10 replies to this topic

[Pete]

I want to start a directory and am wondering if anyone can recommend any software. I've looked at eSyndiCat, phpmydirectory, idevspot

These are in my ballpark budget. In fact I like the look and price of idevspot the best but probably will be better off getting some experienced advice I'm sure.

It doesn't need to be too complex, in fact very simple for admin and users is best. There will only need to be one category.

Currently I the directory I have (saxophoneteachers.co.uk) is hand coded html, which is not going to work if it's ever going to expand so I want something users can sign up to, create their own listing and have good SEO and good anti spammer measures, so can anyone please suggest what might be best?

Thanks

[cre8pc]

I'm not sure. Would a content management system be helpful? For organization and adding new sections, I'm thinking Drupal. But I'm no expert

[iamlost]

I haven't had a directory in over 6-years and built in several years before that so personal experience to offer is zilch. However, I was intrigued by your question so queried some folks who like to spew forth directories (especially before Google decided to crack down, yes these folks are definitely on the naughty side) and the consensus was for phpmydirectory and idev-businessdirectory depending on requirements. Given that your needs appear about as basic as it gets for a directory (not that it hurts to have room to adapt and grow) I'd say take your pick, either should work well and both get high marks from folks that should know.

[tommr]

I have this set up on a site. It is basic and has a header and footer that can be adapted to match an existing site.
http://www.particles.../particlelinks/

I have another directory but it's a custom script I built from ground up to keep track of arts and crafts shows.
The trouble was I could not find a script that would do exactly what I wanted.
Now I can serve very detailed show info as well as targeted weather, maps, ad's and users can search by show name, state, town etc.
I started with a simple directory script detailed in the idiots guide to PHP/MySql and added to it. When I got stuck I used a PHP forum for help and paid for a few tweeks.

[glyn]

I have DirectoryPress but I still need to install it!!

[jonbey]

I used Powerseek for a while. It was recommended. I found it a nightmare. Did try esyndicat and phpmydirectory but for reasons I cannot remember now found them to be unsuitable. As it is, I closed my directory now. I just use Wordpress (use categories, make richer "listings").

[Walter]

Pete,

I use Joomla and Sobipro. There is a learning curve, its definitely not "plug and play" but its very customizable and expandable. Not all servers will work, Go Daddy didn't work for me but Host Gator does just fine. It might be overkill for your purposes at this time, but definitely something you can grow with and I'd consider it if you have any plans to expand beyond a very basic directory. One caveat, Joomla is of course free and while SobiPro is often called "free" that's only for the core and without any meaningful support. Good news is, paid support isn't very expensive and ranges from good to excellent.

I didn't care for directory press, but I think Ablereach is working on a project that uses directory press, she might be able to give you a little more insight into that.

One other bit of advice based on having just gone through choosing a directory app about a year ago. Try several and really play with them. Lots of problems/advantages don't seem to materialize until you've spent some time with them.

Walter

[glyn]

Pete,

I use Joomla and Sobipro.

Walter

aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

glad I'm out of that relationship.

[Walter]

Hey Glyn,

You tried Joomla + SobiPro and didn't like it?

Walter

[AbleReach]

Directorypress did not work for me. The directory I want to build absolutely has to be screen reader friendly, and some of the features of Directorypress did not let me label images. It's been a while, but I think there was an issue with how the header of the site would "read."

I set my project aside for a few months. Recently I've been reconsidering what I can do with custom post types in WordPress, plus learning to be more sophisticated with conditional statements. WordPress has a heap of pre-created conditional tags, functions, variables and other stuff that should let me build most of what I want.

If I get as far as I can and decide I have gone down the wrong road, I will at least have used what I know best as a platform to learn more about code in general. I should be able to at least make it look like it should, from a user's point of view - I know I could build it in flat html, though no way do I want to administer a flat html directory. Hooking up the front end and the admin side will be a challenge and an adventure!



By the way, I found some ideas for how to cobble together a directory using Drupal, here: http://www.seascapew...ry-using-drupal

[Pete]

Thanks everyone, this has given me a lot of food for thought, and while trying out a couple of demos I realised my big priority is to have a comprehensive location menu. All of my users will be looking for something local (as its tuition based) so the first thing would be to find their county/state/city and view the listings.

But then if I want the site to expand beyond the UK, I need to have all realistic locations available for teachers to list. Or possibly they can create their own location.

e.g. it's easy enough for me to make a list and menu of all the counties and major cities in the UK, but then if I expand internationally, suddenly I need all states, counties, provinces, cities of every viable country in a menu on the front page.

That seems to be a bit of a daunting problem unless there is a directory software out there that already has this built in.
So far phpmydirectory is looking the most promising.