Listdom Setup: Your Guide to Creating a WordPress Directory Website

Let’s dive into how to use Listdom to create your own awesome directory site.

What is Listdom and Why Use It?

Listdom is a WordPress plugin that simplifies the process of creating directory websites. It’s free, packed with customization options, and works for various types of directories. Listdom offers a powerful and free solution. If you want to create an online directory, Listdom is worth checking out.

Installing the Listdom Plugin

Installing Listdom is straightforward. You can do it directly from your WordPress dashboard or manually by uploading the plugin file.

Here’s how to install Listdom from the WordPress repository:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins and click on Add New.
3. In the search bar, type “Listdom.”
4. Click Install Now.
5. Once installed, click Activate.

To install Listdom manually:

1. Download the plugin from the WordPress repository.
2. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
3. Navigate to Plugins and click on Add New.
4. Click Upload Plugin.
5. Choose the downloaded .zip file and click Install Now.
6. Once installed, click Activate.

After activating Listdom, you’ll see “Listdom” and “Listings” menus added to your WordPress dashboard. These menus give you access to all the plugin’s features and settings.

Exploring Listdom’s Free Skins and Features

Listdom comes with several free skins that change the way your listings are displayed. These skins include:

• Half Map
• List
• Grid
• Grid List
• Masonry
• Table
• Slider
• Carousel
• Cover

The Side-by-Side skin is available in the Pro add-on, but don’t worry. We’ll focus on the free features.

With Listdom, you can easily create listings, group them using taxonomies, and display them with different skins.

Importing Dummy Data for a Quick Start

Want to get a feel for how Listdom works? Import the dummy data to populate your site with sample listings, categories, and locations.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to the Listdom menu and select Home.
2. Click on the Dummy Data tab.
3. Choose the types of data you want to import (listings, categories, locations, tags, etc.).
4. Click the Import Dummy Data button.

Keep in mind that importing dummy data will add content to your website. So, consider backing up your site first. If you prefer, you can always start from scratch and add your own data.

Understanding Listdom Taxonomies

Taxonomies are ways to group and organize your listings. Listdom offers five free taxonomies:

• Categories
• Locations
• Tags
• Features
• Labels

We’ll explore these in more detail later.

Creating Your First Listing: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to add your first listing?

1. Navigate to Listings and click Add New Listing.
2. Start by adding a title and description for your listing.

Now, let’s look at some important settings:

• Selecting Taxonomies: Assign your listing to a category (this is required). Add locations, tags, features, and labels as needed.
• Setting a Featured Image: Set a featured image to make your listing stand out.
• Location Settings: Add the listing address and latitude/longitude coordinates.

For the map functionality to work, you’ll need to insert a Google API key. You can find instructions on how to obtain a Google API key with a quick online search. Alternatively, the Leaflet Map is available in the Pro version.

Price Options and Details

If you want to include pricing details for your listings, Listdom lets you specify the currency, price, and maximum price. You can also add a description like “per game,” “per month,” or “per night.” The “price class” feature lets you mark your listings as “cheap,” “normal,” “high,” or “ultra-high.” Imagine a real estate site using price classes to quickly show property value.

Setting Working Hours for Listings

For businesses or services, you can set the working hours for your listings. Specify the opening and closing times, and indicate if the listing is closed on certain days. You can also indicate if it’s closed on Sunday by checking that option. For example, you might set a store’s hours from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM and indicate that it’s closed on Sundays. If you’re creating a listing for a store or business, it may operate 24 hours or from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m..

Contact Details and Custom Links

Include contact details for your listings, such as phone numbers and email addresses. The custom link feature lets you redirect users to an external website. Instead of showing the listing details on your site, users will be sent to the listing owner’s website. If you have a list of items and want to redirect users to the listing owner’s website instead of showing the listing details, you can insert the desired link. This is useful for referral links or other purposes.

Additional Listing Features

You can also add gallery images and excerpts to your listings. The more information you provide, the more attractive your listings will be!

Publishing the Listing

Once you’ve entered all the necessary data, publish the listing.

Deep Dive into Listdom Taxonomies: Categories

Let’s take a closer look at Listdom taxonomies, starting with categories.

1. Navigate to Listings and click Categories.
2. Click “Add New”

Creating a new category is simple:

• Insert the name and slug of the category. If you don’t specify a slug, it will default to the same as the name.
• Provide a description, icon, color, and image.

Using relevant icons and colors can help visually distinguish your categories.

Deep Dive into Listdom Taxonomies: Locations, Tags, Features, and Labels

The process for creating locations, tags, features, and labels is the same as creating categories. Just navigate to Listings and select the taxonomy you want to create.

Displaying Taxonomies on Listings

Taxonomies are displayed on listing cards and single listing pages. Labels and categories are typically shown on the listing cards, while features and tags can be found on the details page. All of these elements are clickable, leading to the archive of that specific tag.

Displaying Taxonomies on Your Website: Elementor Add-on

If you’re using Elementor, the Listdom Elementor add-on includes widgets to showcase Listdom taxonomies in different styles.

Displaying Taxonomies on Your Website: Shortcodes

If you’re not using Elementor, you can use shortcodes to display taxonomies. There are shortcodes for categories, locations, and tags. For example, you can create a carousel for categories or showcase locations with images.

You can find all of the Listdom shortcodes in the Listdom documentation.

Displaying Listings Together: Introducing Skins and Shortcodes

Listdom uses shortcodes to display listings, and a grid skin is a popular option. Several other skins are available as well.

Accessing the Shortcode Builder

To access the shortcode builder, navigate to the Listdom menu and select Shortcodes. This section lets you create various styles and archives for your listings. Click Add New Shortcode to get started.

Choosing a Skin for Your Shortcode

Here are the skins available in the shortcode builder:

• Single
• Map
• List View
• Grid
• Side by Side
• List Plus Grid
• Half Map
• Table
• Masonry
• Carousel
• Slider
• Cover

Keep in mind that Side-by-Side is a Pro feature.

Example: Exploring the Half Map Skin

The Half Map layout, also known as split view, showcases a map on one side and the listings on the other. Clicking on a marker reveals details in an info window, which can be edited and styled using the Elementor add-on.

Selecting the Listing Card Style

You need to select the style of the listing cards. There are three styles available, and each listing card consists of elements like an image, labels, category, title, description, and address.

Customizing the Listing Card

You can enable or disable items on the listing card based on the chosen style. For example, you can disable labels on the image in style one.

Map Provider Options

You can choose between Google Maps (free version) and Leaflet (Pro add-on).

Map Settings and Clustering

Several map settings are available, including the clustering feature. When zoomed out, listings near each other merge and are displayed as a circle with a number. When zoomed in, the listings separate.

Setting the Default View

You can set the default view, such as list view. If selected, the grid view will change to list view.

Using the Shortcode

Copy the shortcode and insert it into any page on your website.

Filter Options: Free vs. Pro

Listdom offers powerful filter options. The free version includes filters for locations, categories, tags, features, and labels. The Pro add-on includes filters for attributes. You can also filter by authors. You can create a shortcode that only shows listings based on specific criteria. You can create unlimited shortcodes for various displays.

Introducing the Search and Filter Builder

The Search and Filter Builder lets you create custom search forms.

Accessing the Search and Filter Builder

Navigate to the Listdom menu and select Search and Filter Builder. Click Add New Search Form to start creating.

Adding Fields to the Search Form

Add fields to the form using drag and drop. For example, select categories and drag it to the form area. You can customize the field options, such as title, method (checkboxes, multiple selection, radio buttons), placeholder, default value, and width.

Adding Rows and More Options

Add new rows to the form as needed. The “more options” feature creates another row under itself, and fields are displayed in the “more options” section.

Publishing the Search Form

Name the form and click Publish. The form will have a shortcode for insertion.

Using the Search Form Shortcode

Copy the shortcode and paste it into any section or page.

Interaction Between Search Form and Skin Shortcode

The search form interacts with the skin and filters it. The search results are normally displayed on the skin shortcodes of the same page.

Displaying Search Results on a Different Page

To display the search results on another page, return to the search form settings and set the “results page” to the desired page. Remember that a skin shortcode is needed on that page too.

Introducing the Front-End Dashboard

The front-end dashboard is included in the free version and lets users add their listings.

User Registration and Login

Users can register and publish their listings. If your website doesn’t have a custom login system, use the Listdom user menu in settings. You can insert login and registration forms using shortcodes: Listdom Auth shortcode for all forms, or individual shortcodes for login or registration.

Conclusion

Creating a directory website with Listdom is easy and free. You can build your own directory site by following the steps outlined in this guide. Now it’s your turn. Start building your own directory website today!