How to Build a Directory Website with WordPress For Free (Step-by-Step)

Why Create a Web Directory in WordPress?

Directory websites serve as valuable resources for connecting users with businesses, services, and information in specific niches. Many people like to have a directory site to make a money-making machine. If you’re wondering how to find the best way, you can build a directory website with WordPress easier than ever. More than half of the sites created around the world so far are built with WordPress. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating your own directory website from start to finish. You may want to start a classified site like pet classified ads sites. However, this guide will help you with that too.

Before you start to build a directory website with WordPress

• Determine the purpose and niche of your directory website.
• Find the target audience and their needs.
• Consider successful directory websites in your niche.

Before diving into the technical details and starting to build a directory website with WordPress, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your directory website’s concept. Consider the purpose of your site, your target audience, and the specific niche or industry you’ll be focusing on. Take inspiration from existing directory websites and identify what sets yours apart. Common examples include Yelp, Yellow Pages, and even eBay. Knowing what you’re doing is so important and can prevent major problems in the future.

Step zero: Host, Domain, and WordPress installation

Your domain name is your website’s identity on the internet, so choose wisely. Pick a domain name that reflects your website’s purpose and is easy to remember. Once you have a domain name, select a reliable WordPress hosting provider to ensure your website runs smoothly.

WordPress can be installed with a single click through your hosting provider’s control panel. Once WordPress is installed, you can start managing your website from the WordPress dashboard. This tutorial assumes that you know how to install and use this CMS to build a directory website with WordPress. If you don’t, please refer to the WordPress documentation.

Available ways to build a directory website with WordPress

If you are new to WordPress then you should know that there are 2 ways to make different sites with WordPress. The Hard Way and the Easy Way! Yes, it’s right. WordPress is like a blank field that is ready to accept any changes and any code. The experts of WordPress usually like to use the least plugin count and do some customizations and developments with CSS, HTML JS, and other programming languages. But for beginners, that’s the hard way. The easiest and the most smooth way to build a directory website with WordPress is to find the appropriate plugins that lead to the least coding. Then you have two options:

• Use a custom post-type generator + several plugins
• Use a single WordPress directory plugin + a few addons and plugins

Use a custom post-type generator + other plugins

If you want to build a directory website without using a directory plugin, you’ll need to have extensive programming knowledge. However, you can build a very basic directory using custom post-type plugins like ACF, CPT, etc, and some built-in WordPress functionalities.

If you just want to list a small number of items without allowing front-end users to submit listings or pay for a subscription, you could create custom post types and taxonomies natively in WordPress to organize your listings data. If you wanted to import data from something like a CSV file, however, you’ll again be looking for help in the plugins directory. 

Use a WordPress directory plugin to build a directory website with WordPress

The other way and also a better way to build a directory website with WordPress is to use a plugin instead of a lot. You can use a WordPress directory plugin and configure it to achieve the best result. Here we focus on the Listdom. This is one of the best WordPress directory plugins with various features and options.

Steps to build a directory website with a WordPress Directory Plugin

Directory plugins are the backbone of your directory website, providing essential features like listing management, search functionality, and user registration.

Why Choose Listdom to build a directory website with WordPress?

• It’s free.
• Works great with any WordPress theme including Astra.
• Wonderful 80 different skins and styles.
• Customizable and compatible with popular page builders like Elementor and Divi.
• Creates essential web pages on its own.
• Easily scalable with premium add-ons.
• Translation ready

Steps overview

• Installation and activation of Listdom: Listdom is a WordPress plugin. So first you need to install it on your site.
• Settings: After installing the Listdom plugin on your site, you must configure it like any other plugin to meet your site policy.
• Configuration of the listing taxonomies and features: A directory page, also called a listing is the main part of the plugin. Each item on your directory site, such as jobs, hotels, ads, cars, and homes, is a listing. Listings can be gathered in different groups with the same taxonomy, such as categories, labels, and tags.
• First listing creation: Create the first listing based on your website niche and purpose.
• Skin choosing and shortcode creation: After publishing the listings, it’s time to show a list of them on your site. You can show your listings in different skins and views. Listdom has a powerful shortcode builder that generates specific shortcodes with desired settings. Based on the page builder or editor you use, you can insert the shortcodes with different methods in your site.
• Setting up search and filter forms: The list of the directories (listings) can have a search or filter form on top or any other position.
• Setting up Frontend dashboard: With Listdom, your site users can submit listings without having to access the WordPress admin area. Listdom provides a dashboard page that makes it easy for your site users to submit listings.

This article will show you how to build a directory website with WordPress. We’ll walk through the steps in detail and provide links to the documentation for each step. Let’s start step by step:

Step 1: Install and Configure The Listdom Directory Plugin

The first step to start using Listdom is to install and activate the plugin. You can download the Listdom from the WordPress repository. The process of installing is like any other WordPress plugin:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Go to the Plugins menu, and click on the Add New option.
3. In the search bar, type in Listdom Directory Plugin and hit Enter.
4. Find the Listdom Business Directory Plugin from the search results and click Install Now.
5. Once the plugin is installed, the Install Now button changes to the Activate button. Click Activate to bring this plugin to life!

For more detailed information, you can read the full guide on how to install and activate the Listdom. Now Listdom is installed and activated and two new menus called Listdom and Listings are added to the WordPress dashboard. Follow these easy steps to use the Listdom Business Directory Plugin. 

If you import the Listdom dummy data, you’ll have some existing listings and taxonomies on your site. This guide will help you understand what’s there and where to start.

For example here you can see the categories after the dummy data is imported:

Step 2: Overall Settings

Before you publish your first listing, there are some settings you need to configure to build a directory website with WordPress better. The Settings menu is under the Listdom menu. These settings include things like Google Recaptcha, map settings, colors, fonts, and more. While these settings are not required to use Listdom, they do add useful functionality to your site. For example, to use Google Maps you need to get an API key. To increase the security of your site, you need to set up the Google Recaptcha Site and Security keys. Here we configure the main settings. The datils of each part can be achieved through Listdom settings documentation.

General Settings → General

In this section, you can define the date, time, and currency setting. choose the default currency, date, and time format. Also, there are several more settings that you can get back to them later or go deeper reading the setting documentations.

General settings → Map Module

To use Google Maps on your site and show the listings on the map, you need to get an API from Google Maps. You can read about the API key Here. Also, there are other settings related to maps like default zoom, GPS zoom level, and default latitude and longitude that you can set or get back to later.

General Settings → Display Options

Finally, select the best colors that match your site UI and choose the main font. These settings may be affected by your site theme too.

Step 3: Configuration of the listing taxonomies and features

Under the Listings menu, you can find the taxonomies and features. Taxonomies are essential to a directory site. They let you create various categories, labels, tags, locations, and attributes that you can then assign to specific listings. For example, you could create a location called “New York” and then assign it as the default location for certain listings. The Listdom features and taxonomies guide can help you with this. The Listdom features and taxonomies guide can be helpful here.

The configuration of the Categories, Locations, Tags, Features, and labels are the same. You should enter a name, slug, and description. In some of them, you may be able to choose an icon, image, color, etc. that will be used in different styles and places on the site.

Step 4: First listings creation

A listing is the core element of your directory website. To create a listing, you start by entering a name and then add different options to change its appearance and functionality. Go to Listings > Add Listing to add a new listing to your directory by providing detailed information such as titles, descriptions, images, and contact details. Make sure to categorize each listing appropriately for easy navigation.

For a quick start, check out the Listom listing creation guide. if you’re looking for a starting point, read the Listom listing creation guide.

Step 5: Skin choosing and shortcode creation

After publishing the listings, it’s time to show a list of them on your site. You can show your listings in different skins and views including List view, Grid view, Half Map view, Table view, and many more. With some settings applied, Listdom has over 80 ready views that can be used with any WordPress theme.

Listdom has a powerful shortcode builder in Listdom > Shortcodes that generates specific shortcodes with desired settings. Based on the page builder or editor you use like WordPress Classic Editor, Block Editor, Elementor, etc. you can insert the shortcodes with different methods in your site. Mostly it’s possible to paste the shortcode term directly in a text area or use a Shortcode widget/module. Get to know the Listdom Shortcode Builder more.

Step 6: Setting up search and filter forms

Listdom search and filter builder empowers you to create simple to advanced forms to assign to your shortcodes. To learn more, take a look at the specific documentation of Listdom search and filter builder.

Finally, your directory site is ready. you can customize it more by reading the Listdom documentation. Also, you can get in touch with the Listdom support experts and answer any questions and issues.

Step 7: Customize Your Directory Website

Personalize the appearance of your directory website to align with your brand and appeal to your target audience. Customize your theme’s design elements, including colors, fonts, and layouts, to create a unique and visually appealing website.

Addons and Extra Features of the Listdom

The Listdom Pro Add-on

Listdom add-ons can add extra features to the Listdom main plugin. some of the Listdom add-ones are free and some of them are paid. You can see them here. The most used addon is Listdom Pro Addon. This add-on comes with pro features like OpenStreetMap, Map GPS search, Radius search, etc. that help to build a directory website with WordPress even more professional. To see the full list of the documentation of each of them, you can see the Listdom addons documentation.

Implement Monetization Strategies

Explore various monetization options for your directory website with Listdom add-ons. Some of the monetization features of the Listdom are:

• Paid Listing
• Subscriptions
• Claim a Listing
• Topup Listing
• Paid Labels

Choose the monetization strategies that best align with your website’s goals and target audience.

Setting up Frontend Dashboard

Listdom Pro addon offers an option to make a frontend dashboard. With this option, your site users can submit their listings from the frontend dashboard. To learn more you can read Listdom frontend dashboard documentation.

Test and Launch Your Directory Website

After you build a directory website with WordPress and before launching it, test all of its features to make sure it works properly. This includes testing the search functionality, listing submissions, and payment processing. If you find any issues or bugs, fix them before you launch your site. Once everything works smoothly, launch your website and share it with the world!

Optimize Your Directory Website for SEO and Marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for driving organic traffic to your directory website. Optimize your listings and content with relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive titles. Use SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results.

Directory Website Maintenance

Maintaining a directory site is a dynamic and ongoing process that ensures the site’s optimal performance and user experience. It involves regularly updating the site’s content to keep it relevant and accurate. This could mean adding new listings, updating existing ones, or removing outdated entries. It’s also crucial to monitor and manage user-generated content, such as reviews or comments, to maintain the site’s credibility and integrity.

When you build a directory website with WordPress, technical maintenance is equally important and includes tasks like checking and fixing broken links, optimizing site speed, ensuring mobile responsiveness, and implementing regular backups for data security. Regularly updating the site’s software, themes, and plugins is also a part of technical maintenance, which helps in keeping the site secure and functioning smoothly. Lastly, SEO optimization is an ongoing task that helps improve the site’s visibility on search engines. In essence, directory site maintenance is a comprehensive process that plays a vital role in the site’s success and longevity.

Conclusion

Building a directory website with WordPress is a rewarding endeavor that allows you to create a valuable resource for your target audience. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to launching a successful directory website that serves your users’ needs effectively. If you have any questions or need further assistance along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Happy website building!