Directory websites are popular and are a great way to showcase local businesses, services, and more. A directory website can also be a profitable business. Fortunately, it’s easy to build a directory website using WordPress. In this post, we’ll see how to create a directory website in WordPress to help you with your next WordPress design.
Written on by Randy A. Brown
Estimated read time 5 minutes
How To Create a Directory Website in WordPress
A directory website provides a list. The list can be people, places, services, and lots more. The website can provide a single list, or many lists for visitors to use. The lists can be created by one company, or users can submit listings.
Types of Directory Websites
A directory website can list:
Businesses
Companies
Company staff
Company departments
Company teams
Team Members
Business locations
Sports teams
City
Job Board
Real estate listings
This is just scratching the surface of the types of directories websites can provide. Directories can be accessible to visitors, internal team members, or for personal use. Many large corporations provide directories of their staff and departments for external or internal use.
Directory Website Hosting
Of course, a great directory website needs great Hosting for WordPress. Fortunately, we have the best Hosting for WordPress available. For more information, see our Hosting Plans for WordPress and get started on building your WordPress website today.
Directory Plugins
There are several ways to create a directory website with WordPress. For example, you could create custom post types and taxonomies to create directories. This can become tedious, and it’s limited to the custom post type.
The best way to create a directory website in WordPress is with a directory plugin. Plugins provide the post types needed, plus they provide many other features. For example, you can create a website where users upload directory listings.
This can be accomplished manually with forms and custom post types, but it requires extra steps. A directory plugin can provide everything you need in one package. Most include a free and premium version, and many directory plugins have add-ons to expand the plugin even further.
Most directory plugins also include features for classified ads websites. So, if you already use a classified ads plugin, you might already have everything you need. For more about building a classified ads website, see the article How to Make a Classified Ads Website with WordPress.
Directory Plugins in the WordPress Repository
Here are the most popular directory plugins in the WordPress repository:
GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory
Classified Listing – Classified ads & Business Directory Plugin
Directorist – WordPress Business Directory Plugin with Classified Ads Listings
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing Directories for WordPress
I wanted to use GeoDirectory for this tutorial, but it had an error when I installed it, so it needs to be updated. Instead, I chose Connections Business Directory.
Connections Business Directory
It’s one of the most popular directory plugins with over 7,000 current installations. Its focus is business, but it’s versatile and can create any type of directory website you want. Make a business listing service, a Yelp clone, and more.
Free features include paid and free listings, featured/sticky listings, customizable form fields, upload images, multiple plans, recurring payments, widgets, ReCAPTCHA, sorting, CSV import/export, etc. Team members are displayed as a vCard.
Expand it with free and premium add-ons. There are also premium themes available to build your directory website.
Install Connections Business Directory
First, install Connections Business Directory by going to Plugins > Add New Plugin in the WordPress directory. Search for Connections Business Directory, click Install Now, and activate the plugin once the installation has been completed.
Set Your Business Directory Home Page
The plugin will ask you to build a home page for your directory. This step is optional, but it does help to have a home page if you plan to create a single directory. You can display the directory on any page or post, and it works the same either way.
First, create a page you want to use as the directory home page. Then, go to Connections > Settings in the WordPress dashboard. The home page setting is in the General tab.
For the rest of the tabs, you can use the default settings or continue through the settings and tabs to choose the features and design options you want.
General
In the General tab, choose the home page from the dropdown box. You can also choose to require a login and provide a custom login message. Choose the default category (more on that later), country and region, and shortcode overrides.
Display
The Display tab includes the date format, results list, result list actions, individual result list, entry actions, and single-entry options.
Fieldset Configuration
Fieldset Configuration includes the publish options and all the other fields that appear in the directory entry editor. This gives you control over all the fields and their default settings.
Images
The Images tab gives you control over the thumbnail image, medium image, large image, and logo. Adjust the JPEG quality, width, height, and crop mode for each one individually.
For more information about using images in WordPress, see the articles Basic Guide to WordPress Image Sizes and How to Optimize Images for Better Performance.
Search
Search lets you choose which fields are included in the search. Enable FULLTEXT query support and LIKE query support, which includes keywords surrounding the search terms.
SEO
The SEO tab gives you control over the page meta and page display. Meta includes the title and description. Display updates the page title to reflect the current location in the directory.
For more information about SEO, see the articles 22 SEO Tips for WordPress and The Importance of Schema Markup for SEO.
Advanced
The Advanced tab gives you control over the permalinks, links, custom post type support, Google Map integration, and compatibility with jQuery and templates.
Add a Business Directory Entry
Build your directory by selecting Add Entry from the Connections dashboard menu. Select Individual, Organization, or Family from the Publish settings. This chooses the types of Name fields you have by default. Enter the information into the fields.
The rest of the fields will remain the same regardless of the type of directory you want to publish. Next, upload an image. This is the featured image for the Individual, Organization, or Family. Upload a logo, add the address, phone numbers, email addresses, Messenger IDs, Social Media IDs, links, dates, biographical info, notes, and an excerpt. Images and logos are separate from the media library.
Categories
You can create categories for your lists. This helps with SEO, user searches, and site organization. Create categories from the dashboard menu by selecting Connections > Categories.
The categories work the same as regular WordPress categories. However, they can’t be created in the Entry editor, so you’ll need to create them here.
Templates
The Connections Business Directory plugin provides themes to display your listing entries. Themes include individual, organization, family, anniversary, and birthday. You can purchase more if you want.
You can customize them with the site customizer. This is a depreciated feature in WordPress and works differently based on the theme you’re using. You can also customize them in the block customization options on the page and post editor.
How to Display Directories on Your Website
Once you’ve created your directories, you can display them on any page or post with WordPress blocks. Blocks include Directory, Carousel, Team, and Upcoming. This provides several ways to present your lists. To display your directory, choose the block you want.
Directory
Directory displays the list in the standard format, including all the fields and media you’ve added to the directory. You can choose the character index, template, entry type, filters, and the order to display the list. This example shows the character index and default entry card template. A filter above the cards allows users to sort alphabetically.
Carousel
The carousel block displays the listing within a carousel. You can adjust the slider, choose the entry type, choose between a logo or image, choose the image shape, choose the details to display, and adjust the colors.
You can display 1-4 slides at once. This example shows a single slide. It includes arrow and dot navigation.
Team
Team displays team members within cards. It includes lots of layout options. Choose the image type and shape, the details to display, and adjust the border settings. The layout includes a grid, list, and table. Styles include clean, flip, slide, and overlay. It also includes column adjustments.
You can show 1-5 columns at once. This example shows three columns.
Upcoming
Upcoming is a unique directory option for listing events based on the dates and types you selected when creating the entries.
Options include anniversary, birthday, baptism, deceased, certification, employment, membership, graduate high school, graduate college, and ordination. Add more or edit them in the plugin settings. You can also choose the display settings.
This example shows birthdays within the next 90 days. Unfortunately, it doesn’t display the person’s name or image at the moment.
Ending Thought on How to Create a Directory Website in WordPress
That’s our look at how to create a directory website in WordPress. Directories are a popular way to present lists. They’re especially great for businesses to provide information about their teams, list local businesses, and more. Fortunately, there are lots of plugins available to build any type of directory website you need.
We want to hear from you. Have you created a directory website in WordPress? Let us know about your experience in the comments.
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