WordPress directory plugins are quite known for the extensive benefits they deliver to businesses, especially when they offer local services! And as a person who is about to run the online directory website, you should be pretty much benefitted from installing a directory plugin on your website! I mean who doesn’t want the big bucks to flow in while doing something great?
Before we get to see the list of best business directory plugins around, we’ll get through a few basics first!
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Key Features When Choosing a WordPress Directory Plugin
Before installing a WordPress plugin, you’ve got to double-check whether the chosen plugin is worth every penny or not! Because there’s no point in going back and forth! You’ll only be sabotaging the development process and shelling out pennies.
Here are a few key features you should consider taking a look at before you choose “the one plugin” for your website!
Payment Gateway Options
If you’re running an Online directory website, then it’s mandatory that you are quite flexible with the payment options. Because you have no idea what payment gateway method your potential customer would be looking for. And this should never be a reason for you to lose a business!
Customizable Form Fields
It’s obvious that you’ll have to add/customize form fields on your WordPress directory plugin because the nature of every online directory differs based on the industry and the geographical location of the business. So make sure your chosen business directory plugin allows you to customize the form fields.
Media Support
Who’d want to showcase their business without their brand logo? In fact, a research stated that 8 out of 10 individuals hesitated to list their business when they didn’t have the option to upload media files. And that’s probably another factor you should take a closer look at!
Monetization Options
As a business perspective, monetization is the core ingredient for sustaining a business. The same goes with the directory listing business, and you need to know how to monetize a directory website effortlessly. A qualified WordPress directory plugin allows you to have multiple exclusive monetization facilities to boost up your business.
User-Friendly Factor
Imagine you’re a user and you are in an online directory website trying to submit your details. And it’s some time now since you started searching for the submission form! On a scale of 1 – 10, how much do you still want to list your business on the website? The point is, the user-friendly factor is one of the most important factors a WordPress directory plugin should be having!
Though there are other few features that are considered mandatory (customer interactions, directory listing modifications, shortcodes, etc), the above mentioned are the most prominent ones and we didn’t want to overlook them!
Now that we’ve seen the basics, let’s get to the part where you’ll be seeing some of the best WordPress directory plugins, its features and pricing.
Let’s get started with the first one on our list right away!
1. HivePress
Whether you’re looking to build a directory for business, real estate, jobs, restaurants, or something else HivePress is a great option. This free plugin offers everything you need (and more) for a fully functional directory or listings style site. Best of all, the plugin is able to offer all of these features while remaining completely free and easy to use – so there’s really no excuse for not giving it a try.
HivePress is primarily a directory. This means it includes the expected listings custom post type (with related archives and taxonomies). However there are a number of free and premium HivePress extensions that add features to the base plugin. Free extensions cover Authentication for Facebook or Google login support, Favorites to add the capability for users to “heart” a listing, Messages to enable private messaging, Geolocation for listings, Reviews and ratings, as well as Claim and Paid listings (which make it possible for users to claim or pay for a listing respectively).
Paid extensions for HivePress cover more niche functionality that may be a great investment for your business. At the time of writing these include Memberships, Marketplace and Requests if you wish to monetize your directory outside of simple paid listings. But also informational addons like Search Alerts, Social Links, Opening Hours, Statistics, and listing Tags to provide you (and your site visitors) with more helpful data.
If you’re a developer, you’ll be glad to know that the plugin follows WordPress coding standards, utilizes the REST API and offers its own set of actions and filters to make extension easy. And for non-devs, using HivePress on your site is a breeze as there are currently three premium themes in addition to the free ListingHive theme for you to choose from.
2. Directorist – Business Directory Plugin
Developed by WPWax, Directorist is one of the most intuitive WordPress business directory plugins you might have come across. The plugin lets you build an online business listing directory similar to Yelp and Yellow-Pages with utmost ease. With features to create directories based on factors like location, category and interests, no wonder Directorist is our featured plugin in this read.
The plugin is compatible with almost all popular themes like Astra, Divi, Avada, etc and you can use the CSV Bulk Importer whenever you want to. There are also other features like 25+ Elementor page builder widgets, front-end and back-end listing submission, endless shortcode options, customer reviews & ratings, inbuilt language translator plugin and other features which make this plugin a must-have on your deck!
As for the reason why you should use this plugin, it’s extremely user-friendly, highly customizable and one hundred percent responsive. You also can find their clean future roadmap on their official website. Also, they’ve got with themselves an extended documentation facility and excellent support team that’s bound to help you any time you need them!
P.S. The plugin comes with a built-in SEO optimization system and supports Yoast SEO as well! And you can get premium extensions available to extend the features and functionalities of your directory.
3. Business Directory Plugin
Business Directory Plugin is a WordPress plugin that is simple and easy to use. With limited features (in the free version), you should find no trouble in creating your first online directory. The free version allows you to accept both free & paid listing and avoid spam listing with ReCaptcha options.
The options to upload files, display geolocation of the listing, allow customers to give reviews & ratings come in the form of additional software add-ons (which is quite the opposite to Directorist). You also get multiple payment gateway options like Stripe, Paypal, Payfast in the premium version of the plugin.
Put in a few words, Business Directory Plugin is a good choice if you’re comfortable with the basic features. But if you need advanced features like Google maps integration and discount codes, you’ve got to start paying out of your pocket.
4. GeoDirectory
They’ve got themselves a promising banner with the quote that says “The World’s Most Advanced and Scalable WordPress Directory Plugin”! Well, let’s see more about this WordPress directory plugin!
Developed by AyeCode Ltd, GeoDirectory strikes hard with the fact that it allows you to create location-based business directories with ease – doesn’t matter whether you want to come up with a directory for a single street or a city, GeoDirectory has got your back!
Recent developments from the team have made the plugin one hundred percent compatible with Gutenberg and other popular page builders like Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder and more. The plugin is lightweight, easy to use and most importantly, developer-friendly (you can quickly build custom directory themes if you want to). You can use the new features like extended business hours display, custom email templates and the badge system for featured listings to improve the quality of your business directory. And the GeoDirectory Pro version has even more to offer.
5. Connections Business Directory
The name portrays what the plugin is all about! Connections Business Directory promotes itself with one unique point – the enhanced simplicity with extraordinary features! To begin with, the plugin is compatible with all popular themes and page builders like Divi, Avada, Enfold, Elementor, Beaver Builder, Fusion and more. And the plugin is being continuously updated in order to bring its users new features!
Also, you get custom fields which help businesses add more information like business hours, certification, local time, facilities, etc. There are a couple of premium options (CSV import, custom entry order, etc) and premium templates you should find quite useful.
The plugin is developer-friendly and can find the open source on Github. Also, the plugin is used all around the world where users have managed to translate it into their own languages.
6. Sabai Directory
We started exploring a bit and came across this “hard to miss” plugin – Sabari directory. What literally amazed us is the pricing factor of this particular plugin. You get all premium features for just $29 (with 6 months support of course) and you need not pay a penny more than this to use this plugin!
As for the features, you can display listings either in the form of lists or grids or in map view. And you can search listings using multiple methods like keywords, category, distance or location. The plugin is fully responsive and comes with an interactive map (where users can hover and drag) and the option to vote review as helpful/not helpful.
There are a couple of other features like featured listings, multiple payment gateways, options to comment on reviews and photos, etc. All these features make this plugin one of the best WordPress directory plugins available around.
7. Toolset Directory
Toolset Directory is one of the best WordPress directory plugins around and is an ideal fit for both beginners and advanced developers. What makes this plugin special is its ability to allow individuals with no coding experience to create advanced directory websites!
You can easily create custom fields, maps with additional filters, paid listings and set email notifications. You can also allow your users to search your directory with multiple custom search filters. The fact that the Toolset Directory was created by WPML allows you to create a multilingual directory website with ease.
As for the integrations, you can integrate with popular plugins like Elementor, WooCommerce and Yoast SEO.
8. LDD Directory Lite
LDD Directory Lite is one of the best ways to create a fully custom directory website with ease. It’s because the plugin is extremely user-friendly – easy to install, configure and proceed with. One thing that’d really make you consider going for this plugin is its compatibility with almost all the page builder and theme plugins.
You can easily customize the look and feel of your website the way you want, integrate with Google Maps and display lists in the form of grids or in the compact view. Also, you can add extensions like Directory Reports & Exports, Directory Reviews, Directory Social login and a couple of other plugins to make your directory website more sophisticated!
And that’s pretty much about the LDD Directory Lite WordPress business directory plugin. Let’s move on to the pricing sector, shall we?
9. Directory Pro
If you’re quite the person who is both playful and professional, Directory Pro is just the plugin for you! Available in CodeCanyon, Directory Pro allows you to create directories that are fully responsive with a signup mobile!
Also, you have options to view and customize the front-end and the back end dashboard. There are multiple payment methods like Paypal & Stripe, VIP badges to highlight certain listings and the integration option with MailChimp.
With this plugin, you can create multilingual directories and the fact that the plugin is SEO friendly makes the Directory PRO plugin a must-have on our list.
10. BePro Listings
Another free WordPress directory plugin we came across when we were rummaging around the repository. Developed by BePro Software company, this directory plugin allows you to create simple directories with its limited features.
Although the plugin gives you only limited features in the free versions, you get additional add-ons that can help turn your website into one of the best classifieds platforms. You also get the shortcode feature that allows you to display and restrict only certain things on certain pages.
The option to create unlimited payment packages, display them on your website and accept payments with the help of BePro Cart plugin makes this an ideal choice in our read.
11. Name Directory
The last WordPress business directory plugin in our read – Name Directory!
Developed by Jeroen Peters, Name Directory is a plugin that takes a different approach from the usual business index plugins that exist. This is more like a glossary index where your audience can search and find the information they want!
You on the other hand can create multiple directories for the same website, show/hide titles, descriptions, suggestion forms, submitter names and more. Also, you can choose the number of characters that should be revealed in a description and place the read more button for additional information. The plugin comes with a few more similar customization options.
Put in a few words, Name Directory is for those who think a basic directory is sufficient enough for their business.
There! We’ve come across the ten best WordPress business directory plugins around. Before you get to choose your pick, make sure you remember the key features we mentioned at the beginning of this read. Have them in mind and choose the plugin that’s going to help build your WordPress directory website!
Wait, we aren’t done yet! Speaking of coming up with a WordPress directory website, having a popup tool on-board should come quite handy. Maybe you’d want to collect the email addresses of your visitors and use them later for a different purpose? Check out these top WordPress popup plugins, or consider adding a live chat plugin to give your website the final touch!