Hello world, I’m done building my website with GeoDirectory, the WordPress plugin. I also got it listed in all app stores. I leave this post here to share my experience, and as an invitation to stress test my app.
I’ve always wanted to build a collaborative website, whether it’s geolocated travel blogging, a forum, or a photo challenge. But finding potential isn’t easy, and as a long-term traveler, the articles would have to be displayed on a map. After some research, and as far as geo-location is concerned, GeoDirectory stands out with no serious competition in the WordPress ecosystem, so the choice was easy.
Five years into development, I can say things went pretty smoothly. Starting with 2,000 places, I quickly realised that templates, bulk imports, and batch editing are essential for such projects, and GeoDirectory natively supports all of it. With only some basic PHP knowledge and decent CSS skills, the level of customisation you can achieve with GeoDirectory is enormous.
I also started a blog on a subdomain, but this series of articles will fit better right in the directory, where you can quickly navigate and try things out. Now, let’s get back to what I needed for this project:
A split view showing the map and results in auto-refresh
The type of layout found on airbnb and booking.com is essential for navigation, the page transform into a fullscreen map on mobile, and for the app, but we’ll talk about that later. Filters and categories could easily be added via custom fields, but so far I try to keep things simple, here’s the result. The same template also serves the user favorites map, but without the auto-refresh feature. Here’s a list of free WordPress themes by GeoDirectory.
Membership functionalities
Users need a profile to participate in the forum, access their favorites, and retrieve their contributions. GeoDirectory developed a more advanced membership plugin called UserWP for this purpose, but it also integrates with BuddyPress. Since BuddyPress is maintained by core WordPress contributors and as I just need basic membership, I stayed closer to the core WordPress.
User generated content
As a collaborative platform I was looking for a solutions to let users contribute and add places on the map. This feature is built in with GeoDirectory for free or paid listings. Feel free to try that out if you have a few pictures to share.
Selling advertisements
Looking for a way to diversify revenues I installed GeoDirectory’s Advertising add-on, the choice was quick made as ads can be tailored to automatically show up depending on the location they target.
Custom features
For full transparency I did apply to the GeoDirectory affiliate program, so I may earn a small commission if you use the links on this page. That support is genuinely appreciated, as revenue from the app is still a long way off. In return, if I can help you make a decision, or if you’re curious about how I implemented certain features, feel free to ask in the comments. I’ll do my best to reply and help out.
