Business directory · Listora
Build a free WordPress business directory with Listora
A directory where members submit the listings and every listing belongs to a person rather than floating free. Listora covers listings, categories, search, and member submissions at no cost, and Reign styles them directly. GeoDirectory is the deeper mapping alternative, and Reign styles that too.
The Reign theme is the only thing you have to buy. See every plugin that installs free, or have us install the whole stack for $699.
Stack recipe
What you need to assemble.
Buy the theme. Install our plugins free. The third-party engine and its Reign add-on are here for people already running that stack, not a second bill everyone pays.
Build it in 5 steps
From zero to live community.
Install Reign, the one purchase
Reign is $99 a year or $249 once for a single site. Nothing else in this recipe is compulsory, and nothing else has a license key.
Add the community engine, free
BuddyNext free gives listing owners and visitors profiles, an activity feed, and messages. This is what turns a directory into a place: an owner has somewhere to be a member, and a visitor can ask a question without a contact form. BuddyNext Pro adds advanced moderation and deeper analytics from $149 a year.
Add listings with Listora, free
Listora free handles listings, categories, search, and member submissions. Build the category tree before the first import, because renaming categories after 500 listings means rewriting 500 URLs. Reign styles the archives and single listings with no add-on in between.
Seed the first 50 listings yourself
Nobody submits to an empty directory, and member submissions only start once the directory already looks alive. Import 50 listings from public sources such as government business registers or the Google Places API, respecting each source license. Then open a Jetonomy space free so locals discuss the places rather than only reading about them.
Know where free stops, and when GeoDirectory wins
Maps, claim and verify, paid listings, and reviews are Listora Pro, from $69 a year, and that set is exactly your monetization step. If your directory is map-first or already runs on GeoDirectory, keep it: GeoDirectory has deeper map integration and multi-CPT support, and the Reign GeoDirectory Addon at $39 a year for one site restyles it without touching your data.
Add these free
More pieces you can add at no cost.
Same team builds the theme and the plugins, so these inherit the Reign design instead of needing custom CSS. The ones marked free install at no cost, and upgrades are sold per plugin, so nothing here needs a bundle.
BuddyNext
Our own community engine: profiles, activity, groups, messages, notifications.
Reign Demo Installer
One-click import of 30+ demo sites. Free with Reign theme.
Wbcom Essential
Free utility plugin bundling small enhancements for BP + Reign.
Listora
In-house directory plugin. Faceted search past 100k listings.
WB Ad Manager
Ad management + classifieds marketplace in one plugin.
BuddyPress Check-ins
Daily check-ins build streaks + accountability.
BuddyPress Follow
Follow members + see their activity in a custom feed.
BuddyPress Giphy
GIF integration in posts + comments.
See every plugin and what its free version does. Third-party tools such as LearnDash, Dokan, and MemberPress still fit where you already run them, and Reign styles those too.
FAQ
Common questions.
What is in the free version of Listora?
Listings, categories, search, and member submissions. Maps, claim and verify, paid listings, and reviews are Pro, from $69 a year. Free is enough to publish a real directory and find out whether the niche has an audience; Pro is what you buy once it does.
Do I need maps on day one?
Usually not. Most directories are searched by category and name long before anyone opens a map view, and a map on 20 listings looks empty. Maps arrive with Listora Pro at $69 a year, and if the whole product is a map then GeoDirectory is the better engine and Reign styles it.
Listora or GeoDirectory?
Listora is ours, installs free, and Reign styles it directly, so it is the cheaper way to test whether a directory has an audience at all. GeoDirectory has deeper map integration, multi-CPT support, and a Pricing Manager for listing tiers, and Reign styles it with a $39-a-year add-on. Start with Listora unless you already run GeoDirectory or the map is the point.
How do owners claim their listing?
Claim and verify is a Listora Pro feature, from $69 a year. Before that, run claims by hand: an owner emails you, you check the details, you assign the listing to their member account. That is fine at 50 listings and painful at 500, which is roughly the size where Pro pays for itself.
What does this cost to run?
Reign at $99 a year or $249 lifetime for one site, plus free plugins. Add $69 a year for Listora Pro when you monetize, or $39 a year for the Reign GeoDirectory Addon on that path instead. The Reign GeoDirectory kit bundles theme and add-on from $129 a year.
Ship it
Reign is the only thing you have to buy.
Listora and the rest of our plugins install free, and the theme styles them out of the box. Building on GeoDirectory instead? The Reign GeoDirectory kit ships the theme with the matching Reign add-on.