For support using SureClose contact the SureClose Support Team at support@sureclose.com
Add SureClose
- Create a new page called SureClose using the Category Manager.
- Edit the SureClose page through the Site Map.
- Go to the EditLive window labeled "Description" and switch mode from "Design" to "HTML"
- Delete all code and text in the window and paste the following link into the window:
<iframe height=800 width=645 frameborder=0
src="https://tm.sureclose.com/brands/default.asp?BrandCode=YOURNAME">
</iframe>
- Be sure to edit the YOURNAME area with the specific code SureClose provided you with.
- Switch back to "Design" view and you should see your SureClose page load.
- Click Save and your done!
Note: You may have to adjust the height and width values to remove any scroll bars that may have appeared.
Branding SureClose
Branding is an exciting feature of SureClose because it gives you the ability to bring customers through your company's website and directly to the SureClose login page via a link on your website. Another benefit of branding is that you can create a branded site for any company you service, such as a real estate company or lender, so that they too can provide a customized portal to SureClose for their clients.
You can create sites for anyone - from your most valued customers to potential customers you want to impress. In this section we will learn how to set-up a branded site for your office. The same process is used to create any additional branded sites for customers.
Lesson 1: Creating a New Custom Brand
The purpose of branding is to provide a seamless means for your customers to access their transaction information from within your existing website. If you do not have much traffic through your site, adopting SureClose and adding it to your website and to will definitely increase the traffic.
Once you have created your branded site, you can have your Web site administrator add a SureClose link to your Company's website.
Adding a Brand
Adding a brand is actually setting up a completely new SureClose site for your company or for your customers and/or business partners. As you learn the benefits of having your own SureClose branded site, you will want to create them for your company immediately!
First, let us take a look at what a branded site will look like and then we will create a new site for your company. Figure #1 shows how a custom branded SureClose site can be framed within an existing website.
Figure # 1 - Acme Title Custom Branded SureClose Site
- Click the "Admin" tab.
- Click the "Manage Brands" link located under the heading "Manage Other Items"
- Click the "New" button. The New Brands Wizard will open.
- Complete the wizard using Table # 1a: New Brand Wizard as a reference.
Table #1a: New Brand Wizard
When you complete the wizard, you will be placed in the Manage Brands page where you can further customize your new branded site. This page is made up of several tabs that will allow you to add content to the pages of your branded site.
The first tab, called the "General" tab allows you to modify content that will appear on each page of your site, including the banner that will appear at the top of each page and custom links you can add to the sidebar. Let us take a look at the content we can add to any branded SureClose site.
General Tab
On the "General" tab, you define elements such as the Menu banner and the Horizontal and Vertical navigation bars.
Menu Banner
The Menu Banner is the graphic element that appears on the top of every other page in your Branded site. (See Figure #2: Branding Page Definitions.) Adding a menu banner can give your site a consistent look and feel. The recommended size for this graphic is 622 pixels wide by 60 pixels high and cannot be larger than 25K.
Note: If you plan to frame your SureClose branded site into your company's existing website, it may not be necessary to add a banner to the branded site as well. If your Company's website already has a banner or header throughout, adding the same to your branded site would cause duplicate header.
Figure #2: Branding Page Definitions
If the graphic you want to display is not listed in the drop-down list, you can add it by clicking the upload link next to it. Complete the wizard using Table #2a: Image Upload as a reference.
Table #2a: Image Upload
Other General Page Options
Brand Description - this is the same description you entered in the Wizard. Modify it here if needed.
Brand Code - this is the same code you entered in the wizard. Modify it here if needed.
Active - check this checkbox to make this brand active. Removing the checkmark will make this brand inactive.
URL - this is the URL to your branded site. To have your Company's website link to this branded SureClose site, create a link on your Company's website to this URL.
Color Scheme - Default color schemes for your site. If you need other colors, contact SureClose Support Team at support@sureclose.com and they can assist you.
Notify Registration Email - This is used for the listing page and public documents. Users must register to view public documents and their registration information is sent to this email address.
Escrow File Terminology - Enter the verbiage you use to describe Escrow Files in your market, such as "Closing Files" or leave it is "Escrow Files" if you prefer. This wording will appear at the top of your list of Escrow files.
Listing File Terminology - Enter the verbiage you use to describe Listing Files in your market.
Brand Logo - This logo displays in the lower-left side of your screen. It only appears in the Professional view.
Horizontal Navigation - Check the checkboxes next to the pages you would like displayed in your site. In the Title textbox, enter a new name for the page if desired. Finally, in the Scope drop-down list, decide when this page should be available to users.
Vertical Navigation - Click the Add additional entry to sidebar link to add a new sidebar item. In the Order textbox, place in numeric order the order you want these items displayed on your page.
Invitation Tab
This tab is an important part of your branded sites. This is the area you will customize the email invitation sent to new users when they are added to the system, or when you would like to provide them a login and password. To create the invitation, please follow the guidelines below on Table #2b- Invitation Options.
Table #2b: Invitation Option
Note: To utilize the invitation, locate the User you would like to Invite (either in the Summary Page of a file or in your list of contacts) or add a New User. On the last page of the New User Wizard and/or the Edit User Wizard, check the box next to: "Edit Security Settings" and click "Next". Finally, you must check the box next to "Compose Email Invitation", then click "Finish" to review and send the invitation.
Welcome Tab
The Welcome page is meant to greet your customers and provide information about your company and SureClose. It is not necessary to fill in every field and use an image or logo in every available placeholder. You may find that the best results occur when you experiment with different images in different locations. You can always make changes to the images and text within your branded sites if needed.
Login Tab
The information added to Login tab is what your user will see first when they click the link provided in their email invitation. This is a good opportunity for a brief explanation of what SureClose is and how it will benefit them. This text will display above and below the actual login and password fields.
Listing Search Tab
The Listing Search tab provides a means to add listings to your SureClose site, allowing users that are not yet parties to one of your files to view and print disclosure documents. This feature was designed to accommodate Northern California's need to provide their real estate agents with a place to post disclosure documents for other agents to view and print. Listing Search Page Users do not need a login and password to view listings on this page. Once they are at this page, they can enter search criteria and find listings.
If they wish to view documents posted on these files, they must register, which they will be prompted to do once they click the link to view the documents. See Figure # 3 below for details:
Table #3: Listing Search Page Options
Contact Us Tab
The Contact Us tab allows you to upload a custom contact page. You can add your own contact us page by clicking the new link and customizing the information or you can create a web page (text only) and copy in everything between the Body tags.
A simple way to insert HTML into a new "Contact Us" entry is to:
- Create it in a MS Word document
- Save it as a website/html and then Open the website.
- Right click, Go to "View HTML source"
- Copy and paste the HTML into the SureClose "New Custom HTML" Wizard (found on the "Contact Us" tab by clicking "New")
Lesson Summary
In this lesson you learned about creating a new SureClose branded site. You now have enough information to begin creating brands for your company and for your customers. You will need time to experiment with this section to master it, but it is well worth it for the potential traffic you can add to your website and for the customer service it provides.
Please take the time to complete the exercise following this lesson. This will help you understand how to create and maintain your own custom branded sites.
Lesson 1 Exercise - Creating a Brand
Complete the exercise below.
Using graphics create your own custom brand.
- Use YOUR first and last name as the Brand Description.
- Use Your first initial and last name as the Brand Code.
- Choose a color scheme.
- Put in your student InboxIQ email address as the Notify Registration Email.
- Show only the Welcome and Login pages.
- Add at least one sidebar item.
Once you have completed your site, copy your site URL and paste it in your browser and login.
- Did everything work as you expected it to? If not, why not?
- Once you log in from your own site, click the Home tab. If there is a picture there, which screen element from the Welcome page is displayed on the Home page?
- Which screen element appears in the lower left corner of the page when you log in to the Professional view?