Directory Design

Directory Website Design & Development

Consumers are constantly scouring the web, in search of the best deals for products and services in their local areas and elsewhere. At the same time, businesses are always searching for innovative ways to position themselves so that these customers can find them and buy their products and services. In these modern times when most people access information through the internet, it is in the best interest of a business, looking to expand its customer base and boost profits, to list itself in an online directory.

In these modern times when most people access information through the internet, it is in the best interest of a business, looking to expand its customer base and boost profits, to list itself in an online directory. For many reasons, directory website design projects are key to increase the efficiency of online business/ commerce. Directory website design projects help stimulate the online economy. What do we mean by this?

Directory Websites Help Consumers & Businesses

Directory websites not only help consumers find what they are looking for but they also help with citations, backlinks, brand signals and local SEO signals. For some of you, this might not make sense. However, these items are crucial for businesses to increase their rankings on the internet. These directories also off the consumer resources that other websites just can not.

We help create, design, strategize and deploy your directory website

Our team of web designers in El Dorado Hills can help to create, design, strategize and deploy your directory website project. We have a custom web application development team that can strategize exactly what you are looking for in terms of a custom directory.

For most website directory projects, you will want a custom developed website with Ruby on Rails, CakePHP or any other web application framework. However, in some instances, you can save money when developing a directory with a more common CMS like WordPress, Drupal or Joomla.

Directory websites provide searchable listings that allow visitors to find businesses online, bridging the gap between sellers and buyers. Online directories list websites, grouping them in categories, sometimes providing direct links to these websites as well. Brenan Greene in El Dorado Hills is aware of the benefits of directory websites and can help develop a cutting-edge online directory for you that is easily monetized and user-friendly.

Make Money With An Online Directory Service

Online directories are a necessary resource for both businesses and customers. Directory websites can be a great source of income for its owners. From subscription based directory websites to eCommerce website design concepts, there a plethora of ideas out there to make money with a directory. Here are a few ways to monetize your online directory:

  • Fee for Listings: You can charge businesses a fee for listing their websites on your online directory. Consider charging different fees based on different benefits such as charging more for a featured listing.
  • Advertisements: Banner advertisements and other types of ad space are a great way to generate revenue from your directory website.
  • Membership fees: You can charge a monthly or yearly membership fee for businesses to place multiple listings during a certain, set period as opposed to charging for one listing at a time.
  • Lead Generation Website: Build a website, generate leads and then cold call those prospects and sell them the leads.
  • Affiliate Marketing Concept: Build a website, generate traffic through inbound marketing and then get commissions from links that are clicked and then a transaction happens on that website.
  • There are hundreds more…

Building a Directory Website

To attract local businesses to want to list with your directory website, your site has to stand out from the crowd. Your website must also be easy to manage from your end, so that you can organize listings and perform administrative tasks efficiently. There are many solutions for building a killer directory website, from utilizing directory plugins for various content management systems to using web directory scripts to using ready-made WordPress directory themes. Brenan Greene in El Dorado Hills will explore some popular online directory building methods below:

Web Directory Scripts

For custom-built web directories, consider using web directory scripts. These are software packages that require minimal technical expertise and allow you to customize your directory the way you like. Below are some well-known directory scripts you can use for your website:

  • eSyndiCat

eSyndiCat is a popular, full-featured and highly customizable PHP directory script, favored my many webmasters. Both professionals and new users find this script easy to work with and once installed, you can have an up and running online directory in no time! It offers a variety of plugins – free and premium – and templates to extend your website with added functionality and customize the layout and other features just the way you like. Coding experts have the ability to modify and enhance the script’s source code as they deem fit for their projects. It is also possible to integrate eSyndicat with payment gateways that make it easy to get payments for listing and ads.

  • Subrion

Subrion is the perfect directory script package for developers who desire the flexibility of using one script for web directories that cater to multiple, different business markets. It offers features that allow directory webmasters to create differently styled listing templates with multiple categories. Subrion can be used for a multitude of purposes to build online directories for all kinds and types of local businesses. Subrion offers payment gateways that extend payment options so that you can generate revenue from paid listings and advertisements seamlessly. You can also switch between scripts from other scripts to Subrion as it offers migration capability. Other great features include adding newsletters and a FAQ section, creating polls, rating feature and much more.

  • PHP Links Directory

PHP Link Directory boasts multiple templates and modules that give web directory developers free reign to customize their directories as they want. It is one of the most widely-used directory scripts available and can be easily configured to suit your specific needs.

WordPress Directory Themes

Using directory scripts is one option. Another option is using ready-made WordPress directory themes that include WooCommerce eCommerce. These directory themes help you build, manage and monetize a directory website for a wide range of purposes. There are a bunch of great, professional-looking directory themes to choose from such as Vantage, Directory Theme, Glocal and much more. Let’s explore some popular WordPress directory theme options:

  1. Vantage

This is the most well-known directory theme for WordPress. It is easy to install, set-up and use. Once installed, you can have your fully-responsive (desktop and mobile-friendly) online directory, up and ready to go in a matter of minutes. Vantage offers great monetization tools, claimable listing features, custom fields and forms – just to name a few of its awesome attributes.

  1. Directory Theme

Templatic’s Directory Theme is also easy to install and use. Director Theme maximizes user experience (UX) for site visitors and at the same time, is simple to manage on the backend. Directory Theme is a great listing solution for a variety of businesses – schools, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, cars…the list is endless! Directory Theme allows you to charge fees for specific categories, sell membership packages, show ad banners and a plethora of other monetization features.

  1. Glocal

Glocal offers flexibility and convenience for both users and owners of online directories. It is great for custom fields as it is integrated with the TYPES plugin that makes it easy for you to build custom fields and custom search. It is also multilingual which is an asset for owners that want to list websites on a global scale.

Content Management System (CMS) Directory Plugins

There is also the option of using directory plugins for different CMS platforms like Joomla and WordPress. With these plugins, you can extend the functionality of your CMS-powered website to include online directory capabilities.

Some examples of directory plugins for WordPress include:

  • WordPress Business Directory Plugin
  • WordPress Link Directory Plugin

Joomla directory plugins include:

  • Sobipro
  • Moset’s Tree

The expert team with Brenan Greene in El Dorado Hills offers innovative online directory solutions to meet all your needs. We specialize in custom-built web directories powered by WordPress and Joomla directory plugins as well as custom directory web design using popular directory scripts. We cater to local businesses in El Dorado Hills and the Greater Sacramento area, priding ourselves in offering premium custom web design and development solutions.

Contact the professionals with Brenan Greene in El Dorado Hills today if you have any questions about building a directory.