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 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 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 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 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
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 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.
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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.
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.
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).
Glad you found our recommendation helpful
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
For something like that, you would likely need to look into membership plugins for them to edit their own listing.
I am using the WordPress 2016 theme but it doesn’t have a free plugin.
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.
You forgot THE best Directory plugin: Connections
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
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.
I have been using Simple Link Directory WordPress plugin. Pretty good!
Thank you for sharing this post. It has really been helpful
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.
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
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
You should see a directory menu item in the WordPress admin bar.
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??
Yes.
Can you please write an in-depth review of GeoDirectory?
We usually don’t write reviews. But we will try to cover it in a how to tutorial in the future.
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.
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!
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?
Gravity Forms Directory plugin.
Thanks for mentioning Simple Directory!
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
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.
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?
thank you for mentioning GeoDirectory!