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WPBeginner» Blog» Plugins» 5 Best WordPress Business Directory Plugins

5 Best WordPress Business Directory Plugins

Last updated on January 2nd, 2020 by Editorial Staff
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5 Best WordPress Business Directory Plugins

Are you looking for the best WordPress business directory plugins?

A business directory helps users discover service providers in a particular niche or category. At the same time, it helps those businesses find customers and opportunities.

As a website owner, you can even make money online by selling paid listings on your business directory.

In this article, we have hand-picked some of the best WordPress business directory plugins to help you save some time and money.

Best business directory plugins for WordPress

Best WordPress Business Directory Plugins

A good business directory plugin allows you to easily create lists of businesses organized by location, category, and other parameters.

Business directories help users find new vendors while helping businesses connect with customers and other businesses.

Unlike a Google Search, a business directory is made up of curated listings with description, reviews, and photos. This makes them more useful for users looking for specific businesses.

You’ll be looking for a business directory plugin that allows you to do all that. We will also highlight business directory plugins that allow your users to submit listings, integrate paid submissions, and search options.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress business directory plugins that you can use.

1. Formidable Form

Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms is one of the best WordPress form builder plugins on the market. It allows you to create advanced forms and add them to your website.

Using the real estate listings template, you can create a form that users will use to submit their entries into your directory. Then, you can display the business directory listings on a WordPress page.

It comes with many premium add-ons to add more features and functionality to your WordPress business directory. Formidable Forms fully supports MailChimp, PayPal, WPML, and WooCommerce.

For more details, check out our step by step tutorial on how to properly create a web directory in WordPress using Formidable Forms.

2. Business Directory Plugin

Business Directory Plugin

Business Directory Plugin is a free WordPress plugin to create a simple business directory. It comes with basic features required to run a web directory like customizable form fields, accepting payments for listings, etc.

It allows you to sort entries into categories and tags, create featured entries, and customize entry forms.

If you want to access more features and add-ons, then it has a pro version as well. The premium features include multiple modules, Google Maps support, user ratings, zip code search, file upload, and more.

3. Connections Business Directory

Connections

Connections is a powerful business directory plugin for WordPress. It comes with a set of custom fields that can be used to create almost any kind of web directory. In the privacy settings, you or your users can set privacy level for certain custom fields like business phone numbers or internal messages.

Displaying your directory on the front-end is very easy. You need to add a simple shortcode to your directory page. It offers custom shortcodes with extensive options to customize the appearance of your business directory.

Connections plugin also comes with template support so that you can choose a layout for your listings from pre-built directory templates.

4. GeoDirectory

GeoDirectory

As the name suggests, GeoDirectory allows you to create a location-based business directory like Yelp, TripAdvisor, YellowPages, etc. Using a simple interface, your users can submit listings to the directory. These listings or entries are pointed on the map, and your users can search for locations, businesses, neighborhoods, etc.

You can monetize your website by selling the directory listings. GeoDirectory also allows you to display event listings, create multi-location directories, and add payment gateways.

5. Name Directory

Name Directory

Name Directory is another free WordPress directory plugin. It allows you to create a business or personal directory easily. Using the configuration options, you can select a layout and customize plugin functionality.

It supports shortcodes to display directory listings on a WordPress post or page. You can sort the entries to show new listings on top of the page, allowing those entries to gain more exposure.

We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress directory plugins. You may also want to check out our list of the best email marketing services for small business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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30 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Asier says:
    Sep 7, 2020 at 7:51 am

    Is it possible to have a compatibility between a Listing Directory plugin and a Membership plugin? Because I want to build a directory where some options are available and some are not if you don’t have a membership, so they won’t be clickable.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 9, 2020 at 3:18 pm

      You would want to reach out to the support for the membership plugins with what you’re wanting to do to see if they have recommendations or integrations for that.

      Reply
  2. Mia Charlotte Taylor says:
    Aug 26, 2020 at 3:20 am

    I ended up using one of the plugins you recommended, thanks. I have tried most of these plugins, and I found the second one was best and easiest to use. It took some figuring out at first, but it’s really easy to add categories and subcategories, and you can also import and export businesses in CSV format (seriously useful).

    Thanks for writing this article as it was very useful. I was meddling around for hours installing (and uninstalling) multiple directory plugins. Again, I’d recommend your second option above them all (just an honest opinion).

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Aug 26, 2020 at 11:29 am

      Glad you found our recommendation helpful :)

      Reply
  3. John Williamson says:
    Feb 14, 2019 at 8:02 am

    I want a directory plugin with logins for each business, so that they can create and edit text and photos on their own pages.

    Do any of these do this, if not are there others that do this?

    John

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Feb 14, 2019 at 11:52 am

      For something like that, you would likely need to look into membership plugins for them to edit their own listing.

      Reply
  4. Robert Thompson says:
    Mar 15, 2018 at 3:52 am

    I am using the WordPress 2016 theme but it doesn’t have a free plugin.

    Reply
  5. Gea Vox says:
    Dec 28, 2017 at 6:59 am

    Sorry… had given this s cursory look, just spotted it in your list…

    Have been using this for years and it is such a comprehensively excellent product I have never been tempted to replace it, though I check out similar plugins every time I build a website that requires one.

    Reply
  6. Gea Vox says:
    Dec 28, 2017 at 6:57 am

    You forgot THE best Directory plugin: Connections

    Reply
  7. Emma says:
    Jul 22, 2017 at 10:42 am

    What directory business application or plugin can I purchased to add ecommerce function to a listing directory

    I need a listing directory site to function like Just eat, so user can can purchse listed items from suppliers

    Reply
  8. Samuel Okiria says:
    Mar 24, 2017 at 2:42 am

    Hi. Am trying to make a directory for accounting firms and accountants in my country. But am having trouble getting a goof plugin to use. Could you please suggest me a plugin that could help me out. Thanks. Great post by the way.

    Reply
  9. Andrew says:
    Dec 21, 2016 at 5:06 am

    I have been using Simple Link Directory WordPress plugin. Pretty good!

    Reply
  10. Rasheedat says:
    Oct 8, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Thank you for sharing this post. It has really been helpful

    Reply
  11. Yakin Shah says:
    Jul 18, 2016 at 5:31 am

    i want to start a web directory along with my already running site.
    I want the look and feel to remain same.
    The directory will be of web designers and developers.
    Which directory plugin you prefer the most?
    Regards,
    Yakin.

    Reply
  12. Rizwan says:
    May 25, 2016 at 11:58 am

    Hi I have installed Business Directory but one thing i need to edit is, when i open listings its auto generated page Title as Archives. I want to remove it. Kindly advice.
    Please check

    Regards

    Reply
  13. Harsha says:
    Apr 19, 2016 at 9:19 am

    I am using business directory plugin. I installed & activated. But it doesn’t appear anywhere in my site. My site is , I am new to wordpress. I don’t know how to use. I am not a tech guy. please guide me

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 19, 2016 at 12:06 pm

      You should see a directory menu item in the WordPress admin bar.

      Reply
      • Harsha says:
        Apr 20, 2016 at 6:37 am

        In Dashboard, on the left hand side list, Just above “appearance” I have “Directory” and “Directory Admin” Are those the ones you are talking about??

        Reply
        • WPBeginner Support says:
          Apr 20, 2016 at 12:59 pm

          Yes.

  14. Siddharth says:
    Sep 14, 2015 at 4:36 am

    Can you please write an in-depth review of GeoDirectory?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 14, 2015 at 6:02 pm

      We usually don’t write reviews. But we will try to cover it in a how to tutorial in the future.

      Reply
  15. Neill Watson says:
    Sep 8, 2015 at 10:44 am

    Thanks for the info, perhaps someone can help me with something I’m developing.
    I’d like to create a business directory with the ability to display directory results contextually alongside the relevant article entries. This is for a historic motorsport website.

    My plan is to tag articles and also directories with common relevant tags,then display contextual results. For example, an article on Porsche will have alongside it relevant entries for Porsche specialists. An article on Le Mans will have useful accommodation for leMans alongside.

    The critical thing seems to be a plug in that uses the same tags as main entries and allowing businesses to enter and edit their own info.

    Any ideas will be very welcome, thanks for the article.

    Reply
    • Mindy Iannelli says:
      Mar 24, 2016 at 8:18 am

      Hi Neill – wondering if you have found an answer to this. I’m thinking you’ll want to stick with creating something with ACF, but if you’ve found a directory that will work like this, that’s wonderful! Curious if you’ve found a solution!

      Reply
  16. Joni Mueller says:
    Sep 1, 2015 at 2:43 pm

    I have the developer license for Gravity Forms and I don’t se a directory addon anywhere. Can you provide a direct link to it?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 2, 2015 at 9:53 am

      Gravity Forms Directory plugin.

      Reply
  17. Michael Lautman says:
    Jun 18, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    Thanks for mentioning Simple Directory!

    Reply
  18. ahmed says:
    Jun 13, 2015 at 7:51 pm

    hi its very nice in the feature i need to come back here again to read just one more time I’m going to use one of them soon

    thanks for adding

    Reply
  19. Sheryl Roger says:
    Jun 13, 2015 at 2:47 am

    Thanks for this sharing this excellent list of wordpress directory plugins. I was looking for the same query as i need to develop a business directory in wordpress. I find this blog very useful and i hope i will help me professionally as well.

    Reply
  20. Connor Rickett says:
    Jun 10, 2015 at 6:01 pm

    I’ve been looking at putting a directory on one of my sites . . . I had no idea you could set one up in Gravity Forms. That simplifies my life, thanks! I’ll give a couple of the others a look, but why install a new plugin when an old dog has some new tricks after all?

    Reply
  21. paolo says:
    Jun 10, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    thank you for mentioning GeoDirectory!

    Reply

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