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Claim Listing

Overview #

The Claim Listing feature is a powerful tool that allows business owners to claim ownership of their listings, granting them full control and management rights. Once a claim is approved, the listing will display a Claimed Badge, signifying verified ownership. This feature also offers an opportunity for directory website owners to generate revenue by offering claimable listings as a paid service. Setting up and configuring the Directorist Claim Listing add-on is straightforward. Follow this detailed guide to understand every aspect of its setup, functionality, and management.

Key Features #

It is compatible with many gateways including PayPal, Stripe, Offline Bank Payment etc. You can charge business owners using as many gateways as WooCommerce supports with the Directorist WooCommerce Pricing add-on.

You can let users claim an existing listing either for free, a default fixed fee or a pricing plan (required the Pricing Plan/WooCommerce Pricing Plan extension).

You/Admin can moderate all claims for listings very easily using a simple interface. For example, you can approve/reject, even delete any listing claim from the dashboard very easily.

Any users can claim for a listing.

You can enable/disable sending email notifications to the admin and the claimer when a claim is made, approved or rejected.

Dynamic Email Notification Templates and you can customize the email templates very easily from the dashboard.

You can charge a user using a default fixed price.

You can charge a user using a pricing plan (the Pricing Plan add-on required).

It is fully compatible with the WooCommerce Pricing Plan.

Installation #

Path: Directorist > Themes & Extensions > Find “Claim Listing” Extension > Install & Activate.

Initial Configuration #

Configure the claim listing #

The next thing is to configure the claim listing add-on. Luckily, it is very easy to configure this add-on. Most of the settings have a default value set, so you just need to skim through them quickly and hit the “Save Changes” button. Read through the docs and see the attached screenshot for clear understanding. Setting up Claim Listing’s basic options The first thing you need to do after installing the plugin is to make sure some basic settings related to claim listing is properly set. Go to Directorist > Settings > Extensions > Claim Listing

  1. Claim Listing option should be set to Yes. It controls the global display of the claim listings on your site. It is the master control of your claim listing controls. If you set this option to ‘No’, all functionalities of the claim listing add-on will be disabled all over the site. You can enable or disable the claim listing functionality from this one place.
  2. WooCommerce Pricing Plan ( depends on Directorist WooCommerce Pricing Plan add-on )
  3. Or Pricing Plan (depends on Directorist Pricing Plan add-on)

Now Go to Claim Listings Tab In this following page, you can customize the global settings for the claim listing.

A brief explanation of the above settings.

  1. Claim Widget Title: This controls how the title will appear in the claim listing widget. (See the image below)
  2. Description: This controls the description of the claim listing widget.
  3. Method of Charging: This is probably the most important control of claim listing. This control lets you set the global method of charging a claimer of a listing. What it means is that, you can also set the method of charging a claimer on each listing edit screen and if you do not set the method of charging for a claim on each listing, then this setting will be used, this is why it is called global charging method of a claim.
  4. Claim Now Button: Customize the text of the claim button using this option.
  5. Display Claim Now Button on Listing Details: Admin can show Claim Now button in single listing by using this option.(Default is Disable)
  6. Display Claimed Badge: If you set this option to ‘Yes’ then a badge will be displayed beside the listing title. It is useful because it distinguishes between claimed/verified listings and unclaimed/unverified listings.(see the image below)
  7. Verified Text: You can customize the text for the claimed badge using this option. For example: claimed or verified etc. It depends on the “Display Claimed Badge” option. (see the image below)

Permalinks & Default Pages #

You need to refresh permalinks after activating the directorist claim listing add-on and make sure all the required pages are correctly set.

Refreshing Permalinks #

It is important to refresh the permalink settings after installing claim listings add-on. Refreshing permalink is very easy. You just need to go to WordPress Dashboard > Settings > Permalinks and hit the save changes button. You may choose a permalink like Post Name but it is not required. Just opening the page and saving the existing options will do the trick.

Setting up required pages #

Directorist plugin and the claim listing add-on uses different pages with some specific shortcodes to function properly. You need to make sure all the pages are set properly in the settings. The directorist plugin and this add-on should create all the required pages automatically for you and you just need to assign them to the settings if they are not already assigned. However, if the page is not created/you have deleted before, then do not worry. You can create those pages manually and put the shortcode inside each page. All required shortcodes and other information are clearly mentioned in the settings page. Please go to Directorist > Settings > Site & Pages > Pages And make sure the following pages are set properly. You need to assign those pages for charging your users/business owners for claiming a listing.

  1. A page with the content [directorist_checkout] should be assigned to the Checkout Page option. Claim listing will show checkout information using this page.
  2. A page with the content [directorist_payment_receipt] should be assigned to the Payment/Order Receipt Page option. Claim listing will show Order Receipt to the user using this page.
  3. A page with the content [directorist_transaction_failure] should be assigned to the  Transaction Failure Page option. Claim listing will show transaction failure message to the user using this page.
  4. A page with the content [directorist_pricing_plans] should be assigned to the  Pricing Plans Page option. Claim listing will show pricing plans to the user using this page during making a claim. (You need to have either directorist pricing plan/directorist WooCommerce pricing plan add-on installed for this option to work). If you use fixed fee for the listing claim, then you do not need to use this option.

Monetization & Gateways #

Currency Settings #

Enter the name of the currency you would like to display with the price and accept the payment from your users in that currency. For example USD or GBP etc. Note: accepting payment in certain currency depends on the type of payment gateway you use. Not all payment gateways support all currency. Check out your payment gateway’s documentation to know the full list of currency they support.

Thousand Separator #

Enter a separator for the thousand value of a currency. For example: ,  (a comma) or . (a dot) etc.

Decimal Separator #

Enter the currency decimal separator. Eg. “.” or “,”. Default is “.”

Currency Position #

You can show the currency symbol before or after the price. Select where you would like to show the currency symbol. The default is before. Eg. $5*Depends on additional directorist add-ons like the Directorist PayPal, Directorist Stripe.

Monetization #

A claim for a listing can be either for free or paid. In order to enable paid listing and pricing plan etc. to work, you need to enable monetization first. Go to Directorist > Settings > Monetization > Features Listing and ‘Enable Monetization Feature‘ > Sava Changes.

Gateway Settings #

You need to set up at least one gateway to process payments from your user. Directorist Claim listing add-on is compatible with all payment gateways that the Directorist plugin supports. You can process payments using an offline gateway like bank transfer or an online gateway like PayPal* or Stripe*. You can also use multiple payment gateways on your site simultaneously. Go to Directorist > Settings > Monetization > Payment Gateways and customize the settings according to your need. All settings have detailed descriptions. Please see the video and the description of each gateway settings below. To know the details settings of PayPal and Stripe Gateways, please check out their documentation. (PayPal Documentation & Stripe Documentation)

Note: After submitting the keys in the field, make sure to click “Save Changes” then click “Register Webhook“

Setting up a price or plan #

You can set a price for claiming a listing in 3 different ways: 1. Fixed price, 2. Pricing Plan powered by the Directorist Pricing Plans add-on, and 3. Pricing Plans powered by WooCommerce & Directorist WooCommerce Pricing Plans add-on. Choose the one you think best for your business. You can choose a default global method of charging a user for claiming for a listing from Directorist > Settings > Extensions > Claim Listing and Set ‘Method of Charging‘ to one of the ‘Pricing Plans’,  ‘Claim for Free’, and ‘Set a Claim Fee’. You’ll see some more options. See the video to get clear idea how it works.

Setting up Directorist Pricing Plans #

Install the Directorist Pricing Plans add-on like any other plugin. Once you have installed it, you should see a new submenu called Pricing Plans under the directorist listings menu.

For detailed installation instruction, see the documentation of the Directorist Pricing Plans from here.

Setting up Directorist WooCommerce Pricing Plans #

Install the Directorist WooCommerce Pricing Plans add-on like any other plugin. Once you have installed it, you will see a new product type called “Listing Pricing Plan” appears in the product type select menu. For detailed installation instruction, see the documentation of the Directorist WooCommerce Pricing Plans from here.

Display of Claim Listing #

Directorist Claim Listing will create a widget called Directorist – Claim Listings for displaying information about claim listings. Follow the steps to display the claim listing.

  1. Go to Appearance > Widgets.
  2. Drag and drop the Directorist – Claim Listing widget to the “Listing Right Sidebar” area.
  3. Visit a listing and you will see a claim listing widget has been

Business Owner will be able to claim the ownership of a listing/business by clicking the ‘claim now‘ button. A nice form will show in a pop-up modal when a user will click on the claim now button. Optionally, you can test the claim listing functionality by clicking the ‘claim now’ button.

A user will be required to fill up all the fields in the claim form. if you have assigned a pricing plan as a method of charge for a claim for this listing then business owner will be able to choose a plan before claiming his business. The next step is to moderate the claims received from a business owner.

Moderating Claims #

You can moderate claims very easily from a simple user interface. You will see all the claims received from different business owners in Directorist > All Listings > Claim Listings page 

Hover on any claim and click on the edit link. You will see the edit claim page like below.

There are three statuses in claim listings: 1. Approved, 2. Pending and 3. Declined.

  1. Approved: When you have verified a user and received payments, you should set the claim status to approved. An approved claim will add a nice badge to the claimed listing/business. You can also modify the claimed badge text from the claim listing extension’s settings page. Here is what happens when you approve a claim. A) Claimer of the listing will be the new owner of the listing. He will be able to modify the information of the listing. B) No one can claim this listing again once its claim from an owner is approved. Claim Listing widget for this listing will be hidden. C) A nice badge will be displayed beside the title of the claimed listing. The text of the badge is customizable. This will distinguish between claimed and unclaimed listings.
  2. Pending: When a new claim is made, it will have a pending status. It means the admin has not reviewed the claim yet.
  3. Declined: When an admin does not approve a claim, he/she will reject that claim and it will have a declined status.

Review the claim details and choose a listing status eg. approved or decline and update the claim. Both admin and claimer will get a notification of the claim’s status via email. If you approve the claim, claimer will be the new owner of the listing and a new badge will be added to the listing. See the images below for some visual ideas how claim status works and how it affects a listing. Before a claim is approved for the following listing.

After a claim is made and approved owner changes, new badge is added and claim widget will disappear.

Notification Settings #

When a claim is made or a claim status changes, both the admin and the claimer receive notifications. You can edit those notifications very easily. Please go to Directory Settings > Email Settings. You can customize the general settings of email notification under the “Email General” tab.

You can customize the message of all notifications under the “Email Templates” tab. You can customize notifications for a new claim, an approved claim, and a declined claim under the Email Templates. 

Creating Dynamic Notification: #

You can use Placeholders to output dynamic value.

You can use the following keywords/placeholder in any of your email bodies/templates or subjects to output dynamic value. Usage: place the placeholder name between == and == . For Example: use ==SITE_NAME== to output The Your Website Name etc.==NAME==: It outputs The listing owner’s display name on the site ==USERNAME==: It outputs The listing owner’s user name on the site ==SITE_NAME== : It outputs your site name ==SITE_LINK== : It outputs your site name with link ==SITE_URL== : It outputs your site URL with link ==EXPIRATION_DATE== : It outputs Expiration date ==CATEGORY_NAME==: It outputs the category name that is going to expire ==LISTING_ID== : It outputs the listing’s ID ==RENEWAL_LINK== : It outputs a link to renewal page ==LISTING_TITLE== : It outputs the listing’s title ==LISTING_LINK==: It outputs the listing’s title with link ==LISTING_URL== : It outputs the listing’s URL with link ==ORDER_ID== : It outputs the order id. It should be used for order related email only ==ORDER_RECEIPT_URL== : It outputs a link to the order receipt page. It should be used for order related email only ==ORDER_DETAILS== : It outputs order details. It should be used for order related email only ==TODAY== : It outputs the current date ==NOW== : It outputs the current time Additionally, you can also use HTML tags in your template. An example of a dynamic email template using some placeholders mentioned above is given below. ———————- Dear ==NAME==, This email is to notify you that your listing ‘==LISTING_TITLE==‘ has been received and it is under review now. It may take up to 24 hours to complete the review. Thanks, The Administrator of ==SITE_NAME== ———————-  

Know more about Email Template customization.

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