How can I get started on building a directory website?

If you want to start building your own Yelp like directory for a particular city and industry but you are on a tight budget with limited tech skills I would definitely suggest WordPress.

But it can be tricky as WordPress has several different options and you can get easily lost and even it could end up getting very expensing if you don’t play it right.

Here are few helpful resources for you to go over and decide.
Adam from WPCrafter has done a very good job comparing top 3 WordPress products to build a site like Yelp, watch the full video here https://youtu.be/Ykid7UTXxYI

Then you can watch a step by step full video on how to build the directory here https://youtu.be/sRbUsQXyEOc

There was a detailed article by Codeinwp on the same topic that can be found here https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/create-a-local-search-directory-like-yelp-on-wordpress

Hope this helps you get kick started with a tight budget.

https://WordPress.org theme + plugin repository provides a good starting point.

Before you start you have to have a solid local data source. Users demand accurate data including all the fields normally important in any directory including base data, extended data such as hours, types of payments, specialties, accurate categorization, and more. You will need to develop processes to clean and normalize the data, and maintain the add/deletes/updates. You will need update process allowing businesses to self-fulfill, but also need verification processes to limit changes to data by the owner of that data. You may be able to use a white label version from a national provider, yet they often require minimum revenues and customization fees. Directory is always about accuracy.

Hi, At the first stage you need to focus on industry as you mentioned in the question. Do some research to collect analytics of the business, how many companies is doing companies which this industry.

Secondly, if you have tight budget, then you should identify the (MVP) version, minimum possible features which complete the business flow of your application. Also, you can find a company that could support you in development if your idea is powerful.

Another possibility is you can contact some good consultant to give you technology suggestions.

I would like to tell you a complete process for your product development

Design Phase In this phase we first developed wireframes, It is a pictorial depiction that provides key elements of the UI (fields, buttons, icons, layout, etc.)

Then we decided the style guide, It is standardization of UI elements, UI frames and end-to-end experience.

In development phase, development front end and backend for the application will be done

Then there is a quality assurance (QA ) phase in which we done unit testing, integration testing and performance testing.

Then there is a deployment phase and your website will go live.

I can help you with low budget development as well as product promotion with great business development plan