Directorist v8.5 Is Here with a New Look, Essential Upgrades and Fixes

Directorist has always been built around customer feedback. Every improvement of our directory building tool starts with what our users need most. That’s why the Directorist new version 8.5 comes packed with a number of feature boosts, major fixes, and a refreshing new look builder; everything you’ve been asking for, brought together in one powerful update.

As our user base continues to grow, so does the volume of feature requests and ideas we receive. While it’s inspiring to see such an active and passionate community, balancing those expectations with timely and stable releases can be challenging.

That’s why we’ve built Directorist roadmap around user demand to ensure that every major update reflects the features and fixes that matter most to you. Version 8.5 is a perfect example of this approach, addressing several long-awaited requests and improvements that our community has consistently highlighted.

This release brings a cleaner and more intuitive design through the new-look Builder, a series of feature enhancements that streamline directory setup and management especially for our native mobile app users, and a collection of essential fixes for improved stability and speed.

Every update in v8.5 is aimed at making Directorist more flexible, user-friendly, and performance-driven. Below, we’ll walk you through the standout improvements and what they mean for your directory journey.

TD;DR: Here’s the full Directorist v8.5 Changelog

Table of Content

• Key Highlights of Directorist v8.5
  • What’s New and Changed
  • What’s Fixed
• Inside Directorist New Version
  • Taxonomy Migration
  • REST API v2
  • Builder Enhancement
  • Issue Fixes
• What’s Next for Directorist
• From the Directorist Team
• Frequently Asked Questions

Key Highlights of Directorist v8.5

You’ve probably already noticed some of the changes while using Directorist, but if you haven’t updated your Directorist yet or are still exploring the options, here’s a quick highlight of the major improvements in v8.5.

What’s New and Changed in Directorist v8.5

We have enhanced a number of components as well as upgraded a few. Starting with:

• REST API improvements: Knowing how displaying your data across the website and native mobile app becomes challenging, we incorporated REST API v2 with new endpoints to keep all users aligned with the latest Directorist version.
• Builder Enhancement: Directorist v8.5 comes with a new-look builder that you’ve been asking for a while. This enhancement marks a significant step towards building a more user-friendly solution for all our users. Navigate to below paragraphs to find out more about the new-look directory builder.
• Taxonomy Migration: For improved hierarchy handling within WordPress ecosystem, we migrated our category, location, and tag pages by setting to use default WordPress taxonomy archive pages. The goal is to ensure better SEO compatibility and cleaner URLs for enhanced visibility of our users.

What’s Fixed in Directorist v8.5

Besides enhancement, we fixed a number of issues that had been bothering our users for a while:

• Resolved directory type not applying correctly when searching without using advanced search.
• Fixed the About/Bio required field issue on the signup page.
• Solved the undefined value bug in the icon picker input field.
• Corrected the dashboard single item position alignment issue.
• Introduced a viewport-aware dropdown system that auto-positions dropdowns up or down based on available space without clipping.
• Ensured directory_type parameter consistency across pagination on all screen sizes.

Followed by the release, we noticed a wave of plugin updates that made us aware that the users had been waiting for this release. However, to avoid any issues, we will advise you to use the plugin on a staging site before making upgrading on a live site.

Inside Directorist New Version: A Deep Dive into the v8.5

Now that we’ve covered the highlights, let’s take a closer look at what makes Directorist v8.5 such an important release. From refreshed builder design to smarter improvements, each action is crafted to give you the leverage to make your website more stable. Below we’ll try to explain what it means for each major updates while avoiding bug fixes as they’re essential.

A more SEO friendly Directory

Your directory’s visibility just got a boost with Directorist v8.5. Now it’ll be using WordPress’s native taxonomy archives for categories, locations, and tags. This means your directory pages are better aligned with best SEO practices to produce cleaner URLs, improve indexing, and strengthen compatibility.

Regardless, we’ve kept our built-in SEO fields intact, giving you the flexibility to combine both systems and make the most of every SEO opportunity. In short, your listings are now more discoverable on search engines, helping you attract more traffic with less effort.

Better Data and Action Control

We’ve made comprehensive REST API improvements, introducing a new v2 API layer to give developers more control and flexibility. With the enhanced REST API v2 in Directorist v8.5, your data stays perfectly in sync, enabling faster actions, smoother communication, and more reliable updates between web and mobile. It includes:

• Listings Endpoints (Create / Edit / Delete) – Offer full control to manage listings dynamically.
• Plan & Order Read Endpoints – Simplified data handling for plan management.
• Builder Tab Endpoint Support – Seamless integration with the builder system.
• Temporary Media Upload Endpoint – Easy temporary uploads for smoother workflows.

This means you can build custom apps, automate workflows, or extend your directory’s functionality with confidence, knowing everything stays aligned with the latest Directorist structure. This update is particularly a gift for developers.

Build with Ultimate Flexibility

The all-new Look Builder in Directorist v8.5 gives a renewed experience while building new or reconfigure existing directories. Whether you’re building a business directory, real estate portal, or service marketplace, you can now design every section your way using all available form fields, including Unlimited ACF (Advanced Custom Fields).

This means you can create unique single listing layouts, add custom fields suited to your directory, and personalize the user experience to fit any niche. With this update, Directorist takes a big leap toward giving you true design freedom and unmatched flexibility in directory creation.

Fixes That Make Directorist Smoother

Feedback from valued clients fuels our progress every time. This time it is not different, and we work with heart and soul to meet the expectations. This time, here are some of the issues we’ve prioritized and fixed in version 8.5:

• Advanced Search Issue: Our users reported that directory type was not applied correctly when their visitors performed a search without using the advanced search field. We fixed this in our latest release.
• Responsive Viewport: The dropdown now automatically adjust their position based on available space to fit on your viewport, so the options never get cut off or hidden when you open them.
• Consistent Browsing: Pagination now works smoothly across all devices, keeping your selected directory_type consistent as you move between pages.
• Sign-up form issue: Previously, some end-users couldn’t complete registration because the About/Bio field was incorrectly marked as required. This has been fixed, so new users can now sign up smoothly without unnecessary errors.
• Other Fixes: Resolved issues with icon selection, item placement in the dashboard, and instant search links not working properly after page reload.

Each fix contributes to a cleaner, faster, and more reliable directory management experience.

What’s Next for Directorist

Version 8.5 marks a long-term milestone for Directorist, laying a stronger foundation for the future of directory building on WordPress. While this release focuses on stability, performance, and flexibility, our work doesn’t stop here.

In the coming weeks, we’ll continue rolling out essential updates packed with fixes, refinements, and usability improvements. Alongside that, several new extensions and powerful features are already in development and we can’t wait to reveal them soon.

Dropping some hints so that you get an idea of what more exciting things are coming up soon:

• Booking Extension: We already have the booking extension to turn your directory listings into online booking, reservation management and appointment scheduling platform. Very soon the extension will be re-vamped with improved features and integrations.
• Directorist Analytics: This highly anticipated extension is high on our priority list and expected to be launched in coming week. Stay tuned as we’ll share more updates on this soon.
• Advanced AI Features: We adopted AI last year when we powered Directorist with AI builder. This year, we are aiming to add more exciting AI features to take your Directorist experience to the next level.
• HelpGent: Not a Directorist tool but the team is also going to launch an enhanced version of this AI-powered communication plugin soon. When we do that, the HelpGent Integration extension of Directorist will naturally receive an update. We hope you’ll love using them together to elevate the customer experience of your directory website.

We simply can’t hide our excitement ahead of the Black Friday Cyber Monday special releases. Stay tuned as we will be discussing more details of what’s coming up in the next article.

From the Directorist Team

Our users have always been at the heart of everything we do. As we continue to roll out newer editions, our motivation remains the same; to serve you better with every update and every improvement. With more exciting ideas on the horizon, Directorist is evolving into a future-ready plugin you can rely on – one that’s equipped to stay ahead of trends and stand strong even in the age of AI-driven innovation.

Answers to Most Asked Questions

Thank you for being part of our journey and for reading along. If you haven’t already, we invite you to join our official Directorist community, share your thoughts, connect with other entrepreneurs, and help us shape the next generation of directory solutions together.