Crealanta Magazine

How to create an Business Directory in Your Membership Site

Nov 17, 2022

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Business Directory Plugins

As a WordPress users, you'll are in a lot of positions in regards to adding a business directory to your website for members.

As mentioned, for this tutorial, we'll be using the appropriately called and highly rated Business Directory Plugin for WordPress. It's a free, popular, and powerful option. Should you need to unlock more features, you can effortlessly upgrade the premium modules.

There are other options out there. Based on the requirements of your business the other plugin may be the best option. GeoDirectory as well as Connections Business Directory are great plugins. And both offer free and paid options.

So, let's begin setting up your directory!

Modify Business Directory Plugin for WordPress

From these two menus, you'll find the controls that allow you to structure how the plugin as well as your company directory will work. A good place to start in setting up your directory is on the Manage Fields for Forms screen.

The controls allow you to determine what fields can be used in the listings you have. These fields determine what data the listings can accommodate. For instance, you can include your business' name, address, as well as the URL of your website. Business Directory Plugin will also let you easily add new fields to your listing.

Other aspects of the plugin as well as your directory of businesses that you could want to customize include:

  • Categories and tags for your directory to make it easier for you to organize your listings
  • Settings for duration of listings to regulate how long listings remain still active.
  • Contact settings that determine if users can reach the owner of the site.
  • Fees and payment settings to take and charge money in exchange for a listing

Limit Access to Your Business Directory

By using the Business Directory plugin for WordPress You can totally restrict access to your directory in order that only active members can view and interact with it, or you can make your directory available to the public.

If you're using along with Business Directory Plugin the options to restrict accessibility to the directory can be nearly infinite. You can secure specific parts of your business directory from non-members, giving you tons of options for setting up and monetizing the directory.

If you'd like to make your directory private, you are able to limit access to the company listing page of your website using .

Just go to the Rules page located under the menu on the left sidebar on your WordPress dashboard. There, you are able to create a new rule by choosing the the One Page option. Then, you can select the page with the business directory.

You can then utilize to modify the access conditions settings on the same screen to determine who can access the secure page, according to their plan of membership or name.

The way you configure your plugin, when an unlogged-in user or member attempt to visit the site and log in, they'll be presented with the login screen, the registration page or customized message.

It has sophisticated rules functionality allows you to control much more than just access to the directories for businesses. Based on the configuration of your website, you can limit access to listings that have certain tags, or limit the ability to access the listings creation page, and many more.

Final thoughts

If you have the right tools You'll be able to make it simple to build a company directory in your WordPress membership site.

There are a lot of good business directory plugins out on the market, such as the one we utilized in this instance, make aware of the features you need to meet the requirements of your specific project. Find the plugin which best meets your needs.

 Are you looking to add a business directory to your site for membership? We would love to hear your opinions by leaving a comment below.