{"id":6738,"date":"2025-04-12T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/?p=6738"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T08:38:00","slug":"create-a-local-business-directory-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directorist.com\/blog\/create-a-local-business-directory-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Create a Local Business Directory Website from Scratch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Creating a local business directory website is an awe-striking phenomenon especially when you want to list the local businesses around you under a single umbrella. Plus, this type of directory website is a source of making money even without keeping yourself in touch with your directory website<\/a>. You can mint money from the local business owners who want themselves to be listed on your directory. It’s interesting!!! Isn’t it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving forward, like most other users in the directory niche, do you want to create a directory website for your local business? Well, we have caught your pulse. You can get this job done in just a few minutes with very little investment using a free theme and plugin. So, without further fusses & feathers, let’s set the ball rolling onto the main interface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a Local Business Directory Website Just in Simple Steps<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To create your local business directory, you need some basic stuff to get started. We have discussed all these things in our ultimate guide – Ultimate Guide to Create a Directory Website<\/a>. Have a review and complete the starter process, then follow the step-by-step process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installing Theme <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For creating a local business directory website, choosing a niche theme makes the process easy. Here we’re using a niched theme called “dList”<\/strong>. You can purchase the theme by clicking the button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Purchase dList<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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After getting the theme, the next process is to install the theme. For installing, follow the process: WP Dashboard > Appearance > Themes > Upload > Choose File from your local drive > Install Now<\/strong> and then activate the theme.\u00a0Follow the screenshot if you face any difficulty installing the theme.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you have a budget issue, you can choose our free theme, OneListing<\/a>. The free theme comes with all the essentials to launch your directory website. We have explained the process in this article: “How to Create a Directory Website in WordPress for Free<\/a>.” However, you’ll miss the taste of premium extensions. But once you scale your business, you can buy everything from the extension page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installing a WordPress Directory Plugin <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Once you have installed the theme, you will see a dashboard notice to install the Directorist plugin, a complete business directory plugin, and some required extensions to power your entire directory ecosystem. Installing the plugin means enabling the core functionality of your local business directory. We already covered the plugin installation process in detail in our ultimate guide, which we mentioned at the beginning. We assume that you already know that. If not, or if skipped somehow, we request that you go through the process. Meanwhile, we keep the setup process as easy as possible so you can create your website without any trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding categories<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Different types of users search for different types of local business listings. As a local business directory owner, you should split your local business directories into different categories for the convenience of users. For example, you want to add a \u201cCar\u201d\u00a0 category to your directory. To do that, go to the Directorist > Categories.<\/strong> Then specify the name of the category and upload the category image. Finish the process by clicking the \u201cAdd Category\u201d <\/strong>button and you can see the category on the front end. In the same way, you can add as many categories as you want.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding location<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Many users search local business listings based on location. So, adding a location to your local directory is another important thing to do. Let\u2019s imagine you want to add \u201c Texas\u201d.\u00a0 In order to do this, go to the Directorist > Locations <\/strong>and fill in the description field if necessary. You can add more locations to your local business directory following the above procedure.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add listings<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here comes the great task of giving your directory a soul. Adding demanding business on your directory helps your directory business grow. You can add a listing manually, via a submission form, or import bulk listings from a CSV file collected from permitted sources.<\/strong> We discussed all the process in detail on your ultimate guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To add listings manually in your local business directory, navigate to the WP Admin Dashboard > Directorist > Add New Listing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next option is, the business or product owners will add or submit the listings through a submission form. One thing you can do is to check whether the listings violate your community standard or not. And, you can charge money for every listing.\u00a0To create a submission form, WP Dashboard > Directorist > Directory Builder > Add Listing Form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is the form front end looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n