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You can customize certain aspects of your Widget so that it displays with some additional flexibility within your eBay listing(s). Without any customizations, a default Widget appears with this layout, which works for most people:


Applying customizations involves making small adjustments to the Widget HTML code that you place within your listing (HTML syntax described below). Here are the things that you can customize in a WatchCount.com Widget:

Customizations are made by adding a series of parameters and values to the Widget HTML code within your listing. Before we go into that though, have a look at the HTML code of an uncustomized Widget here. In the heart of the HTML, notice the following coding (known as the image tag source attribute):


That snippit is what you'd modify within the full Widget HTML code to specify Widget customizations. You'd be adding what's known as URL query string parameters. Probably the quickest way to demonstrate this is to offer some examples...

If you wanted, for instance, to specify your WatchCount.com Widget be hidden until its count hits 10 or above, and you want to use our "Fire" skin, you'd adjust your HTML to this:


In the example above, there are 2 parameters, each with a value specified after the equal sign: "min=10" and "skin=fire". The order of the parameters isn't important, however it's necessary that the first parameter be led by a question mark ("?"), with the remaining parameters being delimited by ampersands ("&"). For example, the following HTML is equivalent to the above snippit, working identically. (Notice how we've swapped the parameters.)


The remainder of this Widget Customization page is devoted to detailing the various customization options you can employ.

Using the "min=" parameter, you can denote the minimum Watch Count necessary for your item before the Widget is shown. Until the Watch Count reaches that value, the Widget will be automatically hidden. Once the Watch Count meets or exceeds the value, the Widget will be displayed (subject to the usual conditions for the Widget to appear). The default minimum is zero. In the following example, the Widget will remain invisible until the number of watchers on the listing hits 16:


You could use this customization as part of your standard Widget HTML code in your listing template to automatically hide any/all listings that have low Watch Counts.

Next to the Watch Count is an informational message that succinctly explains the number's meaning. This is a good opportunity to differentiate the number (the Watch Count) from being a mere web page hit counter and to educate the visitor/shopper as such. The parameter for this customization is "msg=". If you don't specify it, the default message is "eBayers are actively watching this listing", as shown in the example up top.

Adding this parameter to your Widget HTML may require a tad more detail than other customizations because certain characters in your message may need "URL encoding" to work properly. Here's a table that lists replacement/hex codes that you'll need to use in place of certain characters you may wish to include in your message:


As an example, if you wanted your Widget to say "Number of watchers.", you'd use this HTML code:


Another example: To say "# of people keeping tabs on this listing.", use this HTML code:


When you use Demo Mode to preview and experiment with your Widget customizations, please keep in mind that the maximum length of text available to you for the informational message is dependent on how high of a Watch Count your item may amass, as well as the variable-size characters within your message.

We have a handful of skins available to select as the background of your Widget. The parameter for choosing a skin is, amazingly enough, "skin=". The default skin when unspecified is silver. Here are the skins we currently offer, shown with the proper values to use with the "skin=" parameter:


For example, to use the paper skin, use this HTML code:


Have ideas for more skins? Feel free to let us know. (If you give us a skin that we include as a Widget option, we'll be happy to add a link to your site from ours.)

You can alter some of the colors within the Widget by specifying a 6-character hex code (the color) in the relevant parameter. Here are the 3 colors you can modify, along with the parameter name to use:


You can choose colors using many available color charts and tools, such as this online utility. When you find a color you want, copy out the 6-character hexadecimal number after the "#" symbol in the left sidebar.

As an example, if you'd like the informational message to be dark green, the Watch Count number to be light blue, and its background light gray, here's the HTML code you could use:

Widget Demo Mode allows you to preview how your Widget will appear once it's displaying live Watch Counts within your listing(s). Demo Mode is great for testing different customizations to obtain an appearance and look-and-feel for your Widget that you're comfortable with. If you don't yet know about Widget customizations, please jump to the top of this page to read about customizations and how to implement them.

Demo Mode is enabled by using the "demo=" parameter and a value equal to the Watch Count you're sampling. Here's an example HTML code snippet you might temporarily use in your listing to check on some customizations you've selected:


Important! Don't forget to disable Demo Mode (remove the "demo=xxx" parameter) in your listing when you're done testing, or else it may be locked in for the duration of your eBay listing!

To quickly play with Widget Demo Mode outside the context of your listing, simply copy-paste the Widget's Demo URL directly into your browser. Click here to see an example and notice 3 things: what appears in the address bar of your browser (should be similar to the above example); what the Widget looks like; how the Widget changes when you edit the parameters and values in the address bar.