Please suggest is there any wordpress plugin or theme available? whether its free or paid does not matter to me. I want to build a expert marketplace directory structure where all the profile will be browesable as per their location and expertise area
The right solution will depend on having a clearer understanding of the goals of your directory and the needs of your users. But this is an area with many possible solutions:
http://www.wpmayor.com/best-directory-plugins-for-wordpress/
Review all of the above offerings (and any others you find) and compare their capabilities with your expectations. Evaluate them several times wearing different hats:
(a) the manager / owner of the marketplace: bulk populating listings, editing & moderation, seo, upgrades and payments, etc...
(b) a supply-side user of the market, i.e., an expert with a free listing as well as one with a premium listing, if applicable: creating, editing, ugrading, sharing and publicizing their listings etc.. Can they easily have multiple listings or locations, what fields are available to add details to their listings and do these prevent errors like mispelled categories and tags, etc...
(c) the end user looking for experts in various scenarios: casual browser, looking for a particular expert for the first time, returning user trying to do more advance actions like: saving experts for later, retrieving favorites, sharing an expert with someone else or on social media networks, contacting experts, rating or reviewing experts.
It is really important to also create a matrix of features and benefits for all the plugins you find and add qualitative evaluations of each. If you are not sure how to benchmark these start by looking outside of WordPress by looking at established marketplaces (in and out of your sector) to develop a list of criteria.
Finally, make sure the vendor of the plugin you choose is there for the long term, is well regarded by the community, and provides adequate documentation and support. Look at support forums closely, search for unanswered threads, view the change logs / development roadmaps, and contact the developers with pre sales questions.
Have built several of these and there are problems with them all, unless your idea of how your site will work, is the same as the developers, you will face significant compromise.
Some are VERY location specific, but are weak in categories of business. A restaurant/hotel is different to a business?? No they are types of business but in general theme authors treat them as different. Well a dentist is different to a garage and also a greengrocer and a cinema.
Are you looking to focus on events? Who organises? Members??? Do they need to sell tickets. Are the organisers businesses or individuals (aka sole trader???)
What about job vacancies? Adverts??
How about different levels of "members" having greater or fewer levels of presence and promotion (gold silver bronze??)
Will you list at a basic level and let owners claim and pay for greater prominence
So definitely work out how you want to run the directory then find a theme plugin that meets that, OR decide what you can compromise you can make, so that they fit.
OR write your own!
Finally, I think the best overall solution is the geodirectory plugin, BUT by comparison to a theme it is expensive when the addons you need to make it really functional.
Don't accept any theme that only uses paypal - stripe and recurring subscriptions (possibly with woocommerce) offer greatest flexibilty
To create a directory listing website, you must focus on the following themes:
1. ListingPro: ListingPro is an all-in-one WordPress theme that includes everything needed to launch an online directory. Although ListingPro is a brand-new WordPress theme, it has been created by an experienced development team. Thanks to the feedback system used on the leading ThemeForest marketplace where this theme can be purchased, it only takes a few clicks to learn that the developers of ListingPro have a proven track record when it comes to producing and supporting professional WordPress themes. Therefore, if you’re looking for a directory WordPress theme from a reputable source, ListingPro certainly fulfills those requirements. The change log already gives a good indication that this theme will be regularly updated and improved over the coming weeks, months, and years. When it comes to the theme itself, ListingPro really does include everything you are likely to need in order to launch a fully featured online directory with WordPress. Thanks to this, you will not need to purchase any additional paid plugins to build and maintain your site. In the package, you will find a complete reviews and ratings system, an advanced search tool, an intuitive listings submission interface, a built-in ad manager, and much more. In fact, if you compare the feature list of ListingPro with some of the other directory WordPress themes available, you are likely to be impressed. Monetization options are well covered too. ListingPro includes an advert manager tool for displaying ads on your site. The theme features make it easy to create multiple membership packages including paid options. Collecting payments online is covered too. You can also create claimable listings to encourage your target audience to sign up and take control of their listings. Whatever type of listings or online directory you want to build with WordPress, ListingPro has the design and feature list to help you not only get started but create a profitable business.
2. Wyzi: Wyzi is a powerful multifunctional business finder and service provider directory WordPress theme. This theme can be used in several different ways, making it a good choice for anyone who wants lots of options for expansion as their online directory website grows. The different website demos make it easy to launch a general all-purpose listings site, a service provider directory, a real estate listings portal, and an online business directory. Each of the demos works in a slightly different way, with varied options for how the listings are displayed and how users interact with them. However, you can easily combine the different elements from the demos to create the perfect platform for your online directory and listings website. As Visual Composer is in the Wyzi theme package, you can really customize almost every aspect of this theme through a drag-and-drop content editor. When it comes to configuring the listings settings of your online directory, Wyzi has an impressive amount of options. WooCommerce takes care of the payments side of things, with its library of add-ons providing you with many ways to collect and manage payments from your users. Commissions can be collected on individual transactions or you can simply charge a flat fee for the ability to post a listing on your site. Subscription payment packages can be created as well. If you want lots of monetization options for your online listings’ website, the Wyzi directory theme could be a good choice.
3. Listable: Listable is ideal for both local and global directory websites. So, if you are in the process of building a listings website with WordPress then this could be the theme for you. Whether you want to build a community website to highlight the local attractions in your area, or you would rather create an income generating commercial directory site, this theme gives you the option. Through the theme settings you can create multiple payment plans, including a free entry level option.
This then allows your visitors to sign up and start adding their listings to your directory, in exchange for a fee of your choosing. If you do create multiple pricing plans, Listable will auto-generate a pricing table to make it easy for your visitors to compare the different options available to them. Depending on how you configure this theme, your directory could feature a search form on the homepage that makes it easy for your visitors to search your listings as soon as they arrive. Furthermore, you can also easily add category icons to the homepage, which again, makes it easy for your audience to filter the listings by type of business or attraction. When it comes to adding the listings to your directory, you as the site owner or administrator can add them via both the back end and through the front-end forms. Your registered users on the hand can only add their content through the custom-built front-end submission forms. One particularly nice feature of Listable is that additional functionality is made available via plugins, rather than automatically being bundled into the theme. This means you only need to enable the features you plan on using, preventing your WordPress installation becoming bloated with unnecessary features and code. Listable combines a professional looking design with some great monetization options to help you build a profitable directory website with WordPress.
4. Directory Engine: Directory Engine is an impressive directory theme from the Engine Themes team that follows in the footsteps of their other purpose-built app themes. As with other app themes from Engine Themes, a lot of effort has been put into making it as easy as possible to setup your website. The integrated quick start walkthrough guide will have your site up and running in no time at all, allowing you to get a good overview of the different features and settings before you start adding content. To allow you to build your own custom page layouts which are tailored to your preferences and those of your community, the theme makes use of modular content blocks which can be dragged and dropped into place. These blocks include content modules such as featured places, hot and latest places, reviews, services, testimonials, reviews, and categories. The modules can also be added to any of the sidebar areas as widgets, giving you lots of flexibility for building your home and internal page layouts. For end users, submitting a listing to your directory is very straightforward thanks to the front-end submissions’ forms. The whole process is seamlessly integrated with the rest of your website and does not even require any additional page loads thanks to the use of Ajax in their construction. Each place that is added to the directory gets its own page which can be used to showcase that listing. These individual pages can include maps, large photos, and videos, as well as all the relevant details about the business. When it comes to browsing the site, this directory theme for WordPress makes it extremely easy for visitors to view the listings, with related listings being continually displayed without any page reloads for a smooth user experience. The listings can be browsed by exploring the map, searching the directory, or filtering them using the categories. By using the location fields, users can filter results within a certain radius to find a business that is nearby. Users can also add listings to their favourites for quick access on return visits to your site. DirectoryEngine is also mobile friendly thanks to its responsive design. This ensures that those looking for a business or place of interest can just as easily make use of your directory, no matter whether they are at home, work, or on the go. To sum up, DirectoryEngine makes it easy to create your own page layouts thanks to its drag and drop modular content blocks, and comes with all the other features you would expect from a modern directory theme, including a great looking design.
5. Directory: The Directory app theme gives users plenty of options for browsing the listings, such as using the integrated Google Maps, filtering by categories and subcategories, searching, and viewing all listings for a particular city. The theme also includes a Geo-tracker which uses the visitors IP address to show the listings in the city nearest to them.
Although the optional Geo-tracker works on all devices, it makes any site built using Directory extra convenient for mobile users as they can instantly see the nearest listings to them without having to enter their current location. The theme is also fully responsive for screens of all sizes. When it comes to monetising your directory, you can charge on a per listing basis, or setup subscriptions packages. You can also set additional fees for listings submitted under specific categories, giving you plenty of options for making money from your site. Coupon codes can also be created for offering discounts. PayPal is supported out of the box, and many additional payment gateways can be added via the Directory addons. Recurring payments can be setup for the subscription packages when using PayPal. Listings can be submitted by visitors using forms created with the custom form builder, or through the admin interface on an individual basis. Listings can also be bulk imported via a CSV file saving your time when creating the directory. Visitors to the site can create user profiles and receive email notifications about their listings. Directory is a powerful theme packed with many great features. The structure and organisation of your directory, as well as the contents of the individual listings are all highly customisable, thanks to the use of the included custom post type builder. This all makes the theme ideal for almost any type of listings, and a great choice for building a premium directory.
6. Vantage: Vantage was recently updated to include the handling of recurring payments, which makes it great for collecting payments on autopilot. While PayPal is supported out of the box, there are a few extensions available which allow you to increase the number of payments gateways you can use. As well as accepting regular business listings, Vantage also has a separate event listing which can be used for listing events that take place on a specific day or over multiple days, such as festival, or exhibitions. With Vantage you can also create ‘claimable listings’ for businesses in your local area which can then be claimed for a fee by the featured organisation. Unlike the Directory theme from Templatic, the listings in Vantage are not tied into cities, allowing you to create a directory that covers larger geographical areas such as states or entire countries, without the listings being divided up by city. There are also several child themes available for changing the appearance of your site.
7. Urbango: Urbango is a premium directory and listings WordPress theme with lots of integrated features. Urbango is an ambitious theme with a modern design and a long list of features that aims to be suitable for a wide range of projects. From listing events and local attractions to businesses and service providers, Urbango has been designed to handle any type of listing. Therefore, whatever kind of directory website you are working on, you should probably look at Urbango. The Urbango theme demo has been set up to display listings for coworking spaces, beauty salons, food and drink businesses, and places to shop. This should give you a good idea of what your listings could look like and the type of website you could create with the Urbango theme. The demo website also does a good job of showcasing the pre-built homepage layout that is included in the Urbango theme package. If you choose to use this theme in its default configuration, your online directory website could feature a full-width slider on your homepage that highlights some of your best listings, a grid displaying some featured listings, and powerful search tool to help your visitors find what they’re looking for. As well as getting a modern and stylish design for your WordPress-powered online directory, Urbango also has lots of useful features that give you full control over how your listings website works. Thanks to these settings, you can choose which data and information is stored for each listing, ensuring you’re able to provide your visitors with the content they need, such as opening hours, location on a Google Map, pricing details, and more. If you want to monetize your online directory, Urbango has been built around the leading WooCommerce plugin, making it easy to create pricing plans for your users, charge a one-time fee for the ability to publish a listing, or some other pricing strategy of your choice. If you want to know exactly how this theme works, you can log in to the Urbango demo to see for yourself.
8. Listify: Listify combines good looks with all the features you need to build a directory listings website that functions in the way you want. By focusing on great design and the ability to integrate with some of the best directory-focussed WordPress plugins out there, the developers of Listify have done a good job of ensuring you get the best of both worlds in terms of terms of appearance and features. Some of these integration options include Open Table, Resurva, Guestful, and WooCommerce Bookings, allowing you to offer your visitors the chance to make reservations with the businesses listed in your directory – a great selling point to use to attract advertisers to your website. To ensure your listings stand out in the search engines, before your visitors even reach your website, the Listify theme includes support for rich snippets. This can help to increase both your website rank and the click through rates it receives. When it comes to monetizing your directory website, Listify is not short of options. With the ability to display adverts, charge users for adding a listing, claiming a listing, and even viewing listings and accessing the website, however you decide to setup your fee structure, you get plenty of flexibility with this theme. Having the option to display full width background videos on the homepage of your website means that by choosing Listify, there is no reason your listings website must look like the countless other online directories out there.
9. ListGo: ListGo has a wide range of website demos to help you create many different types of online listings and directories with WordPress. Thanks to the large selection of pre-built directory demos, you should be able to find one that matches your design preferences and the type of items you want to list. The demo content importer tool then makes it easy to lay the foundation for your WordPress online directory, while the settings and options ensure you are able to configure the site in the right way for your business. When it comes to monetization options, ListGo does not disappoint. If you choose to charge your users a fee to access the directory or publish a listing on your site, you can easily setup recurring subscriptions. This ensures that a payment is collected from your users on a regular schedule, on an automated basis. You can also use the payment functionality of ListGo to offer your users free trials that automatically switch to paid plans unless the user cancels their plan. Members can also switch plans and take care of the management of their subscriptions themselves, through the front-end forms and membership areas. You can also easily display adverts on your website, thanks to the ad management features. Other useful features of ListGo that can be used to enhance your listings and directory website include auto-location detection for displaying local results, an upgraded search form to help users find exactly what they’re looking for, and improved mobile support to cater to users on the go. Not only will these features make your directory easier to use, but it will also present a professional appearance to help impress potential advertisers. If you are looking for a well-rounded tool that combines multiple designs with a wealth of features, List Go could be a good option.
10. Search & Go: Search & Go is another freshly released directory theme for WordPress. As this theme is very new, it features a highly modern design and appearance that will help give your online directory or listings website an innovative look. Like the best directory themes, Search & Go can be used for a range of different directory projects, from simple local listings sites to items for sale and must-see events. Visitors can add their own listings through the front-end submission forms and depending on how you’ve chosen to configure your website, you can either let them do this for free or charge them a fee for this level of access.
If you do decide to monetize your directory website in this way, you can create as many different pricing plans and premium packages as you need. Payments can be collected via PayPal, making the entire process fully automated. Although the design of Search & Go theme looks great, if you want to change any aspects of your website, you can easily do so by using the included premium Visual Composer page builder plugin. Overall, Search & Go is a flexible theme that will help you build the directory website you need, while also making it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for or submit their own content to your site.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
