that you can copy and paste into your BWB (link à ) click here. Tip: you can paste images into your AWP by simply right clicking the image and selecting copy image, then paste it into the BWB. You can also copy the image s URL and use the photo button in the BWB toolbar to insert it into your page. Important! Remember, unless an image is for public use (like stock photos, royalty free images, icons, etc.) or a photo/image that you created (listing photos, personal photos, etc.) you must have the rights/permission to publish any image on your web page. Check out some of MFR staff AWP samples (links below) Laura s AWP Natashia s AWP Deanna s AWP Doug s AWP As you can see from the examples, there is a good amount of flexibility within the BWB to give your page a custom feel. Tip: Your AWP is not a website, but rather one web page within the Matrix website. However, you can treat your page in the same way that you would an entire website by housing the content in sections. Use the horizontal line tool to separate sections in the same way you would expect to see a new page on a website for different content. You don t have to use a simple line either; you can use other graphics as content dividers. For example, below, I used a small graphic that worked with my theme as a divider.
Try out all of the tools in the tool bar and discover what works for you. What do all these icons mean? If you hover over the icon with your mouse, a text bubble will display the icon function. The scissor icon is grayed out because you have to select/highlight text for it to activate (basically the text you would like to cut). The copy icon will be grayed out if you have not selected/highlighted text that you would like to copy. Once you do, it will activate.
Selecting the maximize icon (shown here à ) will enlarge the workable space you have for creating your web page. Once you are ready to minimize the page (so you can save your work) select the maximize option again. The Insert Special Character button allows you to include characters such as which you ll need if using REALTOR, e-pro, etc. Note: editing your page is best accomplished on a desktop or laptop because some of the editing functionality may not work, or work as well, on a mobile device. I love AWPs this much!
A few more AWP good-to-knows
Working with tables
When working with the tables feature on your agent web page, if you right click the table, additional table options will appear such as adding rows, merging cells, border size, deleting the table and more. Listings If you have active listings: from the Portal Information page (found under the My Matrix tab) check the box to include a link to your current listings on your Portal and AWP. Once you have checked the box to enable this feature, your listings will appear in the left sidebar of your AWP.
When your customers click on view my current listings they will see this: Want to check out MFR President, Joe Perez s, AWP, (link à ) click here. Lead Generation Visitors to your AWP will be able to search for listings and even save a handful of listings as possibilities. However, unless they are one of your contacts in Matrix (and have their own Portal site) they won t be able to save searches, add comments to listings or save listings as favorites.
The easiest way for customers to become one of your contacts is to click the Sign Up link at the bottom of the page and submit the form. Once they do this, they will appear on your Matrix home page as a contact request and you can easily add them as a contact and set them up with a Portal. Resources! For creating simple website graphics (for the non-designer) we love (link à ) Canva.com. You can use Canva to create a custom header by using the custom dimension option 745x85 pixels. Canva is free at this time! Free photo editing websites: (link à ) PicMonkey & (link à ) Pixlr, both are great for editing photos and more. Free online photo hosting websites we frequent: (link à ) Shutterstock, (link à ) PhotoBucket, (link à ) IMGUR and (link à ) Flickr. Initially, you may miss the MLX/Fusion AWP templates, but once you get familiar with the Matrix AWP set up and its tools, you ll find more opportunity for creativity! Questions? (link à ) Contact us! We ll walk you through it.