Directorist v8.9<\/strong> changes that. The headline feature of this release is Custom Badges<\/strong> – a rule-based badge builder that lets you create as many badges as you want, define exactly when each one should appear, and style it however fits your brand. It’s the biggest addition in this release, and it’s what most of today’s post is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside it, v8.9 also ships a pending order cancellation flow, timezone-aware Business Hours in the v2 Listings API, new map sync events for developers, and a batch of reliability fixes across orders, file uploads, and the REST API.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TL;DR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Directorist v8.9 introduces fully configurable Custom Badges with conditional rules, icons, colors, and tooltips \u2014 the main focus of this release. It also adds pending order cancellation from the user dashboard, timezone support for Business Hours in the v2 API, new map bridge lifecycle events, and several stability and bug fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n View Full Changelog \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Badges are one of the fastest ways to tell a visitor what matters about a listing before they even click into it. Until now, that signal was limited to whatever Directorist decided in advance. With v8.9, that decision is yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Custom Badges let you define your own conditions \u2014 view count, listing age, rating, reviews, featured status \u2014 and Directorist automatically applies the badge to any listing that qualifies. No manual tagging, no code, no plugin add-ons. Set the rule once, and it runs itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Head to Settings \u2192 Appearance \u2192 Badges<\/strong>. This is where every badge on your directory lives, including the default New, Popular, and Featured badges, and it’s also where you’ll click Add Badge<\/strong> to start a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re experimenting and want a clean slate, the Reset Defaults<\/strong> button restores the original badge setup – so there’s no risk in trying different rules before you settle on one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every badge starts with a type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give the badge an Internal name<\/strong> (visible only to admins) and, for text badges, a Visible label<\/strong> \u2014 the actual text your visitors will see. From there, set the background, text, and border colors so the badge matches your directory’s look and feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where a badge becomes genuinely custom. Under Match Conditions<\/strong>, choose whether a listing needs to satisfy All<\/strong> rules (AND) or just Any<\/strong> one of them (OR), then add conditions from fields like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stack as many conditions as you need, set an operator and value for each, and remove any rule with a single click. A “Top Rated” badge might require an average rating of 4 or higher and<\/em> at least 5 reviews. A “Trending” badge might only need a high view count or<\/em> a recent listing date. The logic is entirely yours to define.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the rules are set, click Save Changes<\/strong> \u2014 the badge is live immediately and starts appearing on every listing that meets its conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New badges don’t show up automatically everywhere \u2014 you decide where. Go to Directory Builder \u2192 Single Page Layout \u2192 Listing Header \u2192 Quick Info<\/strong>, and you’ll find Badges<\/strong> listed alongside Location, Category, and Rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toggle it on, then click the gear icon to open Badge Settings<\/strong>, where you can switch each individual badge \u2014 New, Popular, Featured, and any custom badge you’ve built \u2014 on or off for the single listing page. Drag to reorder Badges among the other Quick Info elements however you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Badges aren’t limited to the single listing page. In Directory Builder \u2192 All Listing Layout<\/strong>, switch to Grid or List view, and you’ll see a +<\/strong> button on each card position (top-left, top-right, etc.). Click it to open Insert Element<\/strong> and add your custom badge right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A single position can hold up to three badges at once<\/strong>, so a card can show “Popular” and “Trendy” side by side without conflict. Once a position is full \u2014 or every badge you’ve created is already placed somewhere \u2014 the Insert Element popup simply shows nothing left to add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outgrown a badge? Go back to Settings \u2192 Appearance \u2192 Badges<\/strong>, find it in the list, and click Delete Badge<\/strong>. It’s removed instantly and stops appearing on every listing it was previously matched to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Custom Badges turn a cosmetic detail into a real merchandising tool. A real estate directory can flag “Price Reduced” listings automatically. A restaurant directory can surface “Highly Rated” spots without an admin lifting a finger. A job board can highlight “Urgent Hiring” posts the moment they’re added. The rules run continuously in the background – set them once, and the Directorist keeps the badges accurate as listing data changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users can now cancel a pending order directly from their dashboard, instead of waiting on an admin or support ticket to resolve it. It’s a small change that removes friction from the checkout experience and cuts down on unnecessary back-and-forth for order management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The v2 Listings API now supports timezone options and validation for Business Hours, along with an “always open” setting. This matters most for multi-location or multi-timezone directories, where “open now” needs to reflect the listing’s actual local time rather than the server’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For developers working with the Listings With Map integration, Directorist now emits lifecycle events for map ready state, viewport changes, and marker clicks. These events make it easier to keep custom map implementations in sync with listing data without relying on workarounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Custom Badges is the feature we’d point to first in Directorist v8.9 \u2014 it takes something every directory already relies on and hands you full control over it, without touching a line of code. Pair it with the rest of this release \u2014 safer order handling, timezone-accurate Business Hours, and a steadier API \u2014 and v8.9 is a release worth updating for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As always, back up your site before updating<\/strong>, then upgrade Directorist core to v8.9 from your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have questions or feedback? Drop them in the comments or head over to the Directorist Community<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We ship new features to the Directorist core plugin frequently, and that plugin is free. It’s fair to ask why we put so much into something that doesn’t generate direct revenue. Here’s the honest answer: the core plugin is the foundation of our entire ecosystem, and Directorist now powers over 25,000 active directories worldwide. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30802,"featured_media":14558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[19,20,71],"class_list":["post-14552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-updates","tag-directorist","tag-directory-plugin","tag-directory-website-builder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30802"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Custom Badges: Build Your Own Rules for Listing Labels<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Creating a Custom Badge<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/07\/image-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nChoosing a Badge Type<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Setting Match Conditions<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/07\/image.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDisplaying Badges on the Single Listing Page<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/07\/image-4.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAdding Badges to the All Listing Layout<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/07\/image-5.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDeleting a Badge<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why This Matters<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Also New: Pending Order Cancellation<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Also New: Timezone Support for Business Hours<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Also New: Map Bridge Lifecycle Events<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Improved<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Fixed<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Wrapping Up<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More Product updates<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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