On this page you can have some text, as we’re placing here, or not. It’s up to you or your IDX provider. Most IDX (Internet Data Exchange) listing search systems are hosted elsewhere, with a link to a page that is “framed” on your site. What you need is that “frame” link url. Then, we’ll use our plugin called Page View to frame in the link. I can’t place my IDX link here, so we’ll just frame in the Yahoo home page.

Here’s where you may have to change themes and drop down to one sidebar.

I can’t help you much here, as there are many different ways to implement IDX, and many different providers with their own formats and solutions. Just note that a full width web page will not have room to display by a stretch. See that the Yahoo page requires significant scrolling to the side to see it all. We obviously don’t want this for our visitors.

Before you read on and get too frustrated, just call up your IDX provider, tell him you’re working with a WordPress blog and ask how you’ll get the search into it. You might be surprised by a fast and easy solution.

Many IDX feeds are less than a full page width, knowing that they must accommodate different sites and preferences. If you can get a display of less than say 700 pixels, there are probably a large number of single sidebar frames that would leave enough room for your search display. If so, then just choose one of those and be more selective about what’s important for your sidebar, as you now have half as much room for widgets.

Another solution that is a bit more tricky is to find a theme that allows two sidebars on all post and category pages, but eliminates one on static pages. Good luck, but I’ve heard that they exist. You can also probably find a WordPress guru who can design a page template for you that will do away with the right frame just for that one template, and that’s what you’ll use for the search page.

On my personal real estate site, there was this awesome magazine style theme called Mimbo Pro that I just had to use. It is two sidebars, and I had some pages that needed more space. I went into the code for a page, and changed where the sidebar code resided. In the theme as it came, the sidebar was called before the content, thus requiring the content to fit in the center area remaining. By cutting the sidebar code and moving it down in the page code below the content, the content took priority, and the sidebar moved to the bottom, which looked a little strange, but it was a good enough fix for me.

I’m trying here to show you that there is almost always a way to get the job done, but sometimes you just have to call for help (not me please for programming). Don’t throw away the power and flexibility of the WordPress platform just because you might have to spend a few dollars or some time in figuring out how to get the searches to display.

Title:	Search DemoTown Listings
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