How to Create a Business Directory with Elementor

Want to make a business directory with Elementor and WordPress? With this Elementor directory plugin integration, you'll be creating directory listings in just a few clicks!

Are you a fan of the Elementor page builder? It can really make WordPress websites a lot easier to build. But what about using Elementor for business directory sites? Is this possible?

You better believe it is! In today's post, we're going to show you how to use Business Directory Plugin and Elementor to easily create a custom business listing site.

In fact, you'll be able to create any kind of directory website you want – from real estate listings, to travel guides, and more! All you need is a website where users can submit listings, and you'll be able to create an online directory in no time.

• Business Directory Plugin: The premium version includes the Elementor directory plugin features. But you can still test almost all features with the free version of the plugin!
• Elementor: You'll need either Elementor Pro or any WordPress theme that comes with Elementor Pro built-in.

Is this an Elementor Directory Plugin?

Business Directory Plugin is the oldest and most used plugin for WordPress. Want some specifics? Here you go:

• You can create local directory sites with store locations and much more.
• Create business directories, of course, but also city directory sites, classified directory sites, and any type of directory listing site you can imagine.
• Build WordPress directory sites for local businesses including Google Maps and many other features.
• Optimize your listing pages for paid listings, free listings, or a combination of both.
• Update the look of your directory elements with built-in directory theme templates.

So as you can see, it's one of the best business directory plugins for WordPress for more reasons than we can list! And course, we'll now show you how a single listing page can be customized even further with Elementor.

Should you use an Elementor theme?

Sure you can. That's kind of the beauty of Business Directory Plugin. It only works to help you collect listing submissions and display them on your site. So you can use whatever Elementor templates you want to design your site.

We are constantly expanding Business Directory Plugin to work within page builders of every description. Stay tuned for even more updates!

Will Business Directory Plugin work with any WordPress theme?

It sure will! The only kind of theme we would recommend against is a specific “directory theme” as it may conflict with the Business Directory Plugin. There are many ways to build a directory site, and a directory theme can work well. But there are a couple of reasons to avoid a WordPress directory theme:

• Support issues: WordPress themes are usually not so great when it comes to support (using a popular theme like Astra can help though). This is especially true when it comes to niche themes, like those made for directory listings sites.
• Plugin conflicts: Since there are a lot of components in a directory theme, you can sacrifice a lot of control. This is because a theme comes pre-loaded with specific plugins designed to work exclusively with one theme. As a result, the theme may not be as universally compatible as more popular themes.

How to use Elementor to make a Business Directory

Let's hop to it! There are some basic steps to get your website setup. These are:

1. Install WordPress
2. Find a WordPress theme
3. Get Elementor Pro

We'll assume you have at least the above figured out on your site right now. The next thing we need to do is get Business Directory Plugin installed. We actually have a complete guide in the following article: How to Create a Business Directory in WordPress.

The above guide was written by our ace support agent, Salman. He might be the one to help you if you have any support-related issues with the plugin too. Visit that article to get the details, if needed!

How does Elementor work with Business Directory Plugin?

So how does Elementor function with the Business Directory Plugin? Simple! With powerful shortcodes, you can insert your directory listing elements where you want on any page you create with Elementor.

That means you'll be able to create a wide variety of custom directory listings pages. With Elementor and the Business Directory plugin, you have the option of customizing all your directory pages automatically, or, customizing them individually!

Before we show you how easy all that is, let's cover the basics of setting up your business directory.

Set up your Business Directory

For now, here's a quick version of the required steps to get up and running with the Business Directory plugin:

1. Install and activate the Business Directory plugin, and Business Directory Premium
2. Create your directory listing page
3. Adjust your settings
4. Modify your form fields
5. Create categories
6. Test your form and add new listings
7. Link to your directory page

I know – 7 steps may seem like a lot. But they actually fly by really quickly. In a nutshell, you need to install the plugin, configure some settings, and create your main directory listings pages.

Create your directory pages

These are the main pages you need:

• Directory listings page: this is where all your listings will be shown.
• Listing submission page: this is where you will collect submissions.
• Listing pages: these are automatically created when the listings form is submitted. These are the pages we will customize in this tutorial.

The above pages are created automatically with the Business Directory Plugin. The listing pages are customizable with Elementor templates.

Customize your pages with Elementor

We gave you a sneak peek in the above section, but now we are going to show you how to make these two plugins really work together. And here's the best part: it's actually really simple!

If you've ever used shortcodes, then you'll be right at home with this solution. Let's take a look at how easy it is to edit your listing pages within Elementor:

First thing's first, find the Templates section in your WordPress admin panel:

From there, click on Theme Builder and choose Single Page (note: the template theme requires the pro version of Elementor).

Now, let's edit the page template. Of course, you'll first need to define a layout for the page. This could look however you want.

Remember, it can include any Elementor elements and Business Directory widgets. Here's a list of the main widgets you can drag and drop into your page:

The above widgets can also be adjusted by using a couple settings. For example, the Details widget includes an option to exclude sections of content. Adding ‘social' in the Fields to Exclude settings box will allow you to display all the details in a listing, except for socials. Then you can freely place the social links elsewhere on the page.

Now you can design your images, default fields, and custom fields how you'd like and save your template.

It'll be easiest to see how it will really look if you click the settings gear in the bottom left corner of the screen. Under the Preview Settings, you can choose a listing to use for the preview.

After that, there is just one more thing to do. In the bottom left corner of the Elementor window, click Display Conditions.

Then, in the pop-up that appears, include the Listing → Directory page to apply this template to all listings pages.

And you're done!

Wrapping up

Now with our Business Directory plugin and Elementor, you can pretty much customize everything to your heart's content. Remember, it's not all or nothing though. You can add as little or as much customization as you want. Enjoy!

If you haven't tried Business Directory Plugin, why not? It's been the top directory plugin for years! Check out the pricing page to get 50% off today.