If you run a wholesale store, you can use WooCommerce to sell products in bulk and offer your customers prices they can’t find on regular retail websites. With a business directory, you can point wholesale customers directly to your suppliers and help them find products offline. Using a business directory plugin for WooCommerce is the easiest way to set up a list of suppliers that your customers can check out at their leisure.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to seven of the best WooCommerce directory plugins and talk about why you should use them instead of a theme. Let’s get to it!
Why Create A Directory For Your WooCommerce Store?
Running a wholesale operation can be challenging. Stocking inventory, dealing with large shipments, and offering support for wholesale customers require a lot of work. A great alternative can be to set up a wholesale business directory that customers can use to find the products that they need.
Ideally, you’ll set up deals with suppliers where you may collect commissions for customers that you send their way. This approach enables you to focus mostly on marketing instead of direct sales.
Alternatively, you can set up a directory to point wholesale buyers to offline locations where they can find your products. In a lot of cases, customers might prefer to buy products offline if coordinating shipping can be difficult.
That last approach enables you to build goodwill with your wholesale customers while you continue to sell them products directly. You can use a business directory to help make your store look more authoritative and to increase customer loyalty.
Why Use A WooCommerce Directory Plugin Instead Of A Theme
It shouldn’t come as a surprise there are a lot of WordPress directory themes to choose from. These themes come in many shapes and sizes, from options designed for real estate listings to job boards, and of course, business directories:
Modern WordPress themes tend to go above and beyond when it comes to offering built-in features. Depending on which theme you use, you might not only get access to gorgeous templates but also to functionality that helps you build a comprehensive business directory.
There’s no real downside to using niche directory themes. However, in most cases, the functionality that they offer isn’t a match for full-featured business directory plugins for WooCommerce.
Ideally, you’ll choose a WordPress theme that integrates perfectly with the WooCommerce directory plugin of your choice. That way, you get the best of both worlds, great templates for your directory, and all of the features that you need to build and to maintain it.
7 Best Directory Plugins For WooCommerce Stores
There are a lot of fantastic WooCommerce directory plugins to choose from, so we’re going to introduce you to our top seven picks. For each plugin, we’ll discuss its main features, price, and who should consider using it.
1. Formidable Directory
Created by the same developers behind Formidable Forms, Formidable Directory uses a similar drag-and-drop system to help you put together a business directory that includes all of the fields you might want, including custom options.
The plugin comes with a built-in user registration system. That means you can use Formidable Directory to enable users to submit directory entries. Instead of building a business directory manually, you can let your suppliers add their business details to save you time.
Formidable Directory integrates with a broad range of third-party services and plugins, including WooCommerce. To help you get started, Formidable Directory offers a quick-setup wizard that enables you to create your first directory.
Price: Free, with a premium version starting at $299 .50 per year.
2. Business Directory Plugin
Business Directory Plugin does precisely what its name promises. You can use this plugin to build several types of directories, including options for businesses, staff members, restaurants, books, and even hotels.
This plugin enables users to register and submit listings manually. Moreover, you can use Business Directory Plugin to charge users for listing submissions. In other words, you can monetize your directory and automate it while you focus on running your WooCommerce store.
Price: Free, with premium versions starting at $99 per year.
3. Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin
With a name like Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin, you might write this plugin off as a generic option. However, it’s anything but that.
Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin is all about ease of use. The plugin makes it easy to set up directories or classifieds sections in WooCommerce. Your directory can include custom fields, search, ads, ratings, and comments.
Moreover, the plugin enables you to monetize your business directories thanks to its integration with multiple payment gateways. Among those, you have PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.
Price: Free, with premium versions starting at $49 per year.
4. Directories Pro
The Directories Pro plugin is a powerful WooCommerce tool that offers you multiple types of listing options. You can use Directories Pro to build lists of businesses, display entries in a grid, or even show them on a map.
That last functionality is perfect if you want your WooCommerce directory to focus on offline businesses. Instead of showing an address, you can display business locations on a map to help wholesale customers find the most convenient options.
On top of multiple listing types, Directories Pro also enables users to submit listings on their own and it gives you the option of charging them. You can also add listings manually and let businesses claim them.
Users and businesses get access to a frontend dashboard that enables them to manage and update listings. Moreover, the plugin enables visitors to leave reviews within your directory.
Price: Licenses start at $39 per site.
5. GeoDirectory
Whereas most WooCommerce directory plugins focus on local listings, GeoDirectory is geared towards a global scale. The plugin offers an elegant User Interface (UI) that enables your suppliers and partners to upload their information and for users to find the exact types of businesses that they’re looking for.
With GeoDirectory, you get access to an intuitive drag-and-drop builder that helps you put together directories with any combination of fields that you want. The plugin also offers plenty of styling options so you can customize directories to match your theme’s look and feel.
Users can sort directory listings using their location so they can see the closest business options. You can also enable advanced sorting functionality, which makes it even easier to locate businesses throughout the globe by filtering for reviews, operation hours, product categories, and more.
Price: Free, with premium licenses starting at $139 per year.
6. Connection Business Directory
Connection Business Directory is one of the few business directory plugins for WooCommerce that works out of the box with the Block Editor. The plugin enables you to use several pre-built blocks to put together a business directory, including options for carousels, listings, user lists, and more.
With this plugin, users can look for businesses sorting for nearby entries, recently viewed listings, and even related operations. That makes it easy to identify similar suppliers with only a few clicks and put together a list of potential business partners.
On top of that, users get access to a front-end dashboard, which they can use to manage and update their business information. You can even hide some entries from non-registered users if you want visitors to sign up before gaining access to the full directory.
Price: Free, with premium templates and add-ons available.
7. LDD Directory Lite
LDD Directory Lite is perhaps the only really free WordPress directory plugins that’s worth your attention. All of the plugin’s key functionality is free, but the developers also offer several premium add-ons at accessible prices.
With LDD Directory Lite, you can enable users to submit listings to your directory without paying for the privilege. The plugin doesn’t include payment functionality out of the box. However, it more than makes up for that by being incredibly easy to set up.
The plugin uses a shortcode system that enables you to add a directory anywhere on your site as well as public listing submission forms. You can add custom fields to your directory and customize its style so it matches the rest of your store.
Price: Free, with premium add-ons available.
Conclusion
There are a lot of amazing WordPress and WooCommerce directory plugins to choose from. With the right tools, you’ll be able to let businesses submit their own information to grow your directory without having to lift a finger. Some plugins even enable you to charge businesses for the privilege of being part of your directory!
In this article, we provide you with a handy list of WooCommerce business directory plugins you can use for your e-commerce store. To summarize, let’s review them below!
- Formidable Directory
- Business Directory Plugin
- Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin
- Directories Pro
- GeoDirectory
- Connection Business Directory
- LDD Directory Lite
If you’re running a wholesale store, you can use directory plugins to put together lists of suppliers and point customers to offline locations where they can source products. You can also use Wholesale Suite to sell products wholesale directly so your store can become a one-stop shop for serious buyers.
Do you have any questions about which business directory plugin for WooCommerce you should use? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
