WordPress Directory Theme: Build a Business Directory for Your Community

Create your own business directory website similar to Yelp, Yellow Pages or Foursquare.

Businesses list, visitors search, and you earn from every paid listing. Maps, reviews and payments are already built. Pay once, with no monthly fees.

4.6/5 on Trustpilot - Excellent
A directory website built with the Directory Theme: local business listings with ratings and distances, a listing card and a listing overview
Directory Theme
$99one-time
No monthly fees
Unlimited installationsOn websites you own.
  • 6 months support & updates
  • Free install & setup
  • Video tutorials included
Buy Directory Theme 14-day money-back guarantee
Use cases

What you can build with the directory theme.

The directory theme comes with templates for every kind of directory.

The Kiosk directory template for a local business directory

Local business directory

A guide to the shops, trades, clinics and kitchens in one town or city.

3 templates

View this demo
Listing features

Everything people expect from a business directory.

Turn a standard WordPress site into a full business directory, with listing pages, map search, reviews, payment gateways and listing management all built in.

A pizza on a cafe table, the kind of photo a restaurant adds to its listing

Listing pages

Every business gets its own page, with photos, opening hours, a map, contact details and customer reviews.

  • Photos, video and opening hours
  • Map and contact details
  • Star ratings and reviews
A business listing box with opening hours, a 4.8 star rating, the address and a Get directions button

Location and maps

Google Maps or OpenStreetMap, with location search, nearby listings and map-based browsing.

  • Google Maps or OpenStreetMap
  • Radius and “near me” search
  • Browse listings on the map
Map search showing businesses within 2 miles, with the three nearest listed below the map

Categories and custom fields

Unlimited categories and subcategories, with your own fields for each, like parking or languages spoken.

A dental clinic listing with its category and custom fields for parking, access and languages

Claim and verify listings

Business owners claim an existing listing. You approve each claim before it moves to their account.

A claim request for a restaurant listing, approved and marked Verified

Messages and email alerts

Visitors message a business from its listing. The owner gets an email and replies from their dashboard.

A new message email notification with a link to view the message
Business owner features

Your own Yelp-style directory, where businesses manage their own listings.

Business owners register, add listings and manage everything from the front end, so you are not doing it for them.

Add a listing

  1. 1Business details
  2. 2Photos & video
  3. 3Listing plan
  4. 4Review
The front-end form a business uses to add a listing, with name, category, description, phone, opening time and photos

A step-by-step form lets a business add its listing with details, opening hours and photos, without touching the WordPress admin area.

Visitor features

Visitors find businesses quickly and choose with confidence.

What people see and use when they visit your directory website.

Search and filters

Keyword, category and location search, with rating and custom-field filters and postcode radius search.

  • Keyword, category and location
  • Rating and custom-field filters
  • Zip or postal radius search
Directory search with category, rating and distance filters and two matching restaurants

Verified members

Ask members to confirm their email or phone before they can post, or upload a photo ID for a Verified badge.

A verified member profile with email, phone and photo ID confirmed

Works on phones

Listing pages, maps, filters and the submission form all work on phones and tablets.

  • Works on any screen size
  • Touch-friendly maps and filters
  • Add a listing from mobile
A business listing page on a phone, with photo gallery, star rating and a call button
Admin features

One admin area runs your entire directory.

Listing approval, search filters, custom fields and member checks are all set from one dashboard, not a stack of directory plugins.

One dashboard

New listings, members and reviews over 7, 30 or 90 days, a to-do list of listings waiting for approval, and every other screen one click away.

  • New listings, members and reviews at a glance
  • Listings waiting for approval
  • Search, design and setup screens one click away
The directory admin dashboard: new listings, new members, reviews and orders, an activity chart and a to-do list

Approval and expiry

Hold new free listings for review, and choose what happens to a listing when its time runs out. Paid listings go live the moment payment is completed.

  • Hold new free business listings for review
  • Paid business listings go live on payment
  • Expired business listings set to draft, unlisted
Listing approval and expiry settings, with a listing waiting for approval

Custom fields

Add the details your niche needs, like parking, accessibility, Wi-Fi or languages spoken.

Custom fields on a listing: parking, Wi-Fi, step-free access and languages

Automatic emails

63 ready-written emails, including welcome, order confirmation and new private message.

Automatic directory emails: welcome, order confirmation and new private message

Review moderation

Every review across your listings in one list, for you to approve or remove.

A review moderation list with one review pending approval

There is more in the directory admin area.

Listing page designer

The listing page designer: drag sections, switch them on or off and choose a gallery style, with a live preview

Drag each section of the listing page into the main column or the sidebar, switch optional sections off, and pick one of five photo gallery styles. A live preview shows the page before you save.

Built in

No extra directory plugins to buy or configure.

These are the plugins most directory sites end up installing. With this WordPress directory theme they are already in place.

11 languages

English and 10 more language packs. Any label can be translated.

English
Add listing
TranslationAdd listing

100+ payment gateways

100+ free gateway plugins, including PayPal and Stripe, each paying into your own merchant account.

PayPalYour merchant account
StripeYour merchant account

Email and SMS verification

Members confirm their email or phone before they can post.

Email confirmed
Phone confirmed

One-click demo import

Sample listings, categories and map-search pages, so you start from a working directory, not a blank site.

Import demo

Unlimited installs

One licence covers every directory site you own.

One licence
Your sites

Video tutorials

Step-by-step videos cover the full directory setup.

Directory setup
Design features

Make it look like your business.

The directory theme comes with 42 directory website templates, from city guides to local tradespeople. Pick the one closest to yours, add your listings, then change anything you like.

Browse the templates

Elementor-ready templates

Restyle the directory theme’s listing pages, headers and landing pages in the free Elementor page builder.

Editing a listing page in the Elementor page builder, with template examples

200+ directory blocks

Search heroes, listing grids, category strips and map sections to drag into place.

The directory block library: hero search, listing grid, featured listings and map section

Site generator

Connect your own AI account, describe your directory, and the generator lays out the pages.

The site generator: describe your directory and preview the generated pages
Earning features

Get paid for every listing.

Businesses register, add listings and manage everything from the front end. You set listing fees, featured upgrades, advertising and membership plans, and no marketplace takes a cut.

Listing fees

Charge businesses to be listed, with free and paid listing plans.

Listing plans: a free standard listing and a paid featured listing

Featured upgrades

Sell featured placement, homepage spots and sponsored listings on top of the listing fee.

An upgrade order for a featured listing and a homepage spot

Advertising

Sell banner ad space on your directory.

Banner ad space on the homepage and the search page

Memberships

Sell membership plans and subscriptions to your business owners.

A business membership plan with a featured upgrade

Illustrative fees. You set your own rates.

One price. No monthly fees.

The WordPress directory theme is a one-time purchase. Host it yourself, with no per-listing charges and no commission to us.

Directory Theme

$99one-time payment
  • 6 months of support and updates
  • Free install and setup, plus video tutorials
  • Unlimited installs on directory sites you own
  • 14-day money-back guarantee

After 6 months, extending updates and support is optional at $49 per 6 months. Your site keeps running either way.

All-access membership

From$399

Every PremiumPress product in one membership, the Directory Theme included.

See memberships

Directory Theme vs the alternatives

FeatureDirectory ThemeDirectory pluginsOther directory themes
Price in year one$99 one-timeFree core, $49 to $153 a year in add-ons$69 to $119
Sites per licenceUnlimited, on sites you own1 site to unlimited, by plan1 site
Paid listings built inYesPaid add-onYes, or through WooCommerce
Claim a listing built inYesPaid add-onYes, or through WooCommerce
Extra plugins requiredNone2 to 3 add-ons and a payments pluginWooCommerce, for two of the three
Renewal feesNoneEvery yearOptional support renewal

Prices and features checked on 10 September 2026 against each vendor’s own page. Directory plugins: GeoDirectory and Directorist. Other directory themes: ListingPro, Listeo and MyListing on a ThemeForest Regular licence.

Step-by-step guide

How to build a business directory website with WordPress.

Six steps to your own business directory website. It all runs on WordPress, with no coding required.

  1. 1

    Set up the Directory Theme

    Add it to your WordPress site under Appearance, Themes and activate it. Paid listings, radius search and custom fields are inside, so no directory plugin is needed.

    Activating the directory theme under Appearance, Themes in WordPress
  2. 2

    Activate updates and support

    Activate with your licence key. The same key works across all directory sites you own.

    Entering a licence key to activate updates and support
  3. 3

    Import the demo directory

    One click imports sample listings, categories and map-search pages, so you customise a working directory.

    Importing the demo directory content
  4. 4

    Add your categories and listings

    Set up your directory categories and add listings, or let businesses submit their own.

    Adding a new listing with a business name, category and opening time
  5. 5

    Enable paid listings and map search

    Turn on paid and featured listings, reviews and map search, and set your pricing.

    Switching on paid listings, map search and PayPal payments
  6. 6

    Customise the design

    Restyle headers, listing pages and layouts with the 200+ Elementor directory blocks, then launch.

    Choosing brand colours and publishing the directory site
Free guide

The Directory Playbook

How to plan, build and grow a directory website that earns money from the businesses listed on it. 40 pages, from choosing a niche to your first 90 days.

Free. We email you a link to read it online or download the PDF. Privacy

What customers say about the WordPress Directory Theme

★★★★★

“I hired a few developers to work on a normal WordPress theme but it cost me an arm and a leg! Working with this theme was much easier and faster. You can easily change the design as you prefer, save lots of time to communicate on color, small changes, etc. Thanks guys.”

GaryGary
★★★★★

“Thanks for everything Mark, Iv had a directorypress theme since version 7 and the updates just keep getting better.”

MGMateus Graz
★★★★★

“well built themes, they load fast, code is clean and optimised for seo”

AKAlistair Kelsall
★★★★★

“Honestly, your themes are great! Thank you.”

TFTemmy Flavianus
★★★★★

“I have been using Directory Press since 2012, good value for money and I always look forward to the next updates.”

AJAlan Johnston
★★★★★

“I love this directory, it makes it very easy to add listings with a couple of clicks. I love the customer service they make many things work like a charm. Great value for the money”

HRHoracio Ramos
65,000+

site owners have built with PremiumPress

WordPress directory theme FAQ.

The questions we hear most before people buy the directory theme.

How do I build a business directory website with WordPress?

Install the WordPress Directory Theme on any WordPress site, import the demo directory and add your categories and listings. Or let businesses submit their own. Map search, reviews and paid listings are built in, so there’s nothing extra to wire together and no coding involved.

Can I build a site like Yelp?

Yes. That’s exactly what the theme is built for. You get Yelp-style listing pages with photos, opening hours, Google Maps, customer reviews and star ratings, plus zip/postcode radius search so visitors can find businesses near them.

Can businesses submit and pay for their own listings?

Yes. Paid listings, claim-a-listing and PayPal/Stripe payments are built into the theme, so no extra directory plugins are needed. Businesses register, create and manage their own listings from the front end. You decide what’s free and what’s paid, and featured placement, homepage spots and sponsored ads can all be charged for. Owners can also claim listings you’ve pre-added, which is a great way to seed a new directory.

Does the directory theme work with Elementor?

Yes. Every directory page can be edited in the free Elementor plugin. The theme ships with 200+ directory blocks, such as hero search bars, listing grids, category strips and map sections, and you drag them into place.

Will my site look like the directory demo out of the box?

Yes. The one-click import recreates the live directory demo on your own domain, with sample listings, categories and search pages included. You replace the placeholder businesses with real ones instead of starting empty.

Do I need coding skills to run a business directory website?

No. Approving listings, setting listing prices, moderating reviews and changing the design all happen in the admin area or the free Elementor editor. Video tutorials walk through the directory setup step by step.

Will my business directory website work on mobile phones?

Yes. Listing pages, map and radius search and the business submission forms all adapt to small screens. Visitors can browse the directory, and owners can manage their listings, from any phone or tablet.

Can I launch more than one business directory website with a single licence?

Yes. A User License covers unlimited directory websites that you own. Run a city directory, a trades directory and a niche directory side by side on one licence. If you build directories for clients, choose the Developer License instead.

Can I move my existing directory website to PremiumPress?

Yes. If your site runs MyListing, ListingPro, Listeo, Listivo or Listify, activate the Directory theme on the same website and use Settings › Migrate to convert every listing, photo, owner and review in place. Any other site can be imported from a CSV file.

Is there a free or nulled version of the WordPress Directory Theme?

No, and nulled copies of the Directory Theme are worth avoiding. They’re outdated and often bundle malware, which is a real risk on a site that stores business details and takes listing payments. The licensed theme is a one-time purchase with 6 months of updates and support and a 14-day money-back guarantee.

What’s the refund policy on the WordPress Directory Theme?

There’s a 14-day money-back guarantee. Import the demo directory, load some listings and test the paid-submission flow on your own hosting. If the theme doesn’t fit, contact us within 14 days for a full refund.

How often is the directory theme updated?

The Directory Theme is updated regularly for WordPress compatibility and new features, and every purchase includes 6 months of updates and support. Extending after that is optional at $49 per 6 months. Your directory keeps working either way.

Are there any hidden costs to run a business directory website?

No. Everything a directory needs is in the theme, from listings and paid submissions to maps, reviews and search. It works with free plugins such as Elementor. Beyond your hosting and domain, the only optional cost is extending updates and support after the first 6 months, at $49 per 6 months.

Launch your directory site today.

WordPress directory theme · one-time $99 · unlimited installs · 14-day money-back guarantee

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