Category Archives: Product Releases

What’s New in eDirectory 13.6.00: Powerful New Features and Improvements

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What's New in eDirectory 13.6.00

The latest version of eDirectory 13.6.00 is here bringing many exciting new features and enhancements to help you make the most of your online directory. Whether you’re looking to improve customization, enhance reporting, or streamline your operations, this update has something for everyone. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new in this release.

What’s New in eDirectory 13.6.00

1. Clone Custom Pages with Ease

Now, you can quickly duplicate custom pages using the Page Editor, saving you time and ensuring design consistency across your directory. This is one of the most requested features from our user base and is now available.

2. Clone Listing Templates

Streamline your design process by cloning listing templates. Create variations effortlessly to meet the specific needs of your directory’s categories. Similar to the cloning of custom pages, the process is basically the same.

Clone Listing Template

 

3. Enhanced Stats Reports

Clicks on chats supported by the Instant Messaging Plugin and phone numbers (primary and additional) are now tracked and included in the listing, event, and classified stats reports. This provides valuable insights into user behavior and engagement.

Get comprehensive stats by social network

4. Improved Import Capabilities

The listings and events import feature now supports importing media assets like main images, logo images, cover images, and gallery images, making bulk uploads more powerful and flexible than ever.

Improved Import Capabilities

5. New Banner Ad Sizes

Boost your advertising options with two new banner sizes:

  • Billboard (970 x 250)
  • Half-Page Banner (300 x 600)

These new sizes open the door to more creative ad placements and increased revenue opportunities.

New Banner AD Sizes

6. Define Category Limits per Product Type

Gain full control over the categories supported by listings, events, and classifieds. This makes it easier to customize your plans and offer tailored experiences to your customers.

Minor Changes for a Better Experience

While the spotlight is on the new features, this release also includes a wealth of improvements and fixes that enhance the overall functionality, usability, and stability of eDirectory. Here’s a detailed look at the minor changes introduced in version 13.6.00:

  • Improved Subscription Details: The subscription box on the Sponsors Dashboard and Subscription Details pages has been redesigned for better clarity and usability.
  • Plan Builder Enhancements: The Plan Builder screen has been updated, making it more intuitive and easier to configure your offerings.
  • Reorganized Features: The Page Promotional Codes feature has been moved to the Products & Plans section for easier access and management.
  • Members-Only Content Preview: Site owners can now view content restricted to members, providing a better way to verify access permissions and settings.
  • Campaign Monitor Integration Update: The integration with Campaign Monitor now uses direct accounts instead of Arca’s reseller account for smoother operations.
  • Customizable Widgets: Widgets on the Claim page now support customizable background colors, offering greater flexibility for branding.
  • Streamlined Checkout Process: Fixed an issue where error messages didn’t scroll properly during the checkout process, ensuring a smoother user experience.
  • Claim Process Fixes: Resolved an issue where the claim process failed if the selected plan didn’t include a valid listing product, ensuring better compatibility.
  • Improved API Data Handling: Fixed an issue with deal information not being sent to the API via the listing detail endpoint, as well as issues with the Products & Services widget limit in the listing detail API.
  • Event Calendar Fixes: Past events no longer appear in search results for specific time zones, and events for the following year are now displayed correctly in the Events Calendar widget.
  • Corrected Transaction Notifications: Fixed incorrect tax values displayed in transaction notification emails.
  • Better User Interfaces: Resolved issues with alignment in the Claim Steps widget and updated the label “Detail Page” to “View Example” for articles in the Pricing and Plans widget.
  • Bug Fixes for Content and Navigation:
    • Resolved a JavaScript error in the events and articles form when the Listing Association Plugin is enabled.
    • Fixed an error when saving product information while the site is loaded behind a proxy.
    • Corrected display issues for plans with weekly renewal periods on the checkout page.
  • Improved Management Features:
    • Fixed issues in Products & Plans Management when managing a domain different from the one in the URL.
    • Corrected internal banner names being displayed across the system instead of the site owner-defined names.

Ready to Take Your Website to the Next Level?

eDirectory 13.6.00 is packed with powerful new tools to improve how you manage and grow your online directory. Want to see it in action? Schedule a free guided demo with one of our specialists today!

Read the changelog in full

Request your upgrade: https://www.edirectory.com/upgrade-form.php

Edirectory Free guided demo

Meet the New eDirectory v13.5!

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Meet the New eDirectory v13.5!

We are excited to announce the release of eDirectory v13.5, a major update packed with new features and game-changing membership options for our clients. This version brings significant improvements to our platform, making it more versatile and user-friendly. Let’s dive into the details of what’s new and what’s changed in this release.

What’s New

Combination of Modules and Levels Now Called Products

In this update, we’ve redefined the combination of modules (listings, events, classifieds, banners, and articles) and levels as “Products.” This change simplifies the way site owners can manage and offer these elements to their users, providing a more cohesive and streamlined experience.

Manage Levels & Pricing Updated to Products & Plans

The Admin section for managing levels and pricing has been fully revamped and is now called Products & Plans. This update includes:

Manage Products

 

  • Customizable Product Types: Site owners can create up to 10 types of products for listings, events, and classifieds.
  • Paywalled Content: Products can be defined to be available exclusively for subscribed members, enabling paywalled content.

Manage Plans

 

  • Unlimited Plan Creation: Site owners can create unlimited plans to advertise products on the website.
  • Free Trials: Plans can include a free trial option (available for Stripe only).
  • Flexible Pricing Models: Site owners can define up to two pricing models per plan with several renewal cycles, including weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, annual, and one-time payment.
  • Product Combinations: Plans can offer different combinations of products, including unlimited products and specific listing templates per plan.
  • Access to Paywalled Content: Plans can grant access to paywalled content.

Additional Settings & Payment Gateways

  • Simplified Interface: The interface for managing additional settings related to payment gateways, currency, tax, and more has been simplified.
  • Paywall Functionality: The paywall functionality can be enabled on the website.

Paywalled Blog Posts

Blog posts can now be set as paywalled individually when the Paywall feature is enabled, providing more flexibility in content monetization.

Promotion Codes for Specific Plans

Promotion codes can be created and made available for specific plans, offering more targeted promotional opportunities.

New Subscriptions Page

A new page called Subscriptions has been added under the Revenue Reports section, allowing site owners to manage subscribed members more effectively.

Redesigned Checkout Process

The checkout process has been completely redesigned and simplified into three steps: user identification, checkout form, and payment confirmation. Each step’s pages are available in the Page Editor for full customization.

Updated Email Notifications

Email notifications have been updated to reflect the new approach to subscriptions and plans. Renewal reminder emails now work with subscriptions instead of individual listings, and a new notification for member sign-ups has been included.

Enhanced Modules Preview

The modules preview on the site manager has been updated:

  • Status Change: The pop-up for changing status has been replaced by a dropdown, simplifying the process.
  • Plan and Category Listing: The plan assigned to the product and its categories are now listed.

Customizable Renewal Dates

The renewal date for products is inherited from the subscription to which they are assigned, but site owners can customize it individually if needed.

Activate Products Without Subscription

Site owners can now activate products and define a renewal date even if they are not assigned to a subscription.

New Widgets for Promoting Plans

Five new widgets have been added to the Page Editor to help promote plans:

  • Single Plan Card
  • Pricing & Plans Cards
  • Pricing & Plans Cards with Custom Description
  • Pricing & Plans Cards with Topics (Type 1)
  • Pricing & Plans Cards with Topics (Type 2)

Simplified Sponsor and Profile Sections

The Sponsors and Profile sections have been consolidated into a single section called Members. This change simplifies the user experience and streamlines site management.

Updated Members Dashboard

The Members dashboard has been updated with a new user flow for signing up for plans, managing subscriptions, and adding content, enhancing the overall user experience.

eDirectory Facebook Group

What’s Changed

Plan-Based Product Charging

Site owners will no longer be able to charge for individual products. Instead, a plan should be created offering the product or a combination of products.

Popular Plans Configuration

Popular plans, previously known as levels, are now configured on a per-widget basis in the Page Editor, providing more customization options.

Category Pricing

Site owners will no longer be able to define prices for additional categories for listings. All listings can now have up to 20 categories without additional pricing.

Listing Template Pricing

Differentiated pricing for listing templates is no longer available, simplifying the pricing structure.

Discontinued Payment Gateways

Payments with 2CheckOut and PayFlow Link are no longer supported in this version.

Updated Approval Requirements

The approval requirements options in the General Settings section have been updated with new options to control how the status of products will be updated according to the subscription they belong to.

Simplified Email Configuration

The interface for configuring Administrator Email under the Email Sending configuration section has been simplified for easier management.

Removal of Feature Packages

Feature Packages, previously available under the Promotions & Packages section, are no longer available.

Removed Email Notifications

The following email notifications have been removed to streamline communication:

  • Visitor Account Create (site manager area)
  • Visitor Account Update
  • Account Activation
  • Listing Signup
  • Event Signup
  • Banner Signup
  • Classified Signup
  • Article Signup

Promotional Codes for Plans Only

Promotional codes are now applicable only to plan subscriptions and not individual products, aligning with the new subscription model.

Ready to start?

We believe these changes will greatly enhance the functionality and usability of eDirectory for both site owners and their members. Ready to experience the new eDirectory v13.5? Get a free guided demo at www.edirectory.com. Current customers, upgrade now to unlock exciting new features!

Read the changelog in full

Request your upgrade: https://www.edirectory.com/upgrade-form.php

Edirectory Free guided demo

 

eDirectory 13.4: quick release with several improvements

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The new eDirectory 13.4 is out. This new version brings some important features for the admin dashboard such as a search bar allowing site owners to easily look for Support Articles. Also, there’s a revised the “Forgot Password” feature for site owners to operate independently of the system’s SMTP configuration.

For the Listings owners, it adds TikTok social network among the options for the Listing Detail Page.

Other improvements on eDirectory 13.4:

  • Updated eDirectory requirements to support up to PHP 7.4
  • Updated all pop-ups in the site manager and sponsors sections to adhere to a
    consistent style
  • Implemented enhancements to the profile section.
  • Modified validation on sponsor account editing to alert that the email field is not mandatory for accounts created via Facebook, Google, or Apple ID
  • Enhanced the notification message for email account creation via Facebook, Google, or Apple ID

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13.4 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com offers, fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account manager.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with the most complete directory software, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

 

eDirectory 13.3: now integrated with Chat GPT for Artificial Intelligence

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eDirectory 13.3_ now integrated with Chat GPT for Artificial Intelligence

The new eDirectory 13.3 powered with artificial intelligence is now available. This new version brings the integration with Chat GPT, the most known artificial intelligence platform so you and your advertisers can create and optimize descriptions, keywords, and even write articles from scratch.

See all the new features and improvements of the new eDirectory 13.3!

Chat GPT – create and optimize content

The ChatGPT integration with eDirectory websites is a game-changer in the digital world. It streamlines operations, reduces costs, enhances user experience, and bolsters the SEO performance of your listings, events, blog posts, articles, and more.

While ChatGPT can generate initial descriptions, it’s important to note that you have full control. You can customize and edit the content to align with specific business requirements or unique selling points.

For Listings, Events, Classifieds, and Deals, this integration allows you and your advertisers to create/optimize long and short descriptions, keywords for the search, and SEO elements.

For Blog Posts and Articles, the integration is even more complete, providing an Assistant that helps you to determine the content you want to create. If you are experienced, you can type your own prompt so Chat GPT can deliver a tailored piece of content.

To enable this integration simply go to Open AI website – the creators of Chat GPT – sign up for an account and get your API key. Paste this key inside your eDirectory’s admin dashboard and you’re done.

Then you must configure if all levels of Listings and other modules will have access to this feature. Tip: if you enable this feature only for premium packages, it may help you boost sales and package upgrades.

Scheduling blog posts and articles

Now you and your advertisers can write and schedule when the piece will be published. Scheduling is a valuable tool for improving your content strategy, enhancing the reader experience, and increasing the efficiency of your content marketing efforts.

Timezone for Events and Listings

As many of our customers run national and even international online directories, they publish content for different time zones. This new release adds the ability for advertisers to select the timezone for their Events and Listings.

Now the end user will have more precise information about businesses opening hours and event times.

New widgets for the Page Editor

Adding more versatility to the general page’s content you can now add Client Testimonials and Photo Galleries, this one available on grid and carousel modes.

Updates on the Marketplace Widget

With this exclusive feature, listing publishers can create their catalog of products and /or services. This new release changes the pricing field to be optional and even accepts text in it, such as “Special Pricing”.

The Real Estate Plugin

Our most recent innovation has now revamped layout, and better labels, and is ready for the eDirectory mobile apps. It also brings two exclusive search widgets.

More improvements

The default location data import has been completely restructured, allowing site owners to import locations even when the site already contains content.

The display of logo images on the listing detail page has been updated to support larger logos in the new eDirectory 13.3.

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13.3 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com offers, fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account manager.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with the most complete directory software, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

eDirectory 13.2: meet our newest release

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The new eDirectory 13.2 is now available. This release updates the SEO Center, brings some Plugins for the mobile apps, adds new widgets for Pages and Listing Pages, among general performance improvements.

Discover the highlights of the new eDirectory 13.2!

New Header Widget – Image Slider

If your project focuses on images on the Listing Details Page then this new widget is for you. The photos added to the image gallery can be used in the “slider” format, with action buttons for the user to navigate between them.

This widget is available through the Listing Template Editor.

New Additional Image Widget

Create so you can place even more images on the Listing Detail Page. Create as many widgets as you wish and position them on the page however you like. Configure the limits and availability of this additional feature through the Plans & Pricing manager.

New Highlight Cards Widgets

In version 13.2 we included 7 new Highlight Cards widgets with image and text elements. These highlights serve several purposes, such as creating sections such as About the Team, Meet the CEO, How It Works, Additional Services, and whatever else your creativity allows.

These widgets are available in the Page Editor and can be added to any page on your site.

Administrator Accounts

When creating administrator (site manager) accounts, it is now possible to define which subsections of each module this new administrator will have access to. This makes it easier for your team to manage the site. And for those who have more than one site associated with the main license, you can define the access level of this new administrator for one or more sites.

New SEO Center

The SEO Center has been completely revamped to receive the new features. eDirectory continues to allow full control of the title, friendly URL, keywords, and SEO description for all items (Listings, Classifieds, Events, etc.) and Categories for all modules and Main Pages of the system.

The main SEO news in version 13.2 are:

  • Integration with the new Google Analytics (GA4)
  • Robots.txt file editor (to fine-tune which pages can and cannot be crawled)
  • Page Redirect Editor (for more control of URLs/pages)
  • Uploading the ads.txt file (for those using Google Adsense and similar programs)
  • Facebook/Meta Business Manager verification code upload
  • Default image upload for social sharing (OG/Open Graph)

Plugins in Mobile Apps

eDirectory 13.2 also brings improvements to the Apple and Android Apps, which are now able to display the functionality of 8 Plugins:

  1. Instant Messaging Plugin
  2. Events Association
  3. Articles Association
  4. Multiple Videos for Articles
  5. Multiple Videos for Listings
  6. Advanced Reviews for Businesses
  7. Geo-Targeted Banner Ads
  8. Mailchimp Integration

In the App management section, we added a shortcut to Google Firebase, thus facilitating the sending of Push Notifications.

Upcoming system updates will bring more plugins to the apps.

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13.2 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com offers, fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account manager.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with the most complete directory software, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

The new generation of the eDirectory App

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The new eDirectory App is here!

The new generation of the eDirectory App

In a mobile-first world, eDirectory has always been ahead of its time: from the early adoption of website design responsivity to the creation of its exclusive Integrated App Builder. That’s part of what makes us lead the online directory software industry.

The eDirectory App

Having mobile apps published on the app stores brings extra authority to any project as it shows the commitment to the online community it serves.

Since 2010 the Integrated App Builder creates both Android and iPhone apps. Twelve years later, eDirectory confirms its protagonism and leadership in the online directory software industry.

The eDirectory Integrated App Builder brings a huge advantage for Online Directory owners as they can manage everything within the same interface. In a few clicks, they can configure the look and feel of the app, manage the main menu, and create custom pages.

Through our powerful API, every content added to the website – listings, classifieds, events, etc – become available on the app. Its dynamic nature allows for quick design changes to reflect automatically on the apps without having to republish them.

Using the integration with Google Firebase, app owners can send real Push Notifications, increasing user engagement and retention. Only native apps have this capability.

Formerly written with Java (Android) and Objective C (iPhone), we totally revamped its base technology and design for an increased amazing experience for visitors and advertisers.

Flutter

With the release of the new version 13.1, our exclusive Integrated App Builder now writes the apps using Flutter technology. This open-source platform was created by Google back in 2015 and it allows more agility in app development.

Flutter combines the quality of native apps with the flexibility of cross-platform development. It’s been used by companies like BMW, Alibaba, eBay, GroupOn, NuBank, Google itself, and many others.

Among the several benefits of Flutter, we can name its versatility, high performance, customization, and reliability of the code delivered. It means that its adoption on our Integrated App Builder allows the eDirectory Apps to become even more powerful, with even more features, and easier to be customized to meet specific needs – and for affordable pricing.

The Process

While we’re passionate about what we do, the new eDirectory app isn’t made “to suit our passions”. The (re)creation of the eDirectory app is the result of more than a year of research, hypothesis validation, data verification, prototyping, and a lot of effort by the entire team. It is the result of a process that involved customers and professionals from all areas of the company.

Led by the Design Team, the process started with several interviews with heavy-use customers around the world to map a wide range of different perceptions, needs, and desires about the eDirectory App.

After completing this step, professionals from all areas of the company (admin, sales, marketing, infrastructure, support, design, and product team) put all hands on this deck to analyze the raw data and build together the roadmap of this new journey.

Priorities set and technical needs over the table, it was time to tackle the challenges and beat them all, one by one, completing all of the planned stages. Nothing was left behind.

Finally, after months of teamwork that involved building, testing, validating, and rounds and rounds of quality control, the new eDirectory App is here, ready for the world again.

The new eDirectory App

The new eDirectory App, despite bringing many new features, still maintains the same nature as the previous generation: it is an application focused on the end-user.

Using Flutter allowed the app’s design to be refreshed and more closely aligned with the web/responsive version, while also including many of the web version’s features and functionalities.

See the highlights of the new eDirectory App:

Listing Template Design: through the Listing Template Editor you can create custom fields and unique designs for the Listing Detail Page – fitting general listings and/or one template for each category. With the new version of the app, all custom fields are displayed on the app, following the design of the associated Listing Template.

Exclusive Content: one of the great advantages of the app was the perception of users and advertisers about the authority of the project. With the new version of the apps, this authoritative item gains an important ally: the offer of exclusive content through the apps.

Stories: similar to the Instagram feature, site managers now can promote listings, deals, latest news, and more, with an eye-catching featured section on the app. Different from Instagram, these stories won’t vanish with time and are stored in the app, this way your users are able to review them at any time. Learn how to create Stories to promote your content.

Deals: advertisers (and site owners) can create deals exclusive to the app. It helps to promote even more your mobile apps, increasing user engagement. Learn how to create app-exclusive deals in your eDirectory app.

Banners: banner ads are now displayed within the apps and can be created exclusively for the apps. The home screen has one slot for the native banner ads. The results screen also displays banner ads in the middle of the results. Learn how to create banners for the apps.

Customizable Home Screen: now you can choose, rename and reorder the elements on the Home Screen. This allows a fine-tuning of the content according to your project and commercial strategy.

Sliders: apps always had their own exclusive Sliders but it was mandatory to link them to existing content such as Listing, for example. Now the Sliders can be just images with no link or even linked to external content.

Inbox: with the new version the users will have access to an Inbox feature that stores all the Push Notifications sent to the app. It may increase the interaction rate as they will have the chance to check the notifications at their own pace. Learn more about the Inbox feature.

Apple ID: we added the Apple ID option for account creation and log-in.

What’s next for the eDirectory App?

As we mentioned before, our process of re-creating the eDirectory App took into consideration the most different needs and requests from our customers. The first version of the new generation delivers new features but inside its already known focus: the end-user.

The next steps are to increase the capacity of the app, including features specific to the advertisers, where they will be able to manage and edit existing content right through the app. The screens are already designed and we are currently working on technical aspects of the development.

We are immensely grateful to everyone who took part and helped with the new eDirectory App. This marks a new stage in our history of leadership in the online directory software industry.

Thank you!

Questions, suggestions, or comments about the new eDirectory App? Please shoot us a note here or send an email to marketing@eDirectory.com.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com has to offer, simply fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account executive.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with all you see here and much more, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

Meet the new eDirectory v13

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We’re proud to announce our newest release, eDirectory v13. This platform upgrade brings the exclusive Listing Template Editor: a game-changer on the way you build online directories. The listing template feature allows you to create customized listing pages for different use cases, like jobs, people, restaurants, whatever you can imagine. eDirectory is now more flexible and with improved usability for site owners, advertisers, and end-users.

What’s new on eDirectory v13?

The new Listing Template Editor replaces the previous Listing Type feature. In the past versions, you were able to create any custom field you want to match the needs of the categories of your listing. With v13 you are now able to not only add those fields but also to edit the design of the listing detail page, using the same widget-based logic already present in the v12. Drag and drop the elements to design exclusive pages. Besides this major new feature, we improved the design and usability of the back-end. With an optimized layout, this area had several elements reorganized and redesigned to improve its user experience, in addition to facilitating its actions and access to certain resources.

Tabs, Sidebar, and Widgets

You can choose from 26 different widgets to create listing detail pages with one column or with a column plus a sidebar. You can now create unlimited tabs to display the content of your listings but if you prefer having a single tab you can, it’s up to you to determine the look-and-feel of your pages with ease, and no code-knowledge required. Use the widgets to create unlimited custom fields. After creating the custom fields, configure the Levels & Prices section to select which plan will display these fields.

Summary Cards

For the search results page, you can choose one among eleven options of cards for summary views when creating a Listing Template. These cards were designed to meet different proposals and different needs.

Linked Listings

Easily associate other listings to one specific page. For example, if you are listing a Medical Clinic and want to highlight its professional’s profiles, with a few clicks, you can add the Linked Listings Widget on the page and display these profiles in an associated way. 

Related Listings

This is a great way to keep your users exploring your content and spend more time on your site. Simply add the Related Listings widget on the template and customize the rules to display rich content.

Call-to-Action button

Easily place a button on the listing detail page, customizing its label and destination URL. You can create a “Buy Now”, “Book appointment” that goes to an external shopping cart or booking system. Create whatever call-to-action you need for your advertisers.

Disable Locations

For those who target just one location, we added the ability to the site manager to disable completely the usage of locations in the system, this will also remove the field “where” from the search boxes.

Upgrade Plan button for advertisers

A new upgrade button has been added to promote free and lower level listings to upgrade to more lucrative paid plans. Now advertisers will see a handy upgrade button to stimulate plan upgrades. This generates a new lead for the site owner to follow up and close the sale. Also, for the lower listings levels, we updated the Listing form to display fields that are not available for the listing level with a lock message, motivating advertisers to consider an upgrade of their plan.

Stripe subscription cancellation

Many payment gateways do not allow subscription cancellations other than directly through the gateway system. Stripe enabled this option and now advertisers can easily cancel their subscriptions within the Advertiser Dashboard.

GDPR improvements

Our customers in or targeting European countries can take advantage of this improvement. We added the ability for the site manager to enable the requirement for explicit consent for end-users to store their personal data, improving eDirectory’s GDPR compliance. Because of that, forms no longer checks the “Sign up to our newsletter” by default.

More news from eDirectory v13!

  • Ability to add multiple banners on the listing page.
  • Ability to remove the pricing completely for all listings associated with a specific template.
  • Categories management completely redesigned for better user experience.
  • Added a shortcut for the site owner to go directly to the listing edit form when visiting a listing page on the frontend.
  • Claims section moved from the Listings section to the Activity sections on the site manager dashboard.
  • Preview page on the advertise widgets updated to offer the ability for users to preview listings from different templates.
  • Added captcha on the widget “Lead gen form” to block spam leads.
  • Site owners can now check information about their license and eDirectory versions through the “About” pop up.
  • Claim sign up page changed to show the registration form first, instead of the login form.
  • Label “Friendly URL” and “Page name” updated to “URL Slug”.
  • Webp image format applied to Call to action and Newsletter background images.
  • Log in and sign up forms updated to include the attribute “required” on the mandatory fields.
  • Button “Read more” removed from the listing page. The listing description is now displayed below the listing main image.

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com has to offer, simply fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account executive. Upgrade fees may be applied.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with all you see here and much more, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

Instant Messaging for Directory Websites

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eDirectory Instant Messaging Plugin

We released the Instant Messaging Plugin that allows site owners and advertisers to use Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger directly on the website.

Instant messaging provides real-time communication between visitors and listing owners, allowing them to make immediate sales contacts.

Site owners will be able to add a messenger floating button to the site, choosing one from the three options allowed. The other messaging platforms can be displayed on the header, footer and Contact Us page as clickable elements.

Instant Messaging Plugin for Directories

For advertisers, the messaging apps clickable items will be displayed below the phone number on the listing detail page.

Instant Messaging for Listings

Contact us today, add this Plugin to your directory, and get connected with your audience!

Benefits of using IM in your directory site

  • These apps provide instant communication. In addition to text messages, users can exchange multimedia messages, such as photos, videos, documents, or sound.
  • Instant Messaging is applicable to both B2B and B2C businesses. It is important to choose the right platform and explore what it has to offer.
  • Compared to digital marketing and social media, mobile messaging has much more engagement and return on investment in marketing.

Instant Messaging apps around the world

Different applications are popular in different countries, and so your choice of apps must take this into consideration:

  • WhatsApp is a world leader and is used in 104 countries. It is popular in Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia and in many countries of Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.
  • For US markets, the most used applications are Messenger and WhatsApp.
  • Facebook Messenger is used in 64 countries, notably Australia, Canada, and the United States.
  • Telegram and other messaging applications that are very popular in China, Japan, and Iran.
  • In Europe, however, the leaders are WhatsApp and Messenger. Asia and specifically in China, most users use WhatsApp and Telegram. In Africa, most people communicate via Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

Be sure to keep track of client preferences and their needs, which can change over time. Instant Messaging is a great development, satisfying the demands for speed, practicality, and real connectedness.

New Release: eDirectory v12

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We’re proud to announce our newest release, eDirectory v12. This platform upgrade brings a major design change and several new features. Our goal is to keep improving the experience for users, advertisers and site owners.

edirectory v12 header

What’s new on eDirectory v12?

From a quick sneak-peak in our eDirectory Demo site, you can feel it right away the new look of the site. Transparent navigation menu, the full-width image on sliders, fluid elements and more.

Here’s the list of all the improvements:

1. Frontend layout completely redesigned for all available themes

2. New widgets

  • List of featured categories with only text
  • List of featured categories with icons instead of bigger images
  • List of featured categories in just one horizontal line
  • Social network bar
  • Contact information bar
  • Call to action
  • Slider without search box
  • Three new types of cards widgets available for all modules
  • Section header / Page title

3. The ability of the site manager to choose the background color of the main widgets between three options (white, neutral or brand color)

4. The ability of the site manager to customize the look & feel of all the four header widgets, including:

  • Enable sticky menu
  • Change the background color
  • Display the navigation on top of a background image (option available when the header widget is followed by a slider or call to action widget)

5. The ability of the site manager to enable banners on the browse by categories and locations widgets

6. The ability of the site manager to remove the number of active items on the Browse by categories and Browse by Location widgets

7. Results widgets unified in just one widget, with options to enable list view, grid view or both

8. Better display and navigation on widget video gallery

9. Widgets Search box with Slider and Search box without Slider unified in just one widget

10. Widgets Lead gen with Slider and Lead gen without Slider unified in just one widget

11. Widget Search box with Slider rehashed to allow the site manager to create different slides sets, for different pages

12. The ability for the site manager to change the position of the content (left, center, right) on some widgets like Search box with Slider, Call to action, Newsletter, among others

13. Colors & Fonts section rehashed to offer more flexibility, including:

  • Nine colors available for customization
  • More than 900 fonts from Google fonts available
  • Ability to change the font size
  • Ability to customize the border style for images, cards, inputs, and buttons

edirectory v12 border control

eDirectory v12 with 900 google fonts

14. Integration with Unsplash, a beautiful, free photos service. Available for cover images, slides and background images for the main widgets

edirectory and unsplash images

15. Field features from listings rehashed to offer the ability for users to choose icons to each feature/amenity

edirectory icon features

edirectory icon features in front-end

16. Field opening hours from listings rehashed to offer the ability for users to select each day and time, instead of the text field, allowing visitors to see more accurate information like “Open now” on the frontend

17. Field fax from listings module replaced by a customizable field where the user can define the label of the phone number (i.e, fax, WhatsApp, office, home…)

18. The ability for users to upload a logo image to their listings. The logo image can be enabled for specific levels by the site manager using the Manage Levels & Pricing section

edirectory v12 logo uploader

edirectory v12 logo front-end

19. The ability for the site manager upload icons to featured categories (icons will be displayed on the new widget Featured Categories with icons)

20. Google maps icons updated to use the same color as the site main color

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v12 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com has to offer, simply fill out the Upgrade request form or contact your account executive. Upgrade fees may be applied.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with all you see here and much more, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

New Release: eDirectory v11.5

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eDirectory v11.5, released in early November 2018, is our most recent platform upgrade, filled with great new features and some performance improvements.

 

What’s new on eDirectory v11.5?

This release brings 15 new front-end and back-end items as it follows:

1. New fully customizable Cards widgets available for all themes.

  • Previous widgets such as “Featured listings”, “Popular events”, among others, were replaced by cards widgets.
  • Each widget can be fully customized, including:
    • Ability to change the widget title and the label of the “view more” link;
    • Ability to select the module that will be displayed on the widget;
    • Show items from a specific level, categories or location;
    • Ability to choose the order criteria;
    • Ability to pick items individually.
  • Layout for the widget “5 featured listings” updated and available for all modules.
recent deals widget

Define the content and display rules for your new widget…

… or handpick the items you want to be featured in your new widget!

2. New widget “Video Gallery” available for all themes.

3. Two new lead generation forms widgets available for all themes.

  • a. Lead form with static background image
  • b. Lead form with background slider

4. New layout for the article detail widget, including the ability to upload the author image and description available for all themes. See an example here.

5. New layout for the blog detail widget available for all themes.

6. New widget “Recent Articles in two columns” for the Article home page.

7. New widget “2 columns recent posts” for the Blog home page.

8. Added ability for the site manager change the labels of each location level.

location labels

9. New interface to manage the navigation menus and links for slides, including easier flow to link menus to custom pages, internal or external URLs.

10. Added new field to include a summary description for videos on the listings, events and classifieds form.

11. The layout of the Default theme rehashed to standardize spacings, margins and navigation structure, including the responsive version.

12. Added ability for the site manager to change the placeholders of the search box widgets.

13. Support to PHP 7.1.

14. New Gulp file to manage, compile and minimize less/sass files on development mode.

15. New layout for the “site unavailable” screen.

Other changes on eDirectory v11.5

  • Structured markup data on articles and blog detail pages updated to include the tags author and publisher
  • Facebook moderation tool updated to allow the site manager to moderate Facebook comments directly from the directory
  • Form to submit new reviews simplified when the user is already logged in
  • PHPMailer fully replaced by SwiftMailer

Read the full list of 100+ enhancements of eDirectory v11.5 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com has to offer, simply fill out the Upgrade request form found here or contact your account executive.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with all you see here and much more, please request a demo here, or call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.