WB Listora Documentation

WB Listora is a complete WordPress directory plugin. Build any type of listing directory - business, restaurant, hotel, real estate, jobs, events, and more - using native Gutenberg blocks and the WordPress Interactivity API.

Single listing page

Each listing renders with a uniform tabbed layout: Overview, Location (with embedded map), Place Details, Services, and Reviews. Empty tabs are suppressed automatically. The gallery, ratings, save / share / directions actions, and a sidebar with contact info + business hours sit alongside.

Editing listings in wp-admin

Site admins and editors edit every listing field directly from the WordPress edit screen. The edit page now exposes a meta box per type-defined field group (Location, Place Details, Media, Services) alongside the existing Verification, Featured, and Badges boxes. No more switching to the frontend submission wizard to change a phone number or business hour.

This documentation covers both WB Listora Free and WB Listora Pro. Pages that document Pro-only features are marked with a Pro feature callout at the top. Browse by what you're trying to do:

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Find the docs you need by role

Setup & Configuration

"How do I install and configure my directory?"

Start here if you're standing up a new directory. Covers installation, the setup wizard, your first directory page, listing types, Pro activation, and every settings tab.

→ Setup & Configuration

For Site Owners

"How do I run my directory day-to-day?"

Moderating reviews, approving claims, managing moderators (Pro), tracking analytics (Pro), running coupons (Pro), awarding verification badges (Pro), coming-soon mode (Pro), white-label (Pro).

→ For Site Owners

For Listing Owners

"How do I add and manage my listings?"

Submitting a listing from the frontend, the user dashboard, adding services, and (Pro) buying credits to activate listing plans.

→ For Listing Owners

For Visitors

"How do I find what I need and engage with listings?"

Search and filters, saving favorites, saved-search alerts (Pro), writing reviews (incl. multi-criteria and photo reviews on Pro), contacting owners via lead forms (Pro), comparing listings (Pro), posting needs to the reverse marketplace (Pro).

→ For Visitors

Maps

"How do I use maps in my directory?"

OpenStreetMap on Free (no API key), Google Maps on Pro (Places autocomplete, marker clustering).

→ Maps

Migration & Import

"How do I move from another directory plugin?"

Step-by-step guides for migrating from Directorist, GeoDirectory, Business Directory Plugin, and ListingPro.

→ Migration & Import

‍ Developer Reference

"How do I extend or integrate with WB Listora?"

The 11 Free + 5 Pro Gutenberg blocks, every action and filter hook, the complete REST API contract, custom-field types, and the Pro extension surface.

→ Developer Reference

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Setup & Configuration

Bring your directory online in under an hour.

What you do	Guide
1. Install WB Listora	Installation & Activation
2. Run the setup wizard	Setup Wizard
3. Create your directory page	Creating Your Directory Page
4. Define listing types (Restaurant, Hotel, etc.)	Understanding Listing Types
5. (Pro) Install and activate WB Listora Pro	Installing WB Listora Pro
6. (Pro) Activate your license key	License Management (Pro)
Configure global behaviour	General Settings
Tune search behaviour	Search Settings
Configure submission & moderation	Submission & Moderation Settings

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For Site Owners

Day-to-day operation of your directory.

What you do	Guide
Manage star ratings, written reviews, helpful votes, replies	Reviews & Ratings
Approve or reject business claim requests	Business Claims
(Pro) Assign trusted team members as moderators	Moderator Role (Pro)
(Pro) Track views and clicks per listing	Analytics (Pro)
(Pro) Create discount codes for listing plans	Coupons (Pro)
(Pro) Award verified badges to vetted businesses	Verification Badges (Pro)
(Pro) Hide the directory while setting up, or run a members-only directory	Coming Soon & Private Mode (Pro)
(Pro) Rename the plugin for client handoff	White Label (Pro)
(Pro) Batch notifications into a daily digest	Digest Notifications (Pro)

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For Listing Owners

Adding and managing your own listings.

What you do	Guide
Submit a listing from the frontend	Submitting a Listing
Manage your listings, reviews, favorites from one place	User Dashboard
Add a service catalog to your listing	Services on Your Listing
(Pro) Purchase credits and activate a listing plan	Credits & Pricing Plans (Pro)

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For Visitors

Finding what you need and engaging with listings.

What you do	Guide
Search, filter, narrow by geography	Search & Filters
Save listings to revisit	Favorites
(Pro) Save a search and get daily email alerts when new matches arrive	Saved Searches (Pro)
Write a review (star rating + text)	Reviews & Ratings
(Pro) Rate per criterion (Food, Service, Ambiance for restaurants etc.)	Multi-Criteria Reviews (Pro)
(Pro) Attach photos to your review	Photo Reviews (Pro)
(Pro) Contact a listing owner via a Contact form	Lead Forms / Contact Owner (Pro)
(Pro) Compare listings side by side	Documentation in progress - see Comparison block
(Pro) Post what you need; businesses respond	Needs Marketplace (Pro)

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Maps

Maps in WB Listora work on both Free and Pro - the difference is the provider.

What you do	Guide
Use OpenStreetMap (no API key required)	OpenStreetMap (Free)
(Pro) Replace OSM with Google Maps + Places autocomplete + clustering	Google Maps (Pro)

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Migration & Import

Moving from another directory plugin?

• From GeoDirectory
• From Directorist
• From Business Directory Plugin
• From ListingPro

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Developer Reference

Build on top of WB Listora.

What you need	Guide
Block-by-block overview (11 Free + 5 Pro blocks)	Gutenberg Blocks Overview
Every action and filter hook	Hooks Reference
Full REST API contract	REST API
Define your own field types	Custom Fields & Field Types
Extend the Free plugin from Pro or a third-party add-on	Extending with WB Listora Pro

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Also useful

• Feature Catalog - every feature on one page, with tier (Free / Pro) and audience.
• Why WB Listora? - what makes it different from competitors.
• Plugin Comparison - side-by-side vs other directory plugins.

Why WB Listora?

For site owners

Modern block-based architecture

WB Listora is built entirely with Gutenberg blocks and the WordPress Interactivity API. Directorist and GeoDirectory still rely heavily on shortcodes. WB Listora's blocks work in the block editor's visual canvas - no memorizing shortcode parameters.

Built-in claims workflow

Every listing has a claim system out of the box. With Directorist, Business Directory Plugin, and HivePress, claims require a paid add-on or a custom implementation. In WB Listora, claims, status tracking, email notifications, and the owner dashboard are all included in the free plugin.

Full REST API, no add-on required

58 REST endpoints covering listings, search, reviews, favorites, claims, services, and the user dashboard are available in the free plugin. GeoDirectory's REST support is limited; Directorist's API requires the Pro version. WB Listora's API is ready for mobile apps and headless integrations from day one.

Overridable templates for theme authors

WB Listora uses WooCommerce-style template overrides. Copy any template from wb-listora/templates/ to {theme}/wb-listora/ and edit it. No child theme gymnastics, no fighting with shortcode output.

Fast at scale

Search uses a dedicated listora_search_index table - not WordPress meta_query. Geographic queries use a Haversine calculation against a listora_geo table. The plugin handles large listing counts without degrading search performance.

Genuine multisite awareness

Capability and role checks use WordPress's standard current_user_can() system. The plugin does not hard-code is_admin() checks in frontend logic, making it compatible with multisite and membership setups.

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For directory users

• Save listings to favorites and return to them from your dashboard - no bookmarks needed.
• Claim your business without contacting the site owner - the claim form is self-service and status is visible in real time on your dashboard.
• Write richer reviews - star ratings, helpful votes, report abuse, and get an owner reply all from one page.
• Find listings near you - the "Near Me" geolocation button works on mobile without any extra steps.
• Manage your listing yourself - edit details, update hours, add services, upload photos all from the frontend dashboard, not the WordPress admin.
• Works with any theme - the blocks include per-instance style controls (spacing, shadow, border radius), so they adapt to your theme's design.
• Fully mobile-optimized - every block has responsive controls and breakpoints tested at 1024px, 767px, 480px, and 390px.

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Free vs Pro comparison

Feature	Free	Pro	Notes
Listing blocks (11 blocks)	Yes	Yes	-
REST API (58 endpoints)	Yes	Yes	-
Frontend submission	Yes	Yes	-
Business claims	Yes	Yes	-
Reviews with owner reply	Yes	Yes	Free: single overall star rating
Multi-criteria reviews	-	Yes	Multi-Criteria Reviews - define criteria per listing type (e.g., Food, Service, Ambiance)
Photo reviews	-	Yes	Photo Reviews - reviewers upload images with their review
Favorites	Yes	Yes	-
Saved searches + email alerts	-	Yes	Saved Searches - daily alerts for new matching listings
Services per listing	Yes	Yes	-
User dashboard (6 tabs)	Yes	Yes	Credits tab shows an upgrade prompt in Free
Setup wizard	Yes	Yes	-
Import / Export	Yes	Yes	-
OpenStreetMap (no API key)	Yes	Yes	-
Google Maps + Places autocomplete	-	Yes	Google Maps - requires a Google Cloud API key
Credit-based payment system	-	Yes	Credits and Plans - webhook-based, works with Stripe/PayPal/Paddle
Pricing plans	-	Yes	Credits and Plans - listing tiers with duration, perks, and featured placement
Coupons	-	Yes	Coupons - discount codes for plan credit costs
Per-listing analytics	-	Yes	Analytics - cookie-free views and click tracking
Lead forms	-	Yes	Lead Forms - Contact Owner form emailed to listing owner
Verification badges	-	Yes	Verification Badges - manual admin award, visible on listing cards
Needs marketplace	-	Yes	Needs Marketplace - reverse directory for buyer requests
Moderator role	-	Yes	Moderators - scoped role for content moderation without full admin access
Digest notifications	-	Yes	Digest Notifications - batch emails into a daily summary
White label	-	Yes	White Label - rename admin menu and Plugins list for client handoff
Coming Soon / Private mode	-	Yes	Coming Soon Mode - hide directory during setup or require login
Auto-updates via license	-	Yes	License Management - updates appear in Dashboard → Updates

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Get Pro

Install the add-on and activate your license: Installing WB Listora Pro

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Related

• Installation
• Setup Wizard
• Blocks Overview
• Feature Catalog

Feature Catalog

Every feature in WB Listora Free and Pro, organized by the job you are doing. One row per capability, and every row links to its own guide - if a feature has a page, it is in this table.

Tier is stated as the feature page itself states it. Free + Pro means the capability exists in Free and Pro extends it; the guide says how. Pro means it does not exist without the add-on.

Set up your directory

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
Installation & Activation	Free	Install the plugin and run the first-time setup.	Guide
Setup Wizard	Free	Six-step wizard that creates pages, configures the map, and optionally installs demo content.	Guide
Directory Page	Free	Place the Listing Grid and Search blocks on a page to create your main directory.	Guide
Listing Types	Free	Define a field set per kind of listing - Restaurant, Hotel, Real Estate, Job.	Guide
Listing Type Editor	Free + Pro	Edit a type's fields, icon, Schema.org mapping, and which categories and features it offers.	Guide
Listing Categories	Free + Pro	The hierarchical dimension - what a listing is.	Guide
Locations	Free + Pro	The hierarchical place dimension, Country / State / City.	Guide
Amenities & Features	Free + Pro	The curated per-type attribute set visitors filter on.	Guide
Tags	Free + Pro	The flat, open dimension. Filters search, appears as a facet, renders as chips.	Guide
Gutenberg Blocks	Free + Pro	11 layout-owning blocks in Free; Pro adds 5 more.	Guide
Template Overrides	Free	WooCommerce-style theme overrides for block and email templates.	Guide
OpenStreetMap	Free	Interactive maps with no API key required.	Guide
Google Maps	Pro	Replaces OpenStreetMap, with Places autocomplete and marker clustering.	Guide
Installing Pro	Pro	Download and activate the WB Listora Pro add-on.	Guide
License Management	Pro	Activate, deactivate and renew your Pro licence key.	Guide
Auto-Updates	Pro	Plugin updates delivered via your licence, no manual ZIP uploads.	Guide
White Label	Pro	Rename the plugin and admin menu to your own brand for client handoff.	Guide

Grow your listings

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
Frontend Submission	Free + Pro	Multi-step form so members add listings without WordPress admin access.	Guide
Photos & Video	Free + Pro	Gallery with a front-end carousel, drag-and-drop upload, and oEmbed video.	Guide
Business Hours	Free + Pro	Opening hours per day, up to three ranges, so split shifts are expressible.	Guide
Services per Listing	Free + Pro	Owners attach a service catalogue - name, price, duration - to their listing.	Guide
Duplicate Check	Free + Pro	Pre-submit check that warns when a similar listing already exists.	Guide
Draft Reminder	Free + Pro	Emails members who start a submission but do not finish it.	Guide
Business Claims	Free + Pro	Business owners claim an existing listing and take over managing it.	Guide
Listing Lifecycle	Free + Pro	Draft, pending, published, expired, deactivated - and what moves a listing between them.	Guide
Listing Renewal	Free + Pro	Owners extend an expiring listing. Credit-gated when Pro monetization is on.	Guide
Featured Listings	Free + Pro	Promote a listing into featured placement. Pro adds credit-gated rotation.	Guide
Import & Export	Free + Pro	CSV / JSON / GeoJSON plus migrators for four competitor plugins. Pro adds the visual mapper.	Guide
Google Places Import	Pro	Pull listings straight from the Google Places API, one at a time or in bulk.	Guide

Engage your visitors

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
Search & Filters	Free + Pro	Full-text search with facets, geo proximity, category, feature, price and rating.	Guide
Advanced Search	Pro	Filter builder over custom fields, beyond the standard facets.	Guide
Saved Searches	Pro	Members save a search and receive email alerts for new matches.	Guide
Infinite Scroll	Pro	Loads more listings as the visitor scrolls, instead of paging.	Guide
Quick View	Pro	Opens a listing summary in a modal from the grid card.	Guide
Compare Listings	Pro	Compare 2 to 4 listings side by side, in one table even across mixed types.	Guide
Reviews System	Free + Pro	1-5 star ratings, written reviews, helpful votes, reporting, owner replies.	Guide
Multi-Criteria Reviews	Pro	Per-aspect ratings defined per listing type - Food, Service, Ambiance.	Guide
Photo Reviews	Pro	Reviewers attach images to their review.	Guide
Favorites	Free + Pro	Signed-in members save listings to a personal list.	Guide
Calendar & Events	Free + Pro	Date-based listings rendered on a calendar.	Guide
Contact Form	Free + Pro	Message a listing owner. Pro's Lead Forms supersedes it when enabled.	Guide
SEO Landing Pages	Pro	Auto-generated /type-in-location/ pages per type and location pair.	Guide
Schema.org JSON-LD	Free + Pro	Structured data per listing type, so search engines read your listings properly.	Guide
Open Graph & Twitter Cards	Free + Pro	Social preview tags on listing pages.	Guide
Breadcrumbs	Free + Pro	Trail markup on listing and archive pages.	Guide
Sitemap	Free + Pro	Listings included in the WordPress core sitemap.	Guide

Build a community

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
User Dashboard	Free + Pro	Frontend panel: listings, reviews, favorites, claims, credits, profile. Pro adds three tabs.	Guide
Member Blocking	Free + Pro	Members hide each other's reviews and close the contact route between them.	Guide
App Sign-In	Free + Pro	Members sign in to a connected app with the WordPress password they already have.	Guide
Lead Forms	Pro	Contact-owner form on every listing, with the enquiry recorded, not just emailed.	Guide
Needs Marketplace	Pro	Reverse directory - visitors post what they need, businesses respond.	Guide
Verification Badges	Pro	Award a verified badge to vetted listings; it renders on cards and detail pages.	Guide
BuddyPress Integration	Pro	Syncs listing actions into the BuddyPress activity stream.	Guide

Monetize your directory

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
Credit System	Pro	Members buy credits; credits activate listing plans. Includes the low-balance alert.	Guide
Pricing Plans	Pro	Listing tiers with duration, featured placement and perks, restrictable per listing type.	Guide
Coupons	Pro	Discount codes that cut the credit cost of a plan at submission.	Guide
Payment Webhooks	Pro	Gateway-agnostic inbound receiver for Stripe, PayPal, Paddle or a custom gateway.	Guide

Run your directory

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
Moderation Queue	Free + Pro	Review submitted listings with approve and reject controls.	Guide
Moderators	Pro	A role scoped to listing approval, review moderation and claims.	Guide
Audit Log	Pro	Every status transition with timestamp and actor.	Guide
Analytics	Pro	Cookie-free per-listing views and click tracking.	Guide
Email Templates	Free + Pro	16 templates in Free (15 reachable); Pro adds 15.	Guide
Email Log	Free + Pro	What was sent, to whom, and whether it left the server.	Guide
Digest Notifications	Pro	Batches notification emails into a daily digest.	Guide
Spam Protection	Free + Pro	Honeypot, keyword blacklist, URL-density cap, CAPTCHA, Akismet.	Guide
Rate Limiting	Free + Pro	Per-IP sliding-window caps on every public write path.	Guide
Coming Soon & Private Mode	Pro	Hide the directory during setup, or require login for a members-only directory.	Guide

Connect it to everything else

Feature	Tier	What it does	Guide
Automation Triggers	Free + Pro	Published catalogue of every event the directory announces, with a JSON schema per event. 25 in Free, 34 with Pro.	Guide
Outgoing Webhooks	Pro	HMAC-signed delivery of those triggers to Zapier, n8n, Make, Slack or your own service.	Guide
REST API	Free + Pro	63 endpoints in Free, 73 in Pro, one namespace.	Guide
Hooks & Filters	Free + Pro	The documented wb_listora_* extension surface.	Guide
WP-CLI	Free + Pro	Stats, reindex, import, migrate, demo seeding, and two dry-run repair commands.	Guide
Custom Fields	Free + Pro	Add your own fields to a listing type.	Guide
Capabilities	Free + Pro	The capability model behind every gate.	Guide
Privacy Tools	Free + Pro	Export and erasure wired into WordPress's own privacy requests.	Guide
Extending with Pro	Free + Pro	How Pro extends Free, and how your add-on should.	Guide

Related

• Feature Matrix (Free vs Pro) - the same ground as a tier comparison
• Documentation Home
• Why WB Listora?
• Plugin Comparison - how Listora compares to other directory plugins

WB Listora vs GeoDirectory vs Directorist vs Business Directory Plugin -- Feature Comparison

Choosing the right WordPress directory plugin depends on what features you need, how much you are willing to pay, and whether you want a modern development foundation. This page compares WB Listora (Free and Pro), GeoDirectory, Directorist, and Business Directory Plugin (BDP) across every major feature category.

All feature information is based on each plugin's WordPress.org listing and official documentation as of early 2026. "Paid addon" means the feature requires purchasing a separate extension or module beyond the free plugin.

Quick Summary

WB Listora includes the most features in its free version. GeoDirectory and Directorist offer solid core functionality but gate many features behind paid add-ons. Business Directory Plugin covers the basics but lacks several features that modern directories need.

Full Feature Comparison Table

Core: Listings, Types, and Fields

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Custom post type for listings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multiple listing types	Yes (10 pre-built)	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No
Custom fields per type	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	Yes (via form builder)
Field groups	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No
Hierarchical categories	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Location taxonomy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Feature/amenity tags	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Business hours	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No
"Open now" filtering	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No	No

Search and Filters

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Keyword search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FULLTEXT search index	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Category filtering	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Location filtering	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Custom field filters	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	Paid addon
Faceted counts	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Geo radius search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No
"Near me" search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No
Saved search alerts	No	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No

Maps

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Map display	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
OpenStreetMap	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Google Maps	No	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Yes
Marker clustering	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Drag-to-search	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Map + list split view	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Reviews and Ratings

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Star ratings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Paid addon
Review text	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Paid addon
Multi-criteria reviews	No	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No
Helpful votes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Owner replies	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Review moderation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Paid addon
Photo reviews	No	Yes	No	No	No
Review reports	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

Claims

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Claim listing	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	Paid addon
Claim moderation	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	Paid addon
Verification badges	No	Yes	Paid addon	No	No

Events and Calendar

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Event listings	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No	No
Calendar view block	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No	No
Event date filtering	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No	No

Import and Export

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
CSV import	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CSV export	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Column mapping	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	No	Paid addon
JSON import	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
GeoJSON import	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Migrate from competitors	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

Submission Form

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Frontend submission	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-step wizard	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Type selection step	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Media upload	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Field validation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Submission moderation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

User Dashboard

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Frontend dashboard	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Yes	No
Manage own listings	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Yes	No
Manage reviews	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Favorites/bookmarks	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No
Profile management	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Analytics dashboard	No	Yes	No	No	No

Email Notifications

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Submission notification	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Review notification	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Paid addon
Claim notification	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	Paid addon
Digest emails	No	Yes	No	No	No

SEO

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Schema.org JSON-LD	Yes	Yes	Paid addon	Paid addon	No
Meta title/description	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Clean permalink structure	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sitemap support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Developer Features

Feature	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
REST API endpoints	Yes (58 endpoints)	Yes	Limited	Limited	Limited
WP-CLI commands	Yes	Yes	No	No	Limited
Action/filter hooks	Yes (30+)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gutenberg blocks	Yes (11 blocks)	Yes	Limited	Limited	Limited
Interactivity API	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Theme.json integration	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
CSS custom properties	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
jQuery dependency	None	None	Required	Required	Required

Price

	Listora Free	Listora Pro	GeoDirectory	Directorist	BDP
Base plugin	Free	Paid (annual)	Free	Free	Free
All features unlocked	N/A	Single purchase	$200+ in add-ons	$150+ in extensions	$150+ in modules
Per-feature pricing	N/A	N/A	$29-$99 per add-on	$29-$69 per extension	$29-$99 per module

Note: Competitor pricing reflects published rates and may vary with bundles or promotions.

Architecture Comparison

Frontend Technology

WB Listora is the only plugin in this comparison built on the WordPress Interactivity API. This is significant for performance:

• No jQuery dependency -- Listora does not load jQuery for its frontend. GeoDirectory, Directorist, and BDP all require jQuery.
• Reactive DOM updates -- Search filtering, map interactions, and form validation happen instantly without full page reloads or traditional AJAX round-trips.
• Native block editor integration -- All 11 blocks are registered through block.json with proper viewScriptModule integration, following WordPress core patterns.

Data Architecture

Listora uses a two-phase search architecture with a denormalized search index table. Phase 1 queries this index with FULLTEXT matching for fast keyword search. Phase 2 filters by custom field values using a separate field index. Geo queries use bounding box pre-filtering with Haversine distance calculation.

GeoDirectory uses its own detail tables per post type. Directorist and BDP use standard wp_postmeta for field storage, which can become slow at scale due to the EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) pattern.

Theme Compatibility

Listora uses CSS custom properties that inherit from theme.json, making it automatically adaptive to any block theme. It also works with classic themes. GeoDirectory, Directorist, and BDP each have their own CSS that may or may not match your theme's design language.

Which Plugin Is Right for You?

Choose WB Listora if:

• You want the most features in a free plugin
• You prefer modern WordPress architecture (blocks, Interactivity API, REST API)
• You need multiple listing types without paying for add-ons
• You want built-in migration from other directory plugins
• You value developer tools (WP-CLI, 58 REST endpoints, 30+ hooks)

Choose GeoDirectory if:

• You need a mature plugin with a large extension ecosystem
• You are willing to purchase add-ons for the features you need
• You have an existing GeoDirectory site and are satisfied with it

Choose Directorist if:

• You need a directory with a basic free version
• You prefer Directorist's specific admin UI
• You are comfortable with shortcode-based layouts

Choose Business Directory Plugin if:

• You need a minimal directory with basic listing and category support
• You do not need reviews, claims, events, or a user dashboard in the free version

Ready to Try WB Listora?

Install WB Listora free from WordPress.org. If you are currently using GeoDirectory, Directorist, Business Directory Plugin, or ListingPro, the built-in migration tool transfers your existing data automatically.

Install WB Listora from WordPress.org

Related

• Documentation Home
• Feature Catalog
• Why WB Listora?

Feature Matrix - Free vs Pro

Every WB Listora capability at a glance. Use this page to decide whether Free covers your launch needs or you need Pro from day one.

Rule of thumb: Free gives you a complete, public, searchable directory with reviews, claims, frontend submission, and full taxonomy / map / spam-protection support. Pro adds the business model layer - credit-based plans, lead capture, advanced analytics, moderator team, comparison, verification, white-label, BuddyPress sync, and the reverse "Needs marketplace."

Setup & content infrastructure

Capability	Free	Pro
Setup wizard (6-step onboarding: type → location → maps → pages → demo → done)	Yes	Yes + Pro overlay (license, credit packs, plans, Google Maps key)
Multiple listing types (Restaurant / Hotel / Real Estate / Job Board / Place / Classified / …)	Yes 9 demo packs	Yes
Custom field framework per listing type	Yes	Yes + Pro fields (badges, criteria, services)
Categories taxonomy (listora_listing_cat)	Yes	Yes
Locations taxonomy (hierarchical, Country/State/City)	Yes	Yes
Amenities / Features (flat), assignable by members, limitable per listing type	Yes	Yes
Listing Tags - filter, facet and clickable chips	Yes	Yes
Listing Type Editor (icon, fields, schema mapping, category + feature allowlists)	Yes	Yes
Schema.org JSON-LD (LocalBusiness, Restaurant, Hotel…)	Yes 10 schema types	Yes
OpenGraph + Twitter cards	Yes	Yes
Breadcrumbs	Yes	Yes
Sitemap integration (WP core sitemap)	Yes	Yes
Demo content packs (9 verticals - restaurant, hotel, real-estate, job-board, general, classified, education, healthcare, place - 128+ seeded listings)	Yes via wp listora demo seed --pack=all	Yes Pro overlay (wp listora-pro demo seed)
Setup wizard auto-creates Add Listing / My Listings / Directory pages	Yes	Yes + Compare / Buy Credits / Needs

Search & discovery

Capability	Free	Pro
Full-text search (denormalized index table)	Yes	Yes
Faceted filters (category, location, feature, type)	Yes	Yes
Geo radius search (Near Me, distance)	Yes Haversine	Yes
"Search this area" (drag-to-update bounds)	Yes	Yes
Sort by date, rating, name, distance, featured	Yes	Yes
Saved searches with alerts	-	Yes
Advanced search builder (custom field filters)	-	Yes
Infinite scroll on listing grid	-	Yes
Quick view modal on cards	-	Yes
SEO landing pages (auto-generated /type-in-location/ pages)	-	Yes
Compare listings (2-4 side by side, one table across mixed types)	-	Yes

Frontend blocks (Gutenberg)

Block	Free	Pro
listora/listing-grid	Yes	Yes
listora/listing-card	Yes	Yes
listora/listing-search	Yes	Yes
listora/listing-map	Yes Leaflet + OSM	Yes + Google Maps + clustering
listora/listing-detail	Yes	Yes
listora/listing-reviews	Yes	Yes + multi-criteria + photos
listora/listing-submission (wizard)	Yes	Yes + duplicate-check + plan picker
listora/listing-categories	Yes	Yes
listora/listing-featured (carousel)	Yes	Yes + paid rotation
listora/listing-calendar (events)	Yes	Yes
listora/user-dashboard	Yes	Yes + Saved Searches + Needs tabs
listora-pro/comparison	-	Yes
listora-pro/needs-grid	-	Yes
listora-pro/post-need	-	Yes
listora-pro/moderator-queue	-	Yes
listora-pro/credit-purchase	-	Yes

Submission & lifecycle

Capability	Free	Pro
Frontend submission wizard (multi-step, draft-saving)	Yes	Yes
Conditional fields	Yes	Yes
Draggable map pin for address	Yes	Yes
Photos - gallery upload, drag-and-drop, front-end carousel	Yes	Yes + photo reviews
Video embedded via WordPress oEmbed	Yes	Yes
Business hours with timezone, up to 3 ranges per day (split shifts)	Yes	Yes + Google Places import
Social links - site owner chooses which platforms the field offers	Yes	Yes
Duplicate detection at submit	Yes	Yes
Listing renewal (extend expiration)	Yes	Yes + credit-gated pricing
Self-service deactivate / reactivate	Yes	Yes
Pricing plans (free / paid / featured)	-	Yes
Credit system (Hold-and-Commit activation)	-	Yes
Coupons (discount codes for plans)	-	Yes

Reviews

Capability	Free	Pro
5-star rating + written reviews	Yes	Yes
Owner replies to reviews	Yes	Yes
Helpful-vote + milestone notifications	Yes	Yes
Report-a-review workflow	Yes	Yes
Auto-approve / require moderation toggle	Yes	Yes
Multi-criteria reviews (per-aspect stars: Food / Service / Value …)	-	Yes
Photo reviews (reviewers attach photos)	-	Yes

Trust & moderation

Capability	Free	Pro
Business claims ("Is this your business?" flow)	Yes	Yes
Moderation queue (pending listings / reviews / claims)	Yes	Yes
Bulk-moderate (REST + admin)	Yes	Yes
Approve / Reject row actions on Listings list	Yes	Yes
Verification badges (verified, top-rated, choice-of-…)	-	Yes
Moderators team (non-admin users with moderate caps)	-	Yes
Audit log (every transition recorded)	-	Yes

Owner / vendor tools

Capability	Free	Pro
Frontend dashboard (My Listings overview)	Yes	Yes
Edit listing from dashboard	Yes	Yes
Favorites with collections	Yes	Yes
Contact form on listing detail	Yes Free contact form	Yes replaced by Lead Form
Lead form (analytics, custom fields, integrations)	-	Yes
Services per listing (sub-products with prices)	Yes	Yes + cross-listing service search
Featured listing (rotation entitlement)	Yes admin-set	Yes self-serve via credits
Service-level booking CTA	-	Yes

Marketing / Analytics

Capability	Free	Pro
Per-listing analytics (views, clicks, contact submits)	-	Yes
Directory-wide analytics (top listings, top categories)	-	Yes
Outgoing webhooks (listing.created, review.created, …)	-	Yes
Inbound payment webhooks (Stripe / PayPal + WooCommerce / WooSubscriptions / MemberPress / PMPro / WooMemberships bridges)	-	Yes
Notification digest (daily / weekly bundle email)	-	Yes
White-label (custom brand color + logo across admin)	-	Yes

Anti-spam & abuse controls

Capability	Free	Pro
Honeypot on every form	Yes	Yes
Per-IP sliding-window rate limits	Yes	Yes
CAPTCHA (reCAPTCHA v3 + Cloudflare Turnstile)	Yes	Yes
Akismet integration for reviews + claims	Yes	Yes
Keyword blacklist	Yes	Yes
URL-density cap per event	Yes	Yes
Member blocking - members hide each other's reviews and close contact	Yes	Yes, honoured by per-aspect averages
Coming Soon mode (gate the directory)	-	Yes

Migration & import

Capability	Free	Pro
CSV import / export (per listing type)	Yes	Yes
JSON import	Yes	Yes
GeoJSON import (FeatureCollection)	Yes	Yes
Settings JSON export / import	Yes	Yes
Competitor migrators (Directorist / GeoDirectory / WPBDP / ListingPro)	Yes CLI + admin	Yes + Visual Importer (mapping UI)
Google Places import (single + bulk)	-	Yes
Visual bulk importer (auto-detect fields + preview)	-	Yes

Integrations

Capability	Free	Pro
WooCommerce (credits via WC product)	-	Yes
WooCommerce Subscriptions	-	Yes
MemberPress	-	Yes
Paid Memberships Pro	-	Yes
WooMemberships	-	Yes
BuddyPress activity sync (listing actions → activity stream)	-	Yes
Stripe / PayPal (direct via the bundled SDK gateways)	-	Yes
License / auto-updates (Pro license server at wbcomdesigns.com)	-	Yes
Akismet	Yes	Yes
Google Maps API	-	Yes
Automation triggers - published catalogue, versioned JSON schema per event	Yes 25 triggers	Yes 34
Outgoing webhooks - HMAC-signed delivery of those triggers	-	Yes
App sign-in with a WordPress password	Yes	Yes

Reverse marketplace ("Needs")

Capability	Free	Pro
Buyer posts a need ("Looking for caterer in Brooklyn")	-	Yes
Needs grid + filters (type, urgency, budget)	-	Yes
Business responds with a quote	-	Yes
Needs dashboard tab for buyers + responders	-	Yes
Auto-match by type + location	-	Yes

Developer surface

Capability	Free	Pro
REST API	Yes 58 routes	Yes +73 endpoints (70 unique routes)
Action / filter hooks	Yes 259 fired hooks (133 actions + 126 filters)	Yes adds extension points
WP-CLI commands	Yes 8: stats, reindex, listing-types, import, export, repair, migrate, demo	Yes Pro QA seeder (wp listora-pro demo seed/remove)
Template overrides (WooCommerce-style)	Yes	Yes
Custom capabilities	Yes 15 stored caps + 1 virtual (view_listora_dashboard) granted at runtime	Yes + 3 Pro caps (wb_listora_pro_view_analytics, manage_listora_moderators, reverse-listings caps)
Interactivity API (single store)	Yes	Yes extends
Block development kit (shared editor controls, hooks, utils)	Yes	Yes
Action Scheduler (bundled - bullet-proof background jobs)	Yes 3.9.3 vendored	Yes consumes Free's copy

Compatibility

Requirement	Free + Pro
PHP	7.4+
WordPress	6.9+
MySQL / MariaDB	5.7+ / 10.3+
Translation-ready (wb-listora text domain)	Yes
RTL stylesheets	Yes
Multisite	Yes
Headless (Next.js / Astro / mobile via REST)	Yes

What this means for you

You're building…	What you need
Open directory of free listings	Free only
Niche directory (yoga studios, food trucks, …) with submission gate	Free only
Job board for a single industry	Free is enough
Paid business directory (vendors pay to list)	Free + Pro
Premium listings with featured rotation	Free + Pro
B2B services marketplace with lead capture	Free + Pro (Lead Forms)
Reverse marketplace where buyers post needs	Free + Pro (Needs)
Multi-city / multi-vertical directory with SEO landing pages	Free + Pro (SEO Pages)
Membership-gated directory	Free + Pro (with MemberPress / PMP / WooMemberships)
Community + directory hybrid	Free + Pro (+ BuddyPress)
White-label / agency reseller	Free + Pro (White Label feature)

Related

• Plugin comparison - WB Listora vs Directorist / GeoDirectory / WPBDP / ListingPro.
• Why WB Listora? - the architectural reasoning behind these capabilities.
• Activating Pro - how to add Pro on top of an existing Free install.
• Pricing Plans (Pro) - the credit-and-plan business model.
• User Journeys - what a directory operator can do, end-to-end.

Installation & Activation

Requirements

• WordPress 6.4 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+

Install from WordPress.org

1. Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress admin
2. Search for "WB Listora"
3. Click Install Now, then Activate

Install from ZIP

1. Download the plugin ZIP from wbcomdesigns.com
2. Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
3. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now
4. Click Activate

After Activation

WB Listora automatically:

• Creates 10 custom database tables for fast queries
• Registers the listora_listing post type and taxonomies
• Adds the Listora menu to your admin sidebar
• Redirects you to the Setup Wizard

Verify Installation

Check that everything is working:

1. Go to Listora > Dashboard - you should see the main dashboard
2. Go to Listora > Settings - verify settings are accessible
3. Visit any page on your site - no errors should appear

Troubleshooting

Plugin won't activate:

• Ensure PHP 7.4+ is installed (php -v in terminal)
• Check for conflicts: deactivate other plugins temporarily

Database tables not created:

• Deactivate and reactivate the plugin
• Check your database user has CREATE TABLE permissions

Menu not appearing:

• Clear your browser cache
• Check your user role has manage_options capability

Related

• Installation & Activation
• Setup Wizard
• General Settings

Setup Wizard

The Setup Wizard runs automatically after activation and walks you through configuring your directory in 6 steps.

Step 1: Welcome

Choose your directory type - the wizard pre-configures settings based on your choice:

• General Directory - businesses, services, shops
• Restaurant Directory - restaurants, cafes, bars
• Hotel Directory - hotels, resorts, vacation rentals
• Real Estate - properties, apartments, houses
• Custom - start from scratch

Step 2: Listing Types

Select which listing types to enable. Each type comes with pre-configured fields:

• Business (8 fields)
• Restaurant (14 fields including cuisine, price range, hours)
• Hotel (12 fields including star rating, amenities)
• Real Estate (12 fields including price, bedrooms, area)
• Healthcare, Education, Event, Job, Automotive, Pet Services

You can add, remove, or customize types later from Listora > Listing Types.

Step 3: Map Settings

Configure your map provider and defaults:

• Map Provider: OpenStreetMap (free, no API key) or Google Maps (Pro)
• Default Location: Set the center point for your directory
• Default Zoom Level: How zoomed in the map starts

Step 4: Pages

The wizard creates essential pages automatically:

• Directory - main listing search and grid page
• Add Listing - frontend submission form
• Dashboard - user dashboard for managing listings
• Compare - side-by-side listing comparison

Step 5: Demo Content

Optionally install demo listings to see how your directory looks. Demo content includes 20 listings across multiple types with images, reviews, and map locations.

Step 6: Done

Your directory is ready. The wizard shows links to:

• View your directory
• Add your first listing
• Customize settings
• Read the documentation

Re-running the Wizard

Go to Listora > Settings > General and click Re-run Setup Wizard, or navigate directly to wp-admin/admin.php?page=listora-setup.

Related

• Installation & Activation
• Setup Wizard
• General Settings

Creating Your Directory Page

WB Listora uses WordPress blocks to build directory pages. You can combine blocks in the block editor to create any layout.

Quick Start: Full Directory Page

1. Create a new page (or edit the one the wizard created)
2. Add the Listing Search block - provides the search bar with filters
3. Add the Listing Grid block below it - displays the listing cards
4. Set both blocks to Wide alignment for full-width layout
5. Publish the page

Available Blocks

Block	Purpose
Listing Search	Search bar with keyword, location, type filters, and advanced filters
Listing Grid	Responsive card grid with sort, view toggle, and pagination
Listing Map	Interactive map with markers and clustering
Listing Card	Single listing card (for custom layouts)
Listing Detail	Full listing detail page (auto-used on single listings)
Listing Reviews	Review list with submission form
Listing Submission	Frontend listing submission form
Listing Categories	Category grid with icons and counts
Listing Featured	Featured listings carousel
Listing Calendar	Event calendar view
User Dashboard	User's listing management dashboard

Layout Examples

Search + Grid (Simple)

[Listing Search - wide]
[Listing Grid - wide, 3 columns]

Search + Grid + Map (Split)

[Listing Search - wide]
[Columns: 65% / 35%]
[Listing Grid - 2 columns] | [Listing Map - 600px]

Category Landing Page

[Listing Categories - wide]
[Listing Featured - wide]
[Listing Search - wide]
[Listing Grid - wide]

Setting as Homepage

1. Go to Settings > Reading
2. Select A static page
3. Set Homepage to your directory page
4. Save

Block Settings

Each block has settings in the sidebar:

• Listing Grid: columns (1-4), items per page, default sort, listing type filter
• Listing Search: layout (horizontal/stacked), show type tabs, show filters
• Listing Map: height, default zoom, clustering, search on drag

Related

• Installation & Activation
• Setup Wizard
• General Settings

Listing Types

What it does

Listing types define the shape of your directory. Each type determines which fields appear on submissions, what schema markup is output for SEO, and what filters are available in search. You can use the built-in types or create completely custom ones.

Why you'd use it

• A restaurant directory needs cuisine, price range, and hours fields. A real estate directory needs bedrooms, square footage, and price. Listing types give each category its own fields.
• Schema.org markup per type improves how Google displays your listings in search results.
• Separate types mean visitors filter by the right attributes - restaurant visitors don't see hotel amenity checkboxes.
• You can create as many custom types as your directory needs.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Using built-in types:

1. Go to Listora → Listing Types.
2. The 10 built-in types are listed with their field count, active listing count, and status.
3. Click any type to view or edit its fields and settings.

Built-in types:

Type	Fields	Schema.org
Business	8	LocalBusiness
Restaurant	14	Restaurant
Hotel	12	Hotel
Real Estate	12	RealEstateListing
Healthcare	10	MedicalOrganization
Education	10	EducationalOrganization
Event	10	Event
Job	10	JobPosting
Automotive	10	AutoDealer
Pet Services	8	LocalBusiness

Creating a custom type:

1. Go to Listora → Listing Types and click Add New Type.
2. Set the type name, icon (choose from the Lucide icon picker), color, and Schema.org type.
3. Add field groups using the visual builder. A field group is a section (e.g., "Contact Info", "Hours").
4. Inside each group, add individual fields. Supported field types:

• Basic: Text, Textarea, Number, Email, Phone, URL
• Choice: Select, Multi-Select, Checkbox, Radio
• Date & Time: Date, Time, Date & Time
• Media: Gallery, File Upload, Video
• Location: Map Location
• Structured: Business Hours, Social Links, Price Range

5. Configure type settings: enable/disable map, reviews, and submissions for this type.
6. Click Save Type.

Modifying an existing type:

1. Go to Listora → Listing Types and click the type name.
2. Add, remove, or reorder fields in the visual builder.
3. Save. Existing listings of that type keep their saved data; any removed fields no longer appear on new submissions.

Deleting a type:

Delete a type from Listora → Listing Types. Listings assigned to that type are preserved - they remain as published posts, but they no longer have a type assigned.

Tips

• Start with the Setup Wizard (see Setup Wizard) - it installs pre-configured demo types with realistic field sets. Editing a demo type is faster than building from scratch.
• Use the Event type for time-limited listings (concerts, pop-up markets). The date fields power the Listing Calendar block.
• Assign a unique color to each type - it appears on listing cards and map pins, helping visitors distinguish types at a glance.
• If you remove a field from a type, the stored data for that field is not deleted from the database. If you re-add the same field later, existing data will reappear.
• Custom types support the same search filters as built-in types. Price Range, Rating, and Feature filters are available on any type.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
New type not appearing in submission form	Clear the page cache; new types register on the next request
Custom field not saving	Check the field has a unique key - duplicate keys within a type cause the latter field to be ignored
Schema.org type not appearing in Google Search Console	Schema markup requires the listing to be published and indexed; allow up to a week for Google to crawl
Deleting a type breaks existing listings	Listings are preserved but lose their type assignment; reassign them from the WordPress admin

Related features

• Setup Wizard
• Frontend Submission
• Search and Filters

Installing WB Listora Pro

Pro feature - This page covers the installation of WB Listora Pro, the premium add-on.

What it does

WB Listora Pro is a premium add-on for WB Listora (Free). It adds Google Maps, a credit-based payment system, analytics, multi-criteria reviews, lead forms, and more. This guide covers installing Pro and verifying it is active.

Requirements

• WB Listora (Free) version 1.0.5 or higher, installed and activated.
• WordPress 6.4 or higher.
• PHP 7.4 or higher.
• A valid WB Listora Pro license key (from wbcomdesigns.com).

How to install

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Log in to your wbcomdesigns.com account and download the latest wb-listora-pro.zip.
2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now.
4. Click Activate Plugin.
5. Pro activates and you'll see a notice asking you to enter your license key.

Verify activation

1. Go to Listora → Settings → License.
2. Enter your license key and click Activate License.
3. A green "License activated" notice confirms success.
4. Under Plugins, confirm both WB Listora and WB Listora Pro are listed as active.
5. Go to Listora → Settings - you should see a Pro tab in the settings navigation.

Tips

• Do not delete WB Listora (Free) after installing Pro - Pro is an add-on, not a replacement.
• Local development environments (Local by Flywheel, DevKinsta, etc.) skip remote license validation automatically. You'll see a "local mode" notice instead of an error.
• If you manage multiple sites, each site requires a separate license activation. Deactivate on one site before activating on another if your license has a site limit.
• Auto-updates: once your license is active, Pro updates appear in Dashboard → Updates alongside your other plugins.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Pro menu items not appearing	Ensure WB Listora (Free) is active - Pro requires it
"Invalid license key" error	Double-check the key from your account at wbcomdesigns.com; copy-paste rather than typing
ZIP upload fails	Check upload_max_filesize in your PHP settings; increase to at least 32MB
Pro settings tab missing	Deactivate and reactivate WB Listora Pro

Related

• License Management
• Credits and Plans

License Management

Pro feature - requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites do not need a license key.

What it does

Your WB Listora Pro license key unlocks all Pro features and enables automatic plugin updates directly from your WordPress dashboard. This page explains how to activate, deactivate, and renew your license.

Why you'd use it

• A valid license is required to receive automatic updates and security patches.
• Deactivating a license on one site lets you move it to another without buying a new key.
• WB Listora automatically re-validates your license weekly so you don't need to manage it manually.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Activating a license:

1. Go to Listora → Settings → License.
2. Paste your license key into the License Key field.
3. Click Activate License.
4. A green success notice confirms activation. The license status changes to Active.

Deactivating a license:

1. Go to Listora → Settings → License.
2. Click Deactivate License.
3. The key is released from this site. You can now activate it on a different site.

Renewing a license:

1. Visit your wbcomdesigns.com account and log in.
2. Find your license under My Licenses and click Renew.
3. After renewing, return to Listora → Settings → License and click Check Status to refresh the expiry date shown in WordPress.

Checking license status:

The License settings page shows:

• Status: Active, Expired, or Invalid.
• Expiry date: When the current license period ends.
• Activations used: How many sites this key is currently activated on.

What happens when a license expires

• All Pro features remain active - nothing breaks on your live site immediately.
• Automatic updates stop. You will no longer receive new versions or security patches.
• A notice appears in your WordPress admin reminding you to renew.
• To restore updates, renew your license under Licenses in your account and click Check Status.

Tips

• Keep the license key stored somewhere safe (e.g., your password manager). You can always retrieve it from your wbcomdesigns.com account.
• If you're moving your site to a new domain, deactivate the license on the old domain first, then activate on the new domain.
• WB Listora validates the license remotely once per week. If your server blocks outbound HTTPS requests, the validation may fail - whitelist wbcomdesigns.com in your firewall rules.
• On local development environments, remote validation is skipped. The license activates in local mode and shows a notice confirming this.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
"Invalid license key" error	Check the key is copied correctly with no extra spaces
Status shows "Active" but updates don't appear	Go to Dashboard → Updates and click Check Again
"Too many activations" error	Deactivate the license on other sites from your wbcomdesigns.com account, then try again
License check fails on schedule	Your server may block outbound requests; contact your host to allow connections to wbcomdesigns.com

Related

• Installing WB Listora Pro
• Credits and Plans

General Settings

Access general settings at Listora > Settings > General.

Directory Name

The name displayed in the admin sidebar and default page titles.

Listings Per Page

Number of listings shown per page in grid views. Default: 20.

Distance Unit

Choose between Kilometers (km) and Miles (mi) for location-based searches.

Currency

Set the default currency for pricing fields (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.).

Date Format

Choose how dates are displayed in listings (follows WordPress date format settings).

Terms of Service

Point Listora at the terms page your site already has. There are two fields and you fill in one:

• Terms of service - a page picker listing your existing pages. No page is created for you, and you do not need to look up an ID.
• Terms URL - for sites whose terms live somewhere else entirely, on another domain or a hosted legal service.

Whatever you set here is the terms link everywhere: the submission form's acceptance checkbox, and any connected mobile app. Mapping it once is the whole point of the field.

Before 1.6.0 this was configured in two unconnected places - here and again as a Terms Page ID control on the submission block - so setting one left the other surface with no link, and setting both meant doing the same job twice in two formats. The block control is gone. Existing blocks that carry the old attribute are still honoured, so nothing breaks on upgrade, but the setting above wins and is where new configuration belongs.

Acceptance is enforced on the server. A submission that arrives without it is rejected whether it came from the form, the API or an app.

Currency display

Alongside the currency itself, Listora publishes the symbol, its position and the decimal precision to connected apps, so a native client formats prices the way the website does rather than guessing.

Zero-decimal currencies (JPY, KRW) and abbreviated ones render correctly. To override the symbol, suffix position or precision for a currency Listora formats differently than you want, use the currency formatting filter - see Hooks Reference.

Re-run Setup Wizard

Click this link to re-run the setup wizard if you need to reconfigure your directory.

Related

• Installation & Activation
• Setup Wizard
• Submission Settings - the form that uses the terms link
• Map Settings - tile source, also published to connected apps

Search Settings

Access search settings at Listora > Settings > Search.

Results Per Page

Number of listings per page in search results. Default: 20.

Default Sort Order

The initial sort when no search keyword is entered:

• Featured - Featured listings first, then by date
• Newest - Most recently published
• Rating - Highest rated first
• Alphabetical - A to Z

Search Radius

Default radius for "Near Me" searches. Applied when users click the location button without specifying a distance.

Autocomplete

Enable real-time search suggestions as users type. Suggestions include matching listings, categories, and locations.

Indexing

WB Listora maintains a denormalized search index for performance. The index is updated automatically when listings are created, edited, or deleted.

To rebuild the search index manually:

wp listora reindex

This is useful after bulk imports or database changes.

Related

• Installation & Activation
• Setup Wizard
• General Settings

Submission & Moderation

Access submission settings at Listora > Settings > Submissions.

Frontend Submissions

Toggle whether users can submit listings from the frontend. When disabled, only admins can create listings.

Account Required (since 1.3.0)

Submitting a listing requires a logged-in account. Visitors who are not signed in see a sign-in prompt on the submission form, with a link to register when registration is open on your site.

The previous Require Login toggle and anonymous guest submission (with its email-verification step) were removed in 1.3.0: guests could never upload media, so that flow always dead-ended.

Submission Form Style (since 1.2.0)

Choose how the submission form presents to users:

• Step-by-step wizard (default) - one step per screen with a progress indicator. Best for most directories: keeps the form from looking overwhelming, and the draft-reminder email links users back to the exact step where they left off.
• Single page form - all fields on one scrollable page. Useful when your listing type has very few fields and the multi-step wrapper would feel excessive.

This setting applies site-wide. If you have placed the Listing Submission block on a page and want that specific instance to use a different style, set the Layout mode attribute in the block editor to override the global setting.

Developers can also override the resolved value programmatically:

add_filter( 'wb_listora_submission_layout_mode', function ( $mode ) {
    return 'single_form'; // or 'wizard'
} );

Moderation Mode

• Auto-publish: Submitted listings are published immediately
• Manual review: Listings are saved as "Pending" and require admin approval
• Trusted users: Auto-publish for users with 3+ approved listings, manual for others

Allowed Listing Types

Select which listing types accept frontend submissions. Unchecked types can only be created by admins.

Image Settings

• Maximum gallery images: Limit the number of images per listing (default: 10)
• Maximum file size: Per-image upload limit in MB
• Allowed formats: JPG, PNG, WebP

Listing Expiration

• Days until expiration: Number of days before a listing expires (0 = never)
• Expiration warning: Days before expiration to send a warning email
• Auto-renewal: Allow listing owners to renew from their dashboard

Edit Approval

When enabled, edits to published listings require re-approval before going live.

Related

• Installation & Activation
• Setup Wizard
• General Settings
• Frontend Submission

Reviews Settings

The Reviews tab in Listora → Settings controls how new reviews are approved, the minimum length required, whether each user can submit more than one review per listing, and whether listing owners can publicly reply. This is the configuration surface for the core Reviews System feature.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Settings → Reviews (?page=listora-settings&tab=reviews)

Requires the manage_listora_settings capability.

Setting reference

Moderation

Setting	Default	What it does
Auto-approve	Off	When on, new reviews skip the moderation queue and publish immediately. When off, reviews stay in Pending until an admin approves them from the Reviews admin page or the Moderation Queue.
Minimum length	20 characters	The minimum number of characters required in a review body. Set to 0 to allow ratings with no written feedback (star-only reviews). Validation runs both client-side (inline error before submit) and server-side (the REST controller rejects short submissions).
One review per listing	On	When on, each logged-in user is limited to a single review per listing - prevents rating inflation from repeat submissions. When off, a user can submit multiple reviews on the same listing.

Note on "Guest reviews / Require login": this setting was removed in 1.0.5. Reviews always require a logged-in user - the REST permission callback at create_review_permissions() enforces it directly. The setting never actually changed behaviour, so it was misleading to show. Anonymous reviews would be a separate feature requiring schema, capture UI, dedupe, and spam handling.

Owner Replies

Setting	Default	What it does
Enable replies	On	When on, listing owners can publicly reply to reviews left on their listing. Replies appear beneath each review with a "Reply from owner" label. Owners are notified by email when a new review is left. When off, the reply UI disappears and the POST /reviews/{id}/reply REST endpoint returns 403.

How it interacts with the rest of the system

• Moderation Queue. When Auto-approve is OFF, every new review lands in Pending and appears in the Moderation Queue. Admins approve / reject from there or from the standalone Reviews admin page.
• Email Notifications. Toggle the review_received, review_reply, and review_helpful events on the Notifications tab to control which emails fire on each transition.
• Capabilities. The moderate_listora_reviews cap gates the approve / reject / hide / spam actions. Editor and Administrator roles have it by default; grant to custom roles via the Capabilities reference.
• REST. Settings changes take effect on the next REST request - no flush required. wb_listora_reviews_settings filter lets Pro / themes override any value at runtime.

Recommended configurations

Goal	Settings
Hands-off public directory	Auto-approve ON, Minimum length 0, One per listing ON, Replies ON
Hand-moderated reviews	Auto-approve OFF, Minimum length 50, One per listing ON, Replies ON
Star-only (no written feedback)	Auto-approve ON, Minimum length 0, One per listing ON, Replies OFF
Premium-vendor directory	Auto-approve OFF, Minimum length 100, One per listing ON, Replies ON

Related

• Reviews System - the user-facing review feature these settings configure.
• Moderation Queue - where pending reviews land when auto-approve is off.
• Multi-criteria Reviews (Pro) - per-category star ratings on top of the base review.
• Photo Reviews (Pro) - let reviewers attach photos.
• Capabilities & Roles - who can moderate.

Features Toggles

The Features tab in Listora → Settings is your master switchboard for every Listora capability that can be turned on or off site-wide. Toggle a feature off and its code paths short-circuit before any user-facing surface renders - saves CPU, network, and screen real estate when a directory doesn't need a particular capability.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Settings → Features (?page=listora-settings&tab=features)

Requires the manage_listora_settings capability.

How it works

Every toggle is read via wb_listora_get_features() and gates the feature class's boot() method. When a toggle flips OFF:

• The feature's init() hooks don't fire.
• Its REST routes don't register (404 if hit directly).
• Its blocks unregister from the editor inserter.
• Its admin menu items disappear.
• Existing data is preserved - toggle back on and everything reappears with state intact.

Toggling does NOT delete listings, reviews, or settings. It's a render-time gate, not a destruction. If you need to wipe data, use Advanced → Uninstall + plugin deactivation.

Free features (grouped under Core Features)

Toggle	What it gates	Default
Frontend Submission	The listora/listing-submission block + /listora/v1/submit REST + the Add Listing page wiring	On
Reviews	Star ratings, written reviews, helpful votes, owner replies, the Reviews tab on listing detail	On
Business Claims	"Is this your business?" claim modal + /listora/v1/claims REST + admin Claims page	On
Favourites	Heart icon on listing card / detail + /listora/v1/favorites REST + Favourites tab on user dashboard	On
Renewal	Self-service renewal CTA on expired listings + the renewal REST endpoint + email reminders	On
Report Listings	"Report this listing" link on detail page + admin Reports queue	On

SEO & Meta

Toggle	What it gates	Default
Schema.org	Adds structured-data JSON-LD to every listing detail page	On
OpenGraph	OG meta tags (including og:locale) for social-card preview	On
Breadcrumbs	Breadcrumb navigation on listing detail and archive pages	On
Sitemap	Adds listora_listing posts to the WP Core sitemap (/wp-sitemap.xml)	On

When a known SEO plugin (Yoast SEO or Rank Math) is active, Listora defers head meta and Schema.org output to it so tags are never duplicated. The detection runs through the wb_listora_seo_plugin_active filter (since 1.1.0) - return true to force-declare an SEO plugin Listora does not auto-detect, or false to keep Listora injecting when your site routes meta through a custom layer.

Pro features (same Features screen)

Since 1.1.0, when WB Listora Pro is active its feature toggles register into this same Features screen - the separate Pro Features tab has been removed, so every feature is managed in one place. Pro toggles appear under their own category headings (Pro features, plus any category a Pro feature declares), and saving the Features screen persists both Free and Pro toggles together. Pro stores its values in the wb_listora_pro_features option; read state with wb_listora_pro_feature_enabled( 'feature_key' ).

Monetization (Pro, since 1.2.0)

The Monetization toggle is new in 1.2.0 and is OFF by default on fresh installs. Enabling it activates the credit system, pricing plans, coupons, and the payment webhook receiver together. Disabling it hides the Credits tab from the user dashboard and removes the Plan step from the submission form.

Existing installs (upgraded from a version before 1.2.0) have this toggle set to ON automatically so nothing changes.

See Credits and Pricing Plans for setup instructions.

See each feature doc for details: Advanced Search, Analytics, Audit Log, BuddyPress Integration, Coming Soon, Compare Listings, Coupons, Credits & Plans, Digest Notifications, Google Maps, Infinite Scroll, Lead Forms, Moderators, Multi-criteria Reviews, Needs Marketplace, Outgoing Webhooks, Photo Reviews, Pricing Plans, Quick View, SEO Pages, Services per Listing, Verification Badges, White Label.

How to use

1. Open Settings → Features.
2. Flip a toggle. Each toggle has a one-line description directly under its label.
3. Click Save Features at the bottom. The page reloads with a "Features updated" notice.
4. Verify in the relevant UI - turn off Favourites and the heart icon should disappear from every listing card on the next page load.

There's no "Apply changes" delay - toggles take effect immediately. Caching layers (page cache, object cache) may need a flush if your stack aggressively caches block output.

Programmatic access

Read and write toggle state from your own code:

// Read.
$enabled = wb_listora_get_features(); // ['submission' => true, 'reviews' => true, ...]
$is_on = ! empty( $enabled['reviews'] );

// Write (admin context only - respects the same nonce + cap as the form).
update_option( 'wb_listora_features', array(
'submission' => true,
'reviews' => false, // hide reviews everywhere
'claims' => true,
'favorites' => true,
'renewal' => true,
'report_listings' => true,
'schema' => true,
'opengraph' => true,
'breadcrumbs' => true,
'sitemap' => true,
) );

For Pro toggles, swap wb_listora_features → wb_listora_pro_features and use wb_listora_pro_feature_enabled( 'feature_key' ) to read.

WP-CLI

There is no WP-CLI command to toggle features (Pro's previous wp listora-pro features list / toggle were never shipped). To script toggles, use wp option update wb_listora_features '...' --format=json.

Related

• Pro feature catalog - what every feature does.
• General Settings - site-wide options (slugs, page IDs, default listing type).
• Capabilities & Roles - who can edit features.
• Hooks reference - filters for runtime feature gating.

Notifications Settings

The Notifications tab in Listora → Settings controls which transactional emails Listora sends, the test-send tool for verifying your SMTP setup, and the retention window for the Email Log. Every event in the system can be individually toggled.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Settings → Notifications (?page=listora-settings&tab=notifications)

Requires the manage_listora_settings capability.

Sections

Email template editor (since 1.2.0)

Below the per-event toggle table on the Notifications tab, a second panel lets you override the subject line and body of any notification event - without editing PHP template files.

How it works:

1. Open Listora → Settings → Notifications.
2. Scroll past the toggle table to the Email Templates panel.
3. Click the event you want to customize (e.g., "Listing Approved").
4. Edit the Subject field and/or the Body textarea. A placeholder legend below each field lists every variable available for that event (e.g., {listing_title}, {site_name}, {user_name}).
5. Click Save Templates (this is a separate form from the toggle settings - it has its own save button).

To revert an event back to the plugin default, open the event editor and click Reset to default.

Overrides you save here take effect on all sends - REST, cron, WP-CLI - not just the admin UI.

If you also override templates via PHP theme files (e.g., {theme}/wb-listora/emails/listing_approved.php), the admin template editor takes precedence over the theme file. Remove any theme overrides you no longer need to avoid confusion.

Send Test Email

The top block lets you dispatch a sample of any notification template to any address - useful for confirming your site's outgoing email actually delivers before going live.

Field	What it does
Email type	Dropdown grouped by category (Listings / Reviews / Claims). Pick which template the test should use.
Recipient	Defaults to your account email. Override to send to a customer or test inbox.
Send Test Email button	Fires wp_mail() with the chosen template + a test data payload. Inline status appears next to the button on send.

If the test arrives, every Listora event email will too. If it doesn't, the issue is in your site's mail stack (SMTP plugin, transactional service like SendGrid / Postmark / Mailgun) - not in Listora.

Listings (8 events)

Emails sent at every step of a listing's lifecycle.

Event	Sent to	When
listing_submitted	Admin	A new listing is submitted for review
listing_pending_admin	Admin	A listing enters the moderation queue
listing_approved	Listing owner	Their listing transitions to publish
listing_rejected	Listing owner	A listing is rejected (with admin feedback)
listing_expired	Listing owner	A listing expires and is unpublished
listing_expiring_soon	Listing owner	7 days and 1 day before expiration
listing_renewed	Listing owner	A listing is renewed
draft_reminder	Listing owner	Nudge for listings still in draft 48+ hours (cron-driven)

Reviews (4 events)

Event	Sent to	When
review_received	Listing owner	A new review is left
review_reply	Reviewer	The listing owner publicly responds
review_helpful	Reviewer	The review reaches a helpful-vote milestone (1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100)
review_reminder	Visitor	A nudge to leave a review, sent some days after a listing is viewed (since 1.2.0). Users can opt out from their profile or via the one-click unsubscribe link in the email footer. Default grace period: 3 days. Override with the wb_listora_review_reminder_grace_hours filter.

Claims (3 events)

Event	Sent to	When
claim_submitted	Admin	A claim is filed on a listing
claim_approved	Claimant	Their claim is accepted (post_author transfers to them)
claim_rejected	Claimant	Their claim is denied

One-click unsubscribe (since 1.2.0)

Marketing and reminder emails (currently review_reminder) include a one-click unsubscribe link in the footer that follows the RFC 8058 standard. Clicking the link opts the recipient out of that specific event category with no login required - the link contains a signed token so it is tamper-proof.

Where opt-out preferences are stored:

• Users can manage their own notification opt-outs from their profile page under My Account → Notification Preferences.
• Admins can view and override a user's opt-out status from Users → Edit User → Listora Notifications.

Which events support one-click unsubscribe:

Currently review_reminder. The wb_listora_unsubscribable_events filter controls the list - add or remove event keys to extend it.

Unsubscribe REST endpoint:

GET /listora/v1/unsubscribe - public endpoint, token-authenticated. The token is signed with the site's auth secret on send and validated on receipt. A tampered or expired token returns a clear error page rather than silently processing.

How to use

Turn an email off

1. Open the tab.
2. Find the event in its group.
3. Uncheck Enabled.
4. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

The event still fires internally (#audit-log-ls) entries, Webhooks, and Digest Notifications still see the action) - only the per-event transactional email suppresses.

Customize email content

Per-event subject + body templates live as overrideable theme files. Copy wp-content/plugins/wb-listora/templates/emails/{event}.php to {your-theme}/wb-listora/emails/{event}.php and edit. See Email Templates for the full template variable list per event.

Tune Email Log retention

The Email Log page (Listora → Email Log) records every outbound notification attempt with delivery status. The retention dropdown lives at the top of that page (not on this Settings tab) - choose 7, 15, 30, or 0 (lifetime) days. Older entries are pruned automatically by the wb_listora_email_log_prune cron.

Pro: Digest Notifications

When the Digest Notifications feature is on, individual emails per event get bundled into one daily / weekly digest per recipient. The per-event toggles on this page still apply - turning an event off here suppresses both the individual email AND the digest entry.

Programmatic access

// Read every toggle state.
$settings = get_option( 'wb_listora_settings', array() );
$notif = $settings['notifications'] ?? array();
$enabled = ! empty( $notif['review_received'] );

// Or use the helper.
$is_on = wb_listora_notification_enabled( 'listing_approved' );

// Filter per-event default before option lookup.
add_filter( 'wb_listora_notification_default', function ( $default, $event_key ) {
return 'draft_reminder' === $event_key ? false : $default;
}, 10, 2 );

Related

• Email Log - recent outbound send activity with delivery status.
• Email Templates - per-event template overrides.
• Digest Notifications (Pro) - daily / weekly bundled emails.
• Notifications hooks - filter senders, recipients, subjects, bodies.

Advanced Settings

The Advanced tab in Listora → Settings is where the lower-traffic, higher-impact options live - cache TTLs for search results and facets, the index rebuild trigger, debug logging, uninstall behaviour, and the in-page Health Check report.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Settings → Advanced (?page=listora-settings&tab=advanced)

Requires the manage_listora_settings capability.

Sections

Cache

How long Listora keeps cached query results before refetching from the database.

Setting	Default	Range	What it caches
Search results TTL	(per defaults)	0-120 minutes	The full result set of a search query (keywords + filters). Higher = faster page loads + delayed visibility of new listings. Set 0 to disable.
Facet counts TTL	(per defaults)	0-120 minutes	The sidebar facet counts (per category, feature, location). Higher = faster page loads + counts drift from reality. Set 0 to disable.

When to lower these: sites where new listings need to appear instantly in search (job boards, classifieds with frequent new posts).

When to raise these: high-traffic browse-heavy directories where most visitors land on the same popular searches.

Cache invalidation is automatic on any write: a new listing publish bumps the cache key namespace, so the next read recomputes. The TTL is the upper bound, not the only invalidation trigger.

Maintenance

Button	What it does
Rebuild Search Index	Regenerates the denormalized wp_listora_search_index table from current listing data. Use after bulk-editing many listings, changing a listing type's custom fields, or after a CSV import that bypassed the auto-rebuild path. Equivalent to wp listora reindex on the CLI.
Run Setup Wizard	Re-opens the first-run wizard to reconfigure listing types, demo content, and default pages. Doesn't delete anything - wizard is idempotent.

Debug

Setting	Default	What it does
Debug logging	Off	When on, Listora writes per-query and per-action breadcrumbs to wp-content/debug.log. Requires WP_DEBUG + WP_DEBUG_LOG in wp-config.php - without those, this toggle has no effect. Leave off on production except for active troubleshooting.

Data Management

Setting	Default	What it does
Permanently delete all WB Listora data on plugin uninstall	Off	When on, deactivating + deleting the plugin removes every listing, review, favourite, claim, custom table, and Listora option. Cannot be undone. When off (default), data persists so reactivating brings everything back. Same safety pattern as WooCommerce.

Health Check

Inline diagnostic panel rendered by WBListora\Admin\Health_Check::render_section() - folds the previous standalone Health Check submenu into this tab so all diagnostics + maintenance live together. Shows green / amber / red signals for:

• WordPress version + PHP version + memory limit
• Listora database tables present and indexed
• REST API reachable
• Search index sync % (compares index row count to publish listings count)
• Geo index sync %
• Outbound email reachable (last wp_mail result)
• Pro license status (if Pro active)
• Cron scheduler (Action Scheduler vs WP-Cron fallback)

Any red flag links to the matching docs page or the relevant settings tab.

Equivalent WP-CLI

# Maintenance
wp listora reindex # = Rebuild Search Index button
wp listora reindex --type=hotel # Reindex one type only
wp listora repair # Clean orphan search_index + geo rows
wp listora stats # Show sync % + table sizes

# Cache flush (via WP-CLI cache commands)
wp cache flush # All-cache flush

How to use

1. First-time tuning: leave the cache TTLs at defaults. Lower them only if you observe stale data.
2. After bulk edits: click Rebuild Search Index to refresh the denormalized table.
3. Troubleshooting: turn Debug logging on, reproduce the issue, check wp-content/debug.log, then turn it back off.
4. Before going live: set Uninstall behaviour according to your data retention policy.
5. Periodic health checks: scroll to the inline Health Check section to surface any red flags.

Related

• WP-CLI Commands - every CLI equivalent for the maintenance buttons.
• General Settings - site-wide configuration (slugs, page IDs).
• Notifications Settings - email event toggles.
• Email Log - recent outbound notification activity.
• Capabilities & Roles - who can access this tab.

Import & Export Settings

The Import / Export tab in Listora → Settings covers two distinct flows - plugin settings backup / restore as JSON, and bulk listings import / export as CSV. Use it for site clones, version-controlled config rollouts, supplier data feeds, and one-off bulk uploads that would otherwise hit max_execution_time.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Settings → Import / Export (?page=listora-settings&tab=import-export)

Requires the manage_listora_settings capability.

Plugin Settings (JSON)

Export Settings

Click Download JSON to get a wb-listora-settings-{date}.json snapshot of every plugin setting - wb_listora_settings, wb_listora_features, wb_listora_pro_features (if Pro is active), and every per-tab nested config. Version number embedded so the importer can warn on mismatch.

Common uses:

• Back up before a major version upgrade.
• Mirror a staging site's config to production after a tuning session.
• Commit to a private repo so config changes are version-controlled.

Import Settings

Pick a previously-exported JSON file, click Upload & Import, and every value in the file overwrites the matching option key in your database. Only files exported from the same plugin version are accepted - version-mismatch import gets rejected with the version it expected.

Caution: import REPLACES, doesn't merge. Settings present on the live site but absent in the JSON get reset to their plugin defaults. Export first if you're not sure.

Listings Data (CSV)

Export Listings

Pick a Listing Type from the dropdown (or All types) and click Export CSV. The exporter streams every published listing of that type into a CSV with the headers Listora's importer expects on the round-trip.

Columns included:

• Core post fields: ID, post_title, post_content, post_status, post_author, post_date
• Built-in meta: address, lat, lng, phone, email, website, _listora_expiration_date
• Every custom field for the chosen listing type (meta_*)
• Taxonomy terms (listora_listing_cat, listora_listing_location, listora_listing_feature)

Default filename: listora-export-YYYY-MM-DD.csv. WP-CLI lets you target a specific output path with --output=.

Import Listings

1. Pick the Listing type the rows belong to (required - every imported row must belong to a single type).
2. Pick the CSV file.
3. Optional: tick Dry run to validate without writing.
4. Click Import CSV.

CSV requirements:

• First row must be column headers.
• Column headers should match field labels OR field slugs - the importer auto-maps by name on import. Headers it can't match get skipped (you'll see "Column X → SKIPPED" in the inline log).
• One listing per row. Empty cells = field skipped, not "set to empty".

The importer streams row-by-row so a 50K-row file uses constant memory. Progress + per-row decisions stream into the inline log; completion summary shows total imported / skipped / errors.

For multi-type imports, run separate imports per type (admin UI) or use wp listora import per file (CLI).

WP-CLI equivalents

The same operations as CLI commands - useful when the file is large enough that the admin UI hits max_execution_time:

# Export every restaurant listing
wp listora export --type=restaurant --output=restaurants.csv

# Export every listing with status=publish (default) as a single CSV
wp listora export --output=full.csv

# Validate a CSV without importing
wp listora import file.csv --type=restaurant --dry-run

# Import for real
wp listora import file.csv --type=restaurant

Full reference: WP-CLI Commands.

Related

• Import & Export - full customer-facing feature doc, including JSON + GeoJSON importers.
• Competitor migration - Directorist / GeoDirectory / WPBDP / ListingPro pull-style imports.
• WP-CLI Commands - every command this tab calls.
• Custom Fields - how field slugs map to CSV column headers.
• Advanced Settings - Rebuild Search Index button to run after a bulk import.

Reviews System

Availability: Free + Pro. 1-5 star ratings, written reviews, helpful votes, owner replies, and the report-a-review workflow are Free. Pro adds Multi-Criteria Reviews (per-aspect stars) and Photo Reviews (reviewers attach images).

What it does

WB Listora includes a full review system. Visitors rate listings with 1-5 stars, write a review, vote on helpful reviews, report inappropriate ones, and read owner replies - all on the listing detail page without leaving the page.

Why you'd use it

• Star ratings and reviews build social proof for listed businesses.
• Owner replies show businesses are engaged, which keeps the directory active.
• Helpful votes surface the most useful reviews at the top.
• Moderation tools let you maintain quality without deleting all reviews manually.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Go to Listora → Settings → Reviews to configure:

• Auto-approve reviews - publish immediately or hold for moderation.
• Minimum content length - require a minimum character count (e.g., 30 characters).
• One review per listing - prevent duplicate reviews from the same user.
• Require login - only registered users can submit reviews.

2. To moderate held reviews, go to Listora → Reviews:

• Filter by Pending, Approved, or Rejected.
• Search by listing name or reviewer.
• Bulk approve or reject using the checkboxes.
• View the flag status of reported reviews.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Submitting a review:

1. Navigate to a listing detail page and click Write a Review.
2. Select a star rating (1-5).
3. Write your review title and text.
4. If the listing type has multi-criteria ratings enabled (Pro), rate each criterion separately.
5. Click Submit. Depending on moderation settings, your review appears immediately or after admin approval.

Editing a review: If the site allows it, you can edit your review by clicking Edit next to your existing review.

Deleting a review: Click Delete on your own review to remove it.

Helpful votes: Click Helpful on any review to upvote it. The most helpful reviews rise to the top.

Reporting a review: Click Report to flag a review as inappropriate. Admins see flagged reviews in Listora → Reviews.

Owner reply: If you own a listing, navigate to the listing's detail page or your User Dashboard → Reviews tab and click Reply next to any review. Your reply appears below the review, labelled "Owner Response."

Tips

• Enable One review per listing to prevent review manipulation - users can update their existing review instead of submitting duplicates.
• Use Auto-approve only if your directory has a small, trusted user base. For public directories, manual moderation is safer.
• Encourage listing owners to reply to reviews - directories with active owner replies see more review submissions.
• Multi-criteria reviews (Pro) let you define custom rating aspects per listing type. For example, restaurants get Food, Service, Ambiance, and Value; hotels get Rooms, Cleanliness, Service, Location, and Value. See Multi-Criteria Reviews.
• Photo reviews (Pro) let reviewers upload images. See Photo Reviews.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Review form not visible	Verify the Listing Reviews block is on the detail page template, or that the Listing Detail block is present
Reviews stuck in Pending	Go to Listora → Reviews and approve them manually, or enable auto-approve
Owner can't see the Reply button	Confirm the user is the listing author or has the moderate_listora_reviews capability
"One review per listing" not working	Clear your site cache - the duplicate check uses a database query that caching may bypass

Related features

• Blocks Overview
• User Dashboard
• Business Claims

Business Claims

Availability: Free + Pro. The claim workflow is Free; Pro adds the Verification Badge that displays once a claim is approved.

What it does

The claims system lets real business owners take ownership of a listing in your directory. Once a claim is approved, the owner can edit the listing, reply to reviews, and manage their services - all from their user dashboard.

Why you'd use it

• Unclaimed listings get stale; claims give owners a reason to keep data accurate.
• Transfers listing management to the owner - reducing your admin workload.
• Creates trust signals: claimed listings can display a verification badge (Pro).
• No code required - the entire flow is handled by the plugin.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Go to Listora → Settings → Claims and toggle Enable claims on.
2. Set Auto-approve to off (recommended) so you can review each claim before transferring ownership.
3. Check Require login to ensure only registered users can submit claims.
4. When a claim is submitted, go to Listora → Claims to review it:

• Filter by status: Pending, Approved, Rejected.
• Open a claim to see the business role, verification notes, and contact information provided by the claimant.
• Click Approve to transfer the listing to the claimant, or Reject with an optional reason.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

1. Find an unclaimed listing (it shows a "Claim this listing" button on the detail page).
2. Click the button and fill in the claim form:

• Business role: Owner, Manager, or Authorized Representative.
• Verification notes: How you can prove ownership (e.g., "I am listed on the company registration").
• Contact information: Phone or email for verification follow-up.

3. Submit the claim. A success message appears with a "View my claims" link pointing to the My Claims tab on your dashboard.
4. You'll receive an email notification when the claim is approved. The email includes an Edit Listing button so you can start managing your listing immediately.

What happens on approval

• The listing's author is changed to the claiming user.
• The user gains edit access to that listing from their My Claims dashboard tab.
• A verification badge can be added manually by the site owner (Pro - see Verification Badges).
• An email confirmation is sent to the claimant with a direct link to edit the listing.

Tips

• Require a phone number in the verification notes field - it makes it easier to contact claimants quickly.
• Reject a claim with a clear reason (e.g., "Please contact support with proof of ownership") so claimants know what to provide.
• Use Listora → Claims regularly - pending claims don't expire, so review them on a schedule.
• If you auto-approve claims, be aware that anyone can claim any listing. Only enable auto-approve for directories where listings are pre-verified.
• The My Claims tab on the user dashboard shows claim status in real time. Direct claimants there after submission.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
"Claim this listing" button not visible	Verify claims are enabled under Listora → Settings → Claims
User doesn't receive approval email	Check your WordPress mail configuration; test with a plugin like WP Mail SMTP
Approved claim user can't edit the listing	Confirm the listing's author was transferred correctly in Posts → All Posts
Claim status not updating on dashboard	Clear your site cache

Related features

• User Dashboard
• Reviews System
• Frontend Submission

Moderators

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites manage moderation entirely through the admin role.

What it does

The Moderators feature creates a dedicated Listora Moderator WordPress role. Users assigned this role can approve listings, moderate reviews, and manage claims - without having full admin access to your site. New listing submissions can be assigned to moderators automatically using round-robin distribution.

Why you'd use it

• Delegate content moderation to trusted team members without giving them full WordPress admin access.
• Scale your directory's content review process across multiple moderators.
• Moderators can't change settings, delete listings, or manage listing types - the role is scoped specifically to moderation tasks.
• Round-robin auto-assignment distributes the review workload evenly.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Assigning the Moderator role:

1. Go to Users → All Users.
2. Click on the user you want to make a moderator.
3. Change their Role to Listora Moderator.
4. Click Update User.

What moderators can do:

Permission	Moderator
View all listings	Yes
Edit listings (not delete)	Yes
Approve/reject listings	Yes
Moderate reviews	Yes
Manage claims	Yes
View reports	Yes
Delete listings	No
Change settings	No
Manage listing types	No
View analytics	No
Manage other moderators	No

Round-robin assignment: When a new listing is submitted, it is automatically assigned to the next moderator in the rotation. Moderators receive an email notification for their assigned submission.

Managing moderators: Go to Listora → Moderators to see all users with the moderator role and their assignment counts.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

The Moderator role is admin-only - visitors and regular users do not interact with moderators directly. Moderators log in to the WordPress admin to perform their tasks.

Managing a large moderator team

The Moderators screen paginates, offers bulk actions, and searches across all users. Before 1.6.0 it listed the first fifty users and nothing else, so on a site with more members than that, most people were simply unreachable from the screen - including, sometimes, the person you were trying to promote.

Queue sizes are also accurate above 500 items and load in a single query rather than one per moderator, so the screen stays usable as the team and the backlog grow.

Tips

• Assign at least two moderators so submissions are covered if one is unavailable.
• Moderators see only the listings assigned to them in round-robin mode - this prevents duplicate review effort on the same listing.
• Brief your moderators on your content standards before assigning the role. The plugin provides the tools; your team provides the judgment.
• If a moderator is on leave, temporarily change their role to Subscriber to pause their round-robin assignments. Re-assign to Listora Moderator when they return.
• Administrators have the manage_listora_moderators capability added by Pro - use this to control which admins can assign and manage moderators.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Moderator can't see the Listora menu	The role should automatically have access - deactivate and reactivate Pro to re-register capabilities
Round-robin not distributing evenly	Check the moderator list in Listora → Moderators; inactive users in the role may be receiving assignments
Moderator accidentally deleted a listing	The Moderator role does not have delete capabilities - if this occurred, the user may have a secondary role (e.g., Editor) that grants delete access

Related features

• Business Claims
• Reviews System
• Digest Notifications

Analytics

Availability: Free + Pro. Free tracks listing views (since 1.2.0); Pro adds click-event tracking and the full Analytics dashboard.

Free-tier view tracking (since 1.2.0)

WB Listora Free now tracks page views for every listing automatically - no Pro required, no configuration needed.

What you get on Free:

• A Views count on each listing's row in the admin listings table (Listora → All Listings).
• View counts on the listing owner's User Dashboard under My Listings.
• A views field on the listing REST response.

View tracking is bot-filtered (known crawler user-agents are excluded) and rate-limited per visitor per listing to avoid inflation from page refreshes. Your own views as a site admin are not counted.

Deferral to Pro: If WB Listora Pro is active with its Analytics feature enabled, Pro owns view recording and the Free tracker steps aside. Both write to the same listora_analytics table, so the numbers are consistent whether you upgrade later.

Pro analytics

Pro feature - requires WB Listora Pro. Pro adds click-event tracking and the full Analytics dashboard tab.

WB Listora Pro tracks views and engagement clicks on every listing - automatically, without cookies or third-party scripts. Listing owners see their own analytics from their User Dashboard. You see aggregate data from the WordPress admin.

Why you'd use Pro analytics

• Listing owners get data showing how their listing performs, giving them a reason to keep it updated and renew their plan.
• You can identify underperforming listings that need attention.
• Click events (phone, website, email, directions) show actual engagement, not just passive views.
• Privacy-safe: no personally identifiable information is stored, only aggregate daily counts.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Pro analytics are enabled automatically with WB Listora Pro - no configuration is needed to start collecting data.

Bot traffic is excluded server-side. Views from users with the manage_listora_settings capability (site owners) are also excluded so your own browsing doesn't inflate counts.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Listing owners see the Analytics tab in their User Dashboard. The tab shows:

For each listing:

• Views - total page views for the listing detail page.
• Phone clicks - how many visitors clicked the phone number.
• Website clicks - how many visitors clicked the website link.
• Email clicks - how many visitors clicked the email address.
• Direction clicks - how many visitors clicked "Get Directions."

Time period selector:

• Last 7 days
• Last 30 days
• Last 90 days

Click any listing in the Analytics tab to see its breakdown by event type over the selected period.

Tips

• Encourage listing owners to check their analytics monthly - it's a strong reason for them to renew paid plans.
• If you run a featured listing upsell, point owners to their analytics to show the difference in view counts between standard and featured periods.
• Analytics data is stored in the listora_analytics table (shared with Free, populated by Pro). Do not truncate this table manually.
• Views are tracked server-side on single listing page loads. Click events (phone, website, etc.) are tracked via a POST /listora/v1/analytics/track REST call triggered by the frontend when a user clicks those elements.
• To access analytics data programmatically, use the REST endpoint GET /listora/v1/analytics/{listing_id}?period=30. See docs/REST-API.md in the Pro plugin root.

TODO: Confirm whether the Analytics tab appears only when the user has analytics_access plan perk, or for all users regardless of plan.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Analytics tab not appearing in dashboard	Confirm WB Listora Pro is active and the license is valid
View counts not increasing	Check that bot detection isn't blocking legitimate traffic; also confirm the page loads as a single listing (is_singular('listora_listing'))
Click events not tracking	The click tracker fires via JavaScript REST call - check for JavaScript errors in the browser console
Counts reset or look wrong after migration	The listora_analytics table is separate from post data; include it in any site migration

Search analytics (Pro, since 1.2.0)

WB Listora Pro records the search terms your visitors use daily. Go to Listora → Analytics → Search Terms to see which queries drive traffic and which come up empty - useful for identifying gaps in your directory content.

Search term data is stored in the listora_search_terms table and pruned automatically by the analytics retention cron. Retrieve it via GET /listora/v1/analytics/search (requires manage_listora_settings).

Related features

• Credits and Plans
• User Dashboard

Audit Log

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. A tamper-evident, searchable record of every meaningful action across your directory - who created, edited, approved, or deleted what, when, and why. Used by moderators to investigate disputes, by site owners to demonstrate compliance, and by support to reconstruct what happened on a problem listing.

What it is

Most directory plugins log basic moderation actions but lose the trail of everyday edits. Audit Log records every meaningful change with the actor's user ID, IP, timestamp, before/after diff (where applicable), and a structured payload - stored in a dedicated audit_log table so the data outlives the originating row.

Events recorded:

Category	Actions
Listings	created, updated, deleted, status-changed, reactivated, claimed, verified
Reviews	created, updated, deleted, status-changed
Claims	submitted, approved, rejected, reassigned
Credits (Pro)	added, deducted, refunded, plan activated, paused, resumed
Webhooks (Pro)	endpoint created, delivery succeeded, delivery failed
Auth	user role transitions, capability changes affecting listings

How it works:

• Listeners attach to every wb_listora_after_* hook (create/update/delete) - see the long add_action list in class-audit-log.php:191-260.
• Each entry persists actor (user_id + IP), event key, object reference (post_id / review_id / claim_id), timestamp, and a JSON data blob with the relevant fields.
• The admin page (Listora → Audit Log) supports filter-by-event, filter-by-actor, filter-by-date, and a search box across the JSON payload.
• Retention is automatic: a daily Action Scheduler job (wb_listora_pro_audit_cleanup, group wb-listora-pro) prunes rows older than the configured retention window.

Why this matters: when a customer disputes a charge, a listing owner says "I never edited that", or a reviewer claims their review was tampered with - Audit Log is the source of truth.

How you use it

As a site owner / moderator

1. Enable the feature: Listora → Settings → Features → Audit Log (on by default).
2. Browse: Listora menu → Audit Log. The chronological feed shows the most recent 50 events with one-line summaries.
3. Filter:

• By event type - pick "Listing updated", "Claim approved", etc.
• By actor - type a username or pick from the dropdown.
• By date range - start/end dates.
• Search - full-text across the JSON payload (e.g. find every entry mentioning a specific listing title).

4. Drill into an event: click the row → opens a detail panel with the full JSON payload + before/after diff (where the event recorded one).

As a compliance officer / auditor

• Export filtered results as CSV via the Export button (top-right of the page).
• Set retention to your jurisdiction's minimum via Settings → Audit Log → Retention.
• Combine with Outgoing Webhooks (Pro) to stream audit events to an external SIEM in real time.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Feature toggle	Settings → Features → Audit Log	On
Retention window	Settings → Audit Log → Retention	90 days	Older rows pruned by daily cron
Cleanup cron	wb_listora_pro_audit_cleanup	Daily	Action Scheduler, group wb-listora-pro
Storage	wp_listora_audit_log table	InnoDB, indexed on event, user_id, object_id, created_at	Survives plugin deactivation

Developer hooks worth knowing:

• wb_listora_pro_audit_log_event (filter) - modify a recorded event before insert (add custom fields, redact PII).
• wb_listora_pro_audit_log_record (action) - fire your own custom events into the log: do_action( 'wb_listora_pro_audit_log_record', 'my_event', $payload );

Related

• Outgoing Webhooks (Pro) - same event surface, routed to external systems.
• Moderator Role (Pro) - moderator-only access to the Audit Log page.
• Developer Reference: Hooks - the underlying wb_listora_after_* hooks Audit Log subscribes to.

Pricing Plans

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Define listing tiers (Free, Starter, Premium, Featured, etc.) with their own credit costs, durations, featured placement, expiration behavior, and perks. Listing owners pick a plan at submission; the plan controls how the listing renders, how long it lives, and what it costs.

What it is

A directory doesn't monetize uniformly - a basic free listing is fine for indexing, but premium placements, longer visibility, and featured slots need to be paid. Pricing Plans is the data model that makes that possible.

Each plan is stored as a listora_plan custom post type so plans are versioned, ordered, taxonomy-filterable, and editable in the WordPress admin like any other content. A plan record carries:

• Name + description - what the submitter sees at checkout.
• Credit cost (_listora_plan_credits meta) - how many credits activating this plan deducts from the owner's balance (see Credits & Pricing Plans for the credit system).
• Duration in days - how long the listing stays published before reverting to listora_expired status.
• Featured flag - whether listings on this plan appear in the Featured Listings (Free) (docs in progress) carousel.
• Listing-type scoping - restrict a plan to specific listing types (e.g. a "Hotel Premium" plan only available to Hotel submissions).
• Listing-cap - optional hard limit on how many active listings one user can have on this plan.

How activation works (the Hold/Commit pattern, since v1.5.0):

1. Submission lands; if the user picked a paid plan, the controller calls Credits::hold($cost) to reserve the credits without deducting.
2. Listing meta + plan perks + status are written.
3. Credits::deduct() commits the hold → real ledger debit.
4. If any step fails, Credits::cancel_hold() releases the reservation - the ledger always shows either hold + deduct OR hold + cancel_hold, never an orphan debit.

If the owner's balance is short at submission, the listing saves with status listora_payment ("Awaiting Credits") and the response carries a paused: true flag - the dashboard shows a Recovery row + "Buy Credits" CTA so they top up and the listing self-resumes.

How you use it

As a site owner - create a plan

1. Ensure Pro is enabled with pricing_plans toggle on (it's an always-on infrastructure feature, defaulted to on).
2. WP Admin → Listora → Pricing Plans → Add New.
3. Fill in:

• Title - what users see (e.g. "Premium 30-Day").
• Description - optional pitch line shown at plan selection.
• Credit Cost - number of credits this plan deducts. Set to 0 to make it a free plan.
• Duration (days) - how long the listing stays published. Set to 0 for unlimited (rarely useful - expirations are how directories stay fresh).
• Featured - tick if listings on this plan should appear in featured carousels.
• Listing Types - pick which types can use this plan (leave empty to allow all types).
• Listing Cap - optional max active listings per user on this plan.

4. Publish.
5. Order plans: plans appear in the submission picker in menu_order ascending - drag to reorder in the Pricing Plans admin list.

As a listing owner - picking a plan at submission

1. Start a listing submission (/add-listing/).
2. At the Choose your plan step, see the available plans for the listing type you selected, each with its cost, duration, and perks.
3. Click a plan → continue submitting. The plan's credit cost is deducted on publish.
4. If balance is insufficient, the listing saves as "Awaiting Credits" - top up via Buy Credits, and the listing auto-publishes once balance covers the plan.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Feature toggle	Always-on infrastructure	On	Disable only by removing Pro
Plan CPT	listora_plan (wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=listora_plan)	-	Standard WP CPT - supports drafts, scheduled publish, etc.
Canonical cost meta key	_listora_plan_credits	-	Since v1.5.0 (was _listora_plan_credit_cost pre-release)
Hold/commit credit pattern	(system)	On	Prevents orphan debits
Paused-listing recovery	Dashboard → My Listings	-	"Awaiting Credits" rows show buy-credits CTA

Developer hooks worth knowing:

• wb_listora_pro_plan_cost (filter) - modify the credit cost of a plan at activation time (e.g. apply a coupon).
• wb_listora_pro_plan_perks (filter) - modify the perks array applied to a listing on plan activation.
• wb_listora_pro_listing_paused (action) - fires when a submission lacks credits and pauses; listeners can email the owner, queue a webhook, etc.
• wb_listora_pro_listing_resumed (action, 4 args) - fires when a top-up auto-resumes a paused listing.

Related

• Credits & Pricing Plans (Pro) - the credit balance system + Buy Credits page that pair with plans.
• Coupons (Pro) - discount the credit cost of a plan at submission time.
• Analytics (Pro) - measure conversion from plan tier to engagement.
• Audit Log (Pro) - records every plan activation + credit transaction.

Coupons

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites do not have a coupon system.

What it does

Coupons let you offer discount codes that reduce the credit cost of a listing plan. Users enter a coupon code during the plan selection step of the submission form. The discount applies immediately - before the user confirms and credits are deducted.

Why you'd use it

• Run limited-time promotions to drive listing submissions.
• Offer referral discounts or partner codes to specific business groups.
• Restrict coupons to specific plans so a 50% discount only applies to your premium tier.
• Set per-user usage limits to prevent a single person from using a code multiple times.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Creating a coupon:

1. Go to Listora → Coupons → Add New Coupon.
2. Set the coupon title (this is your internal reference name, not the code).
3. Fill in the coupon fields:

• Coupon Code - the code users will enter (e.g., LAUNCH50). Codes are case-insensitive.
• Type - choose Fixed (deduct a set number of credits) or Percent (deduct a percentage of the plan cost).
• Value - the discount amount (e.g., 10 for 10 credits off, or 20 for 20% off).
• Usage Limit - total number of times the code can be used across all users. Set to 0 for unlimited.
• Per User Limit - maximum times a single user can use the code. Set to 0 for unlimited.
• Expiry Date - date after which the code is no longer valid. Leave blank for no expiry.
• Minimum Credits - minimum plan credit cost required for the coupon to apply. Set to 0 for no minimum.
• Restrict to Plans - optionally limit the coupon to one or more specific plans by selecting their names.

4. Publish the coupon.
5. Share the code with users.

Checking usage:

The coupon list at Listora → Coupons shows the usage count next to each coupon. Open a coupon to see the current count against the usage limit.

Deactivating a coupon:

Set the coupon's status to Draft to immediately disable it. Users who enter the code will see an "inactive" error.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

1. During listing submission, the Choose a Plan step includes a coupon field.
2. Enter the code and click Apply.
3. If the code is valid for the selected plan, the discounted credit cost appears immediately on the plan card.
4. Select a plan and continue - the discounted amount is deducted from your balance at submission.

Tips

• Use uppercase codes - they're easier to communicate and the system normalizes to uppercase automatically.
• For launch promotions, set a short expiry date and a reasonable usage limit rather than a permanent unlimited coupon.
• Restrict high-value coupons to your most expensive plan using Restrict to Plans - this prevents users from applying large discounts to free or low-cost plans.
• If you want a coupon for a specific group (e.g., a partner organization), set Per User Limit to 1 and distribute unique codes via email - but this requires creating one coupon per recipient. For bulk codes, consider a single shared code with a tight Usage Limit.
• A coupon with Minimum Credits set prevents applying it to free plans. Set min_credits to at least 1 to exclude free-plan submissions.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
"Coupon code not found" error	Confirm the coupon is published (not Draft) in Listora → Coupons
"This coupon is not valid for the selected plan"	The coupon has Restrict to Plans set - the user must select one of the restricted plans
Code applied but discount not showing	The plan card updates the displayed cost; if it doesn't change, try clicking Apply again
"Coupon has reached its usage limit"	Increase the Usage Limit or create a new coupon

Related features

• Credits and Plans
• Analytics

Verification Badges

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites can approve claims but cannot award verification badges.

What it does

Verification badges let you mark individual listings as verified businesses. A badge appears on the listing card in search results and on the listing detail page. Visitors see at a glance that this business has been vetted by the directory.

Why you'd use it

• Verified badges build trust with visitors making decisions about which business to contact.
• Listings with badges stand out in the search grid, increasing click-through.
• Awarding badges gives business owners an incentive to keep their listing information accurate.
• You control which listings earn a badge - verification is always a manual, admin decision.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Verification badges are managed from the WordPress admin listing edit screen.

Awarding a verification badge:

1. Go to Listora → All Listings (or Posts → All Posts filtered by Listora Listing).
2. Click on the listing you want to verify.
3. In the right sidebar, find the Verification metabox.
4. Check Verified Business to award the badge.
5. Optionally check Claimed to mark the listing as owner-claimed (separate from the claims workflow).
6. Click Update to save.

The badge appears immediately on the listing card and detail page.

Removing a badge:

1. Open the listing in the admin.
2. Uncheck Verified Business in the Verification metabox.
3. Click Update.

Search filter: Visitors can filter search results to show only verified listings. The verified_only=true parameter is supported in the search REST API.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Verification is managed entirely by the site owner - there is no self-service verification flow. Visitors see the badge on:

• Listing cards in the search grid.
• Listing detail pages near the listing title.

Good to know

Badge pill icons are rendered on the server. They used to be drawn in the browser by a script that did not run on the front end, so a correctly configured badge showed its label with a blank space where the icon belonged. If you configured badges before 1.6.0 and gave up on the icons, they work now with no change on your side.

Tips

• Establish a verification policy before awarding badges. For example: "We verify businesses that have been claimed and have a physical address confirmed by the owner."
• Batch-verify listings after a claims approval workflow: approve a claim, then go to that listing and award the badge in the same session.
• The verification badge and the claimed status are two separate checkboxes - a listing can be claimed without being verified, and verified without being claimed.
• To filter search results to verified listings only via URL, append ?verified_only=1 to your directory page URL (requires the search block to respect this parameter).
• For large directories, use the Listora → All Listings admin table with column sorting to review which listings are verified.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Verification metabox not visible	Confirm WB Listora Pro is active
Badge not appearing on listing card	Clear your site and page cache after saving
"Verified only" search filter not working	Confirm the verified_only parameter is supported in your version - check the REST API docs

Related features

• Business Claims
• Analytics
• User Dashboard

Coming Soon Mode

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites are always publicly visible once the directory page is published.

What it does

Coming Soon Mode hides your directory from the public while you set up content, configure settings, and import listings. Site owners retain full access. Visitors see a branded "Coming Soon" page instead of the directory.

There is also a Private mode that requires visitors to be logged in - useful for members-only directories.

Why you'd use it

• Set up a complete directory before going public - no half-finished pages visible to visitors or search engines.
• The Coming Soon page is noindex by default, keeping your directory out of Google until it's ready.
• Private mode creates a gated directory accessible only to registered users.
• You can share a preview link with clients or stakeholders (by creating a user account) without making the directory public.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Enable the feature first: Listora → Settings → Features → Visibility Modes / Coming Soon. The Visibility settings tab only appears once this toggle is on (since 1.1.0) - if you don't see the tab, the feature is off.
2. Go to Listora → Settings → Visibility and find the Directory Visibility section.
3. Choose a visibility mode:

• Public - the directory is visible to everyone (default).
• Coming Soon - visitors see a "Coming Soon" page; site owners see the full directory.
• Private - visitors who aren't logged in are redirected to the login page; logged-in users without directory access are redirected to the homepage.

4. Save settings.

Who can bypass Coming Soon / Private mode:

Users with the manage_listora_settings capability (site owners and admins) see the full directory regardless of visibility mode.

The Coming Soon page:

The built-in Coming Soon page shows your site name and a "We're almost ready" message. It includes a noindex, nofollow meta tag to prevent search engine indexing, and the splash supports dark mode (since 1.1.0) - it follows the visitor's prefers-color-scheme setting.

To customize the Coming Soon page:

Override the template at {theme}/wb-listora/coming-soon.php. Copy the template from the Pro plugin's templates/coming-soon.php as a starting point.

Switching back to public:

Change Directory Visibility back to Public and save. The directory is immediately accessible to all visitors.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

In Coming Soon mode, visitors to any listing URL, listing archive, or taxonomy page see the Coming Soon page.

In Private mode, visitors are redirected to the WordPress login page. After logging in, they are sent back to the page they requested.

Tips

• Use Coming Soon mode during a migration from another directory plugin. Import and verify all content before going public.
• The Coming Soon page does not affect your site's regular WordPress pages - only directory pages (listing URLs, archives, and taxonomy pages) are intercepted.
• Give clients or reviewers a temporary WordPress account with the Subscriber role to preview the directory in Coming Soon mode without granting admin access.
• Switch to Public mode at a specific date and time by scheduling it manually - Coming Soon has no built-in countdown timer, but you can schedule an admin task or use a WordPress scheduler plugin.
• Private mode requires read_listora_listings capability for access. This capability is granted to all logged-in WordPress users by default.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Admin still seeing Coming Soon page	Confirm your user account has the manage_listora_settings capability - Administrators have it by default
Regular site pages showing Coming Soon	Coming Soon only affects listing pages - if other pages are affected, check for a conflicting plugin
Coming Soon page not showing your site name	Ensure your site name is set under Settings → General → Site Title
Google still indexing the directory	Coming Soon adds noindex to the page; it may take Google several weeks to deindex existing pages

Related features

• White Label
• License Management

White Label

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites show WB Listora branding in the admin interface.

What it does

White label mode removes WB Listora branding from the admin interface. You can rename the plugin and the admin menu to your own brand name, and optionally hide the author attribution. This is useful when you're building a directory for a client and want it to appear as your own product.

Why you'd use it

• Clients see your brand, not the underlying plugin - strengthening your agency relationship.
• Removes references to "WB Listora" and "Wbcom Designs" from menus and the Plugins list.
• Requires no code - branding changes are configured from a settings panel.
• The rename applies to both Free and Pro plugin entries in the Plugins list.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Enable the feature: Listora → Settings → Features → White Label. The White Label settings tab only appears once this toggle is on.
2. Go to Listora → Settings → White Label.
3. Toggle Enable White Label on.
4. Fill in your custom settings:

• Plugin Name - the name shown in the admin menu and Plugins list (e.g., "My Directory Pro").
• Hide Author - check this to remove the "Wbcom Designs" author link from the Plugins list.

5. Save settings.
6. Refresh the page. The admin menu label and the Plugins list entries now show your custom name.

What changes:

Location	Before	After
Admin sidebar menu	Listora	Your custom name
Plugins list - Name	WB Listora / WB Listora Pro	Your custom name
Plugins list - Author	Wbcom Designs (hidden if toggled)	Hidden

What does not change:

• Plugin file names and directories (wb-listora, wb-listora-pro) remain unchanged - this is necessary for updates to work correctly.
• CSS class names and JavaScript store namespaces remain as listora/directory - this affects code only, not the visible UI.
• REST API namespace remains listora/v1.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

White label affects the admin interface only. The frontend blocks, listing cards, and user dashboard have no "WB Listora" branding visible to visitors by default.

Tips

• White label is best applied after initial setup and testing. Enable it just before handing the site to a client.
• If a client asks "what plugin is this?", the white label protects your product relationship - but do keep documentation of the underlying plugin for your own reference.
• The plugin file paths (wb-listora/wb-listora.php) remain unchanged because WordPress auto-updates use the plugin file slug. Renaming files would break updates.
• Combine white label with a custom admin color scheme (via WordPress's appearance settings) for a fully branded admin experience.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Menu still shows "Listora" after enabling	Refresh the admin page; browser caching may be showing the old label
Author still visible in Plugins list	Confirm Hide Author is checked and settings were saved
Settings panel not appearing	Confirm WB Listora Pro is active and the license is valid

Related features

• Coming Soon Mode
• License Management

Digest Notifications

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites send all notification emails instantly as events occur.

What it does

By default, WB Listora sends each notification email immediately as events occur (a new review, a claim approval, a lead form submission). The Digest Notifications feature batches those emails into a daily summary instead - reducing inbox noise while ensuring nothing is missed.

Why you'd use it

• Business owners with active listings can receive many notifications per day. A single daily digest is less disruptive.
• Daily digests are easier to scan than individual emails scattered throughout the day.
• Urgent notifications (claims, payments) can still send immediately even when digest mode is active.
• You choose the mode per site - some directories benefit from instant alerts, others from digest.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Enable the feature: Listora → Settings → Features → Notification Digest. The Notifications settings tab only appears once this toggle is on.
2. Go to Listora → Settings → Notifications and find the notification-mode setting.
3. Choose a notification mode:

• Instant - every notification sends immediately as it occurs (default).
• Daily Digest - all notifications are queued and sent once per day at 9 AM (server time).
• Digest + Urgent - queues most notifications as a daily digest, but sends urgent ones (claims, payments) immediately.

4. Save settings.

How the digest is sent:

A WordPress cron event runs daily at 9 AM. It collects all queued notifications for each recipient, combines them into a single digest email, and sends it. The queue is cleared after sending. Since 1.1.0 review notifications are no longer dropped from the digest, and each queued notification stores its recipient address so owner digests always send to the right person.

Email template: The digest uses the template at templates/emails/digest.php. Override it at {theme}/wb-listora/emails/digest.php for custom branding.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Digest mode is a site-wide setting controlled by the site owner. Individual users cannot change their own notification frequency - this is a single mode applied to all recipients.

When a user receives a digest email, it lists all notifications from the previous 24 hours grouped by type (new reviews, claim updates, lead form messages, saved search matches).

Tips

• Instant mode is best for directories where business owners expect real-time updates (e.g., a local services directory where a lead form response needs to be answered within hours).
• Digest + Urgent is the recommended mode for most directories - it reduces noise while ensuring claim and payment events get through immediately.
• The digest runs at 9 AM server time. Check your WordPress timezone setting under Settings → General to ensure 9 AM corresponds to a reasonable time for your audience.
• If WordPress cron is unreliable on your host, consider using a real cron job via cPanel or your host's task scheduler to trigger wp-cron.php at 9 AM.
• The notification queue is stored in the wb_listora_pro_notification_queue WordPress option. Do not manually modify this option.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Digest not sending	Verify WordPress cron is running with WP Crontrol; check for the wb_listora_pro_send_digest event
Digests arriving at wrong time	Check Settings → General → Timezone - cron runs in server time, not necessarily your local time
Individual emails still sending in Digest mode	Confirm you saved the notification mode setting; a page cache may be serving the old settings page
Urgent emails not sending immediately in Digest + Urgent mode	Confirm the event type is classified as urgent - claims and payments are urgent by default

Related features

• Lead Forms
• Saved Searches
• Business Claims

Email Templates

Availability: Free + Pro. Free ships 16 templates; Pro adds 15 more (credits-low, credits-refunded, digest, lead-notification, listing-paused, listing-resumed, moderator-reassigned, need-approved, need-match, need-pending-mod, need-rejected, need-response, response-accepted, response-rejected, saved-search-alert).

One Free template, Listing Verify Email, is configurable but cannot currently send: its only trigger is the guest-submission email-verification path, which has been switched off since guest submission was removed. It is listed in the Email Templates screen and can be previewed and test-sent, but no listing on any install reaches the state that fires it. So 16 templates exist and 15 can reach a customer.

Every customer-facing email - listing approved, review received, helpful-vote milestone, draft reminder, claim accepted - is rendered from a themeable PHP template with a shared header/footer, a unified token palette, and a single notifications class that pipes data into the template. Themes override templates the WooCommerce way: copy the file into {theme}/wb-listora/emails/ and edit.

What it is

Plugins that hardcode emails ship inconsistent designs across notifications. Listora's email system is a small design system in its own right:

• Shared partials - templates/emails/parts/header.php and parts/footer.php are included by every template, so the wordmark, color palette, GDPR footer, and unsubscribe link all live in one place.
• Tokenized palette - Notifications::get_palette() resolves the colors once per send (primary, success, warning, danger, neutral, text, text_muted, bg_alt, border, white). Templates read $colors['primary'], never hardcoded hex.
• Variant resolver - each event picks a tone (success / warning / danger / neutral) via Notifications::resolve_variant(), applied to the header band and CTA button. Templates carry no conditional color logic.
• Plain-text fallback - phpmailer_init AltBody filter generates a text version so clients that prefer plain text still get a readable message.
• GDPR-friendly footer - marketing emails ($is_marketing = true) carry an $unsubscribe_url; transactional emails skip it.
• Theme overrides - every template runs through wb_listora_locate_template(); drop a file at {theme}/wb-listora/emails/{name}.php and it wins over the plugin's copy.
• WPML / Polylang ready - every string is wrapped in __() against the plugin text domain; make-pot extracts them.

The 15 Free templates (in wb-listora/templates/emails/):

claim-approved, claim-rejected, claim-submitted, draft-reminder, listing-approved, listing-expired, listing-expiring-soon, listing-pending-admin, listing-rejected, listing-renewed, listing-submitted, listing-verify-email, review-helpful, review-received, review-reply.

Pro adds (in wb-listora-pro/templates/emails/):

digest, lead-notification, listing-paused, listing-resumed, moderator-reassigned, need-approved, need-match, need-pending-mod, need-rejected, need-response, response-accepted, response-rejected, saved-search-alert.

How you use it

As a site owner - customize without code

For most customers the defaults are fine; if you need brand-specific tweaks:

1. Override the primary color: Listora → Settings → General → Brand Color. The email palette inherits this token, so every notification picks up your brand.
2. Logo in emails: drop a 240×60 logo at Listora → Settings → Notifications → Email Logo URL. Surfaces in parts/header.php.
3. Footer text: Settings → Notifications → Email Footer Text (HTML allowed) - supports GDPR/Imprint requirements.
4. Send a test: Settings → Notifications → click Send test email for any event.

As a developer - theme override

Themes shipping a directory layout often want their own email skin:

1. Copy the template you want to change from the plugin (e.g. wp-content/plugins/wb-listora/templates/emails/listing-approved.php) to your theme: wp-content/themes/{your-theme}/wb-listora/emails/listing-approved.php.
2. Edit the copy. Variables passed in (documented at the top of every template):

• $site_name, $site_url, $logo_url, $footer_text
• Per-event: $listing_title, $listing_url, $author_name, $dashboard_url, …
• $colors (palette array), $variant (success / warning / danger / neutral)
• $is_marketing, $unsubscribe_url (GDPR fields)

3. Save. The next outbound email of that type uses your override.

Filter hooks for non-template tweaks

• wb_listora_email_subject (filter) - modify any subject. Event-scoped variant: wb_listora_email_subject_{event}.
• wb_listora_email_content (filter) - modify the rendered HTML body. Event-scoped: wb_listora_email_content_{event}.
• wb_listora_email_recipients (filter) - add CC/BCC; e.g. send admin a copy of every approval.
• wb_listora_email_headers (filter) - modify wp_mail() headers (Reply-To, custom X-headers).
• wb_listora_email_logo_url / wb_listora_email_footer_text (filter) - programmatic overrides for the header logo + footer text.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Brand color	Settings → General → Brand Color	Plugin red	Drives the email palette via tokens
Email logo	Settings → Notifications → Email Logo URL	(empty)	Rendered in shared header partial
Footer text	Settings → Notifications → Email Footer Text	"© {year} {site}"	HTML allowed
From name	Settings → Notifications → From Name	Site title	wp_mail() From header
Notification mode (Pro)	Settings → Notifications → Mode	Instant	Switch to "Daily digest" to batch (see Digest Notifications)
Test send	Settings → Notifications	-	Per-event test button

Template lookup order (Free + Pro share the same locator):

1. {stylesheet}/wb-listora/emails/{name}.php
2. {template}/wb-listora/emails/{name}.php (parent theme)
3. Plugin default

Related

• Digest Notifications (Pro) - batch transactional emails into a daily digest to reduce inbox noise.
• Reviews & Ratings - drives review-received / review-reply / review-helpful notifications.
• Frontend Submission - drives listing-submitted / listing-approved / listing-rejected.
• Draft Reminder (Free) - twicedaily cron-driven recovery email for incomplete drafts.
• Developer Reference: Hooks - full list of email-related filters.

Locations

Availability: Free + Pro.

Hierarchical geographic taxonomy that maps every listing to the place it lives - Country → State → City → Neighborhood, as deep as you need. Locations get their own admin page (Listora → Locations), their own pretty URL (/listing-location/new-york/manhattan/), their own WP-core REST endpoint (/wp-json/wp/v2/listing-locations), and they auto-populate the location facet on every search and grid block.

What it is

Locations is the listora_listing_location taxonomy - same shape as WordPress's built-in category (hierarchical, parent/child, slug-based URLs), specialized for directory geography:

• Hierarchical so you can nest as deep as the site needs. Single-city directory? One level. Country-wide directory? Three or four (Country → State → City → Neighborhood).
• Public with its own archive URL - /listing-location/{slug}/ shows every listing in that location (and its children).
• REST-exposed at /wp-json/wp/v2/listing-locations (WordPress core REST) and surfaced in Listora's own search facets at /wp-json/listora/v1/search?location[]={term-id}.
• Searchable via the Locations facet in listing-search block - appears as a chip list or dropdown depending on the block's settings.
• Distinct from physical address. A listing's address / lat / lng meta fields drive map markers and Near Me search. The listora_listing_location term assigned to the listing drives taxonomy navigation and search facets. Most listings carry both; they answer different customer questions.

How you use it

Build your location tree

1. Admin → Listora → Locations.
2. Add the top level first - typically Country or State. Leave Parent set to None.
3. Add children with the Parent dropdown set to the parent term you just created. Repeat until you've covered the geography customers will browse.
4. Bulk-import via WP-CLI when you have hundreds of terms:

wp term create listora_listing_location "Manhattan" --parent=42

5. Or import a CSV via the Listings Import - map a column to the Location field (the round-trip export names this column Location) and it accepts comma-separated term names. Existing terms are matched by name; any name with no match is created on import.

Assign locations to a listing

• Wizard - the Locations field appears as a tag picker (autocomplete with suggestions) in step 2 of the submission wizard. Customers can pick existing terms only; new terms must come from an admin.
• Admin - the standard WP taxonomy metabox on every listing's edit screen.
• REST - POST /listora/v1/submit accepts listora_listing_location: [12, 34] (term IDs) in the payload.

Browse / search by location

• Archive page - /listing-location/new-york/ automatically renders the term archive with every listing tagged to that term OR any of its children. Skin via your theme's taxonomy-listora_listing_location.php template, or via wb_listora_locate_template( 'taxonomy.php' ).
• Search facet - the listing-search block's Locations facet uses the same term tree. Selecting "New York" matches every child (Manhattan, Brooklyn, etc.) without having to enumerate them.
• Permalink slug - customizable in Settings → General → Slugs → Location archive base (default listing-location).

Permissions

Capability	Who has it	What it gates
manage_listora_types	Admin, custom roles via Capabilities	Create / edit / delete Location terms in admin
edit_listora_listings	Admin, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber	Assign existing Location terms during submission

Customers cannot add new Location terms from the frontend wizard - only assign existing ones. That keeps the geography tree clean. If you need open user-submitted locations (rare in a directory), filter wb_listora_submission_can_create_terms to true.

Settings & options

Setting	Default	Where
Archive permalink base	listing-location	Settings → General → Slugs
Show location facet on search	On	Listing Search block → Inspector → Filters
Default location display on card	None	Listing Card block → Inspector → Display
Hierarchical search behavior	Include children	(filter wb_listora_search_location_children)

Developer hooks

• wb_listora_location_terms - filter the term list shown in the submission wizard's autocomplete.
• wb_listora_search_location_children - control whether selecting a parent term includes child terms in search results (default true).
• wb_listora_rest_prepare_listing - modify what location data appears in the REST listing response.
• See the Hooks reference for the full list.

Related

• Listing Categories - what your listings are.
• Search & Filters - how the Locations facet appears on listing-search.
• Google Maps (Pro) - combine taxonomy locations with map-based discovery.
• Capabilities & Roles - control who can edit Location terms.
• REST API - /listora/v1/search?location[]=... endpoint.

Amenities / Features Taxonomy

Availability: Free + Pro.

A flat (non-hierarchical) taxonomy for tagging listings with the amenities or attributes that matter to the customer - Free WiFi, Parking, Pet Friendly, Wheelchair Accessible, Outdoor Seating, etc. Different from Categories (what the listing IS) and Locations (where it IS) - amenities are the FACETS visitors filter on within a category.

What it is

The listora_listing_feature taxonomy. Same shape as WordPress's built-in post_tag (flat, comma-separated entry, no parent/child), specialized for directory amenities:

• Flat - no parent/child. Amenities are independent attributes; nesting them adds friction without value.
• Comma-entry on the listing edit screen - type "WiFi, Parking, Pet Friendly" and tab to add. Autocomplete suggests existing terms.
• Public archive at /{feature_slug}/{term}/ - shows every listing with that amenity.
• Search facet - the listing-search block's "Features" facet auto-populates from this taxonomy. Multi-select is the natural UX (visitors filter by "WiFi AND Parking AND Pet Friendly").
• REST-exposed at /wp-json/wp/v2/listing-features (WP core) and /wp-json/listora/v1/search?feature[]=wifi,parking (Listora search facet).

Listora calls these "Features" in admin UI to keep terminology consistent with WordPress (we already overload "Categories" for listora_listing_cat, and the post type is "Listing", so "Features" is the natural complement). Many directories use the customer-facing label "Amenities" instead - change it via the wb_listora_taxonomy_labels filter or directly in the registration via register_taxonomy_for_object_type().

How you use it

Build your amenity list

1. Admin → Listora → Features.
2. Add the amenities customers will filter on. Common starter set:

• WiFi, Parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Pet Friendly, Outdoor Seating, Takeout, Delivery, Reservations Required, Vegan Options, Family Friendly, 24/7, Credit Cards Accepted

3. Keep the list FLAT and SCANNABLE. 8-15 amenities is the sweet spot for filtering UX. Bigger lists overwhelm the sidebar.
4. Use existing terms - encourage listing owners to pick existing amenities rather than create new ones. The submission wizard's autocomplete makes this natural.

Assign amenities to a listing

• Wizard - Features field appears as a tag picker (autocomplete from existing terms) in step 2 of the submission wizard. Customers can pick existing terms; creating new ones requires manage_listora_types.
• Member dashboard - members set and change amenities when editing a listing from Dashboard > Listings > Edit. Until 1.6.0 this was an administrator-only field reachable only from wp-admin, so a member who wanted to add "Outdoor Seating" had to ask. The write path preserves amenities an administrator set that the member's form does not offer, so a member saving their listing cannot silently strip them.
• Admin - the standard WP taxonomy metabox on listing edit screens.
• CSV import - comma-separated term slugs in the listora_listing_feature column.
• REST - POST /listora/v1/submit accepts listora_listing_feature: ['wifi', 'parking'] (slugs).

Filter by amenity

• Search block - Features facet on the sidebar / drawer of listing-search block. Multi-select (AND logic by default - listings matching ALL selected amenities). Switch to OR via wb_listora_search_feature_logic filter.
• Archive page - /{feature_slug}/wifi/ lists every listing tagged WiFi. Order via the standard pre_get_posts hook.
• Card display - toggle the Features chips on the Listing Card block's Inspector → Display panel.

Limiting features to a listing type

Features used to be global: every type offered every feature. On a site running Jobs and Classifieds side by side, the Jobs filter offered classified-ad amenities and vice versa.

A listing type can now carry a feature allowlist, edited in the Type Editor alongside its existing category allowlist. An empty allowlist means no restriction, so every existing type keeps offering every feature until you deliberately narrow one.

The allowlist is honoured in both places that matter, from one shared resolver, so the search filters and the submission form cannot drift apart: a member is only offered the features their type allows, and a visitor only sees those features as facets.

Permissions

Capability	Who has it	What it gates
manage_listora_types	Administrator (#capabilities-ls))	Add / edit / delete Feature terms
edit_listora_listings	Admin, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber	Assign existing Feature terms to listings

Customers can't add new amenities from the frontend wizard by default - they pick from the curated list. To allow open submission, filter wb_listora_submission_can_create_terms to true.

Customizing the customer-facing label

Default admin label is "Features" but many directories prefer "Amenities". Override globally:

add_filter( 'wb_listora_taxonomy_labels', function ( $labels, $taxonomy ) {
if ( 'listora_listing_feature' !== $taxonomy ) {
return $labels;
}
$labels['name'] = __( 'Amenities', 'your-textdomain' );
$labels['singular_name'] = __( 'Amenity', 'your-textdomain' );
$labels['menu_name'] = __( 'Amenities', 'your-textdomain' );
return $labels;
}, 10, 2 );

Settings & options

Setting	Default	Where
Archive permalink base	listing-feature	Settings → General → Slugs
Show Features facet on search	On	Listing Search block → Inspector → Filters
Show Features chips on card	On	Listing Card block → Inspector → Display
Multi-select logic	AND (listings matching all selected)	wb_listora_search_feature_logic filter

Related

• Listing Categories - what the listing is (hierarchical).
• Locations - where the listing is (hierarchical).
• Search & Filters - how the Features facet renders on listing-search.
• Advanced Search (Pro) - saved filters and proximity search on top of amenities.
• Custom Fields - when an amenity needs structured data (e.g. WiFi password) instead of a tag.

Listing Type Editor

Availability: Free + Pro.

The admin page where you create, edit, and delete listing types - Restaurant, Hotel, Real Estate, Job, Event, anything else your directory needs. Each type has its own icon, schema mapping, and custom field set. The Type Editor is distinct from the Listing Types getting-started guide: the guide explains the CONCEPT; this page is the admin SURFACE where you manage them.

What it is

Listora ships with the listing-type system as a first-class concept: every listora_listing post belongs to exactly one type, and that type determines:

• Which custom fields appear in the submission wizard.
• Which Schema.org type the JSON-LD on the detail page emits.
• Which default icon appears on cards / map markers.
• Which filterable fields show up as facets on the search block.
• Which demo pack seeds matching listings when you run wp listora demo seed --pack={slug}.

The Type Editor is where you configure all of that. It's the "schema-design" surface for the directory.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Listing Types (?page=listora-listing-types)

Requires the manage_listora_types capability.

The list view

Each row shows the type's icon (Lucide SVG), name, slug, field count, listing count, and Schema.org type. Whichever type is set as the default for new submissions carries a Default badge next to its name. Actions per row:

• Edit → opens the editor view for that type.
• Add new field → jump straight into the Fields tab of the editor.
• Duplicate → clone the type with -copy slug suffix (useful when launching a new vertical).
• Trash → soft-delete. Listings of this type get their type pointer cleared but stay in the database.

The header Add New Type button opens the editor with action=new.

The editor view

Three tabs.

Settings

Field	What it does
Name	Customer-facing label everywhere ("Restaurant", "Boutique Hotel").
Slug	URL-safe identifier (restaurant). Used in admin URLs, REST routes, and filters. Once set, don't change - existing listings of this type lose their type pointer.
Icon	Lucide icon identifier. The picker offers exactly the icons the front end can draw. Previously it listed the full Lucide set while the renderer knew a fraction of it, so most selectable icons rendered as nothing - a chosen icon could simply vanish.
Allowed categories	Which categories this type offers. Empty means all of them.
Allowed features	Which features this type offers. Empty means all of them, so existing types are unaffected until you narrow one. Stops a Jobs page offering classified-ad amenities.
Schema.org type	Which @type to emit in the listing detail JSON-LD. Pick the closest match from the 20-entry Schema.org catalog - LocalBusiness, Restaurant, Hotel, Store, MedicalBusiness, Event, etc.
Default for new submissions	Toggle on to pre-select this type on the Add Listing form. Only one type can be the default at a time - turning it on for another type turns it off here. Submitters can still choose a different type; the default only decides which one starts selected. Ignored if the type has Frontend submission turned off.

Fields

A drag-to-reorder list of every field that appears in the submission wizard for this type. Each field row:

• Label - what customers see in the wizard.
• Type - the field input type (text, textarea, number, select, multi-select, image, gallery, file, url, email, phone, date, time, business hours, social links, etc.).
• Required / Optional toggle.
• Filterable toggle - when on, the field appears as a search facet.
• Validate - per-type validation rules (min/max length, regex pattern, allowed file types).

Add new fields with the + Add Field button. Reorder with the drag handle. Delete with the trash icon (confirmation required if the field has saved data on existing listings).

Schema mapping

Per-field mapping into the Schema.org JSON-LD output. For each field, pick which Schema property it should populate (e.g. address field → address, phone field → telephone, image field → image). Unmapped fields are still rendered on the detail page but don't appear in structured data.

How you use it

Add a new type

1. Click + Add New Type.
2. Fill in Name (e.g. "Coworking Space") and Slug (auto-generated from name; edit if needed).
3. Pick an Icon that visually represents the type.
4. Pick the Schema.org type closest to your data - LocalBusiness or Place are safe defaults.
5. Save.
6. Switch to the Fields tab and add the fields specific to this type (e.g. "Hot Desk Rate", "Meeting Rooms Available", "24/7 Access" for a coworking space).
7. Optionally configure Schema mapping.
8. Turn on Default for new submissions if you want the Add Listing form to start with this type selected.

Edit an existing type

Click Edit on any row. Changes save per-tab; switching tabs prompts to save unsaved work.

Delete a type

Trash on the list view. Listings of the trashed type stay in the database but become "untyped" - they lose their type pointer and inherit fallback rendering (no custom fields). Use this when retiring a vertical; existing listings can be reassigned via bulk-edit.

Use a type from CLI

wp listora listing-types

Outputs a table of every registered type with field counts. Useful for verifying after CSV imports.

How types map to demo packs

Each type has an optional matching demo pack at demo/{slug}-pack.php. Listora ships packs for: restaurant, hotel, real-estate, job-board, general, classified, education, healthcare, place. Seed any pack via wp listora demo seed --pack={slug} - see WP-CLI Commands.

Permissions

Capability	Who has it	What it gates
manage_listora_types	Administrator (#capabilities-ls))	View Type Editor, create / edit / delete types and their fields

This cap is the gate for the entire taxonomy admin surface - Categories, Locations, Features all check it too. If you grant manage_listora_types to a custom role, that role gets full type-system access.

Related

• Listing Types (getting started) - concept-level overview.
• Custom Fields - programmatic field definition + override hooks.
• Listing Categories - taxonomy WITHIN a type.
• Capabilities & Roles - who can manage types.
• WP-CLI Commands - wp listora listing-types for the CLI inventory.

Email Log

Availability: Free + Pro.

A standalone admin page that records every outbound notification Listora attempts to send - listing approvals, review notifications, claim updates, contact-form messages, verification emails. Each entry shows the recipient, the event, the delivery status (sent / queued / failed), and the timestamp. Useful for confirming admin / user toggles are honoured and tracing send failures without having to dig through wp_mail() debug logs.

What it is

A persistent record of every Listora notification attempt:

• Per-row data: event type (e.g. listing_approved), recipient email, listing context, delivery status, error message (if failed), exact timestamp.
• Auto-pruned by a daily cron - older entries are diagnostic noise and disappear automatically once the retention window passes.
• CSV exportable for compliance archives or external analysis. The export REST endpoint streams the full log within the current retention window.
• Clearable - bulk delete every entry from the page (e.g. before a compliance audit window where you only want fresh sends recorded).

The log captures the send attempt, not delivery confirmation. A row marked sent means wp_mail() accepted the message - your mail provider (SMTP plugin / SES / Postmark) is responsible for downstream delivery. If you need delivery + open + click tracking, layer a transactional email service on top.

Where it lives

WP Admin → Listora → Email Log (?page=listora-email-log)

Requires the manage_listora_settings capability.

How you use it

Verify your email setup

1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Send Test Email.
2. Pick any template, send to your own address.
3. Switch to Email Log and Refresh - the test send should appear with status sent and timestamp seconds ago.
4. If the row shows failed, the error column tells you why (SMTP credential, blocked sender, etc.).
5. If no row appears, the event isn't firing - check Notifications tab toggles first.

Trace a customer "I didn't get the email" report

1. Open Email Log.
2. Filter by the customer's email address (use browser find-in-page on the recipient column) and the rough time.
3. Found row → sent means it left your server (the issue is on their side: spam folder, mail provider). Found row → failed means our send failed (check the error). No row → the event didn't fire (check the per-event toggle on Notifications tab + the underlying transition log).

Configure retention

The retention dropdown at the top of the page accepts:

• 7 days - minimal noise, good for high-volume directories
• 15 days - default for most installs
• 30 days - useful when audit / compliance windows need a longer trail
• 0 (lifetime) - keep everything. Diagnostic only; not recommended for high-volume sites without separate log rotation.

Older entries are pruned automatically by the wb_listora_email_log_prune cron event (daily).

Export the log

Click Export CSV at the top of the page. The download streams the current retention window: recipient, event, status, timestamp, error (if any), listing ID (if applicable). The URL carries a one-time wp_create_nonce( 'wp_rest' ) that expires after use.

Clear the log

Click Clear log to delete every entry. Useful before testing a new SMTP plugin so you have a clean slate. Cannot be undone.

How it interacts with the rest of the system

• Settings → Notifications controls which events FIRE - Email Log records whichever events successfully reached wp_mail(). Toggle an event off → no email AND no log entry.
• Digest Notifications (Pro) bundles individual events into a single send per day / week per recipient. The log records the digest send itself (digest_listings, digest_reviews) not the individual events bundled into it.
• Audit Log (Pro) records every state transition that triggered an email. Email Log records the SEND ATTEMPT. The two complement each other: Audit answers "did this thing happen?", Email Log answers "did the email go out?".
• Webhooks (Pro) fire independently of email events. A webhook delivering does NOT create an Email Log row.

Permissions

Capability	Who has it by default	What it gates
manage_listora_settings	Administrator	View + clear log, export CSV, change retention

Custom roles can be granted access via the Capabilities reference.

Equivalent WP-CLI

There is no wp listora email-log command. The log uses a custom table; query it directly if you need scripted access:

wp db query "SELECT recipient, event, status, sent_at FROM wp_listora_email_log ORDER BY sent_at DESC LIMIT 50"

Or use the REST endpoint:

GET /wp-json/listora/v1/settings/notifications/log
GET /wp-json/listora/v1/settings/notifications/log/export
POST /wp-json/listora/v1/settings/notifications/log/retention

See the REST API reference for full route + parameter details.

Related

• Notifications Settings - turn individual events on / off.
• Email Templates - customize subject / body per event.
• Audit Log (Pro) - every state transition (sent OR not).
• Digest Notifications (Pro) - bundled daily / weekly emails.

Frontend Listing Submission

Availability: Free + Pro. The multi-step wizard, draft-saving, and Duplicate Check are Free. Submitting requires a logged-in account (since 1.3.0). Pro adds the plan picker / credit gating on submit and the auto-attached Verification Badge workflow.

What it does

The Listing Submission block gives registered users a multi-step form to add listings directly from your site's frontend. No WordPress admin access is required. Users can also edit existing listings, manage services per listing, and save drafts - all from the same interface.

Why you'd use it

• Directory operators get community-sourced listings without manual data entry.
• Businesses submit their own information, keeping it accurate.
• The draft-reminder email brings back users who started a listing but didn't finish.
• A pre-submit duplicate check prevents identical listings from cluttering your directory.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. The Setup Wizard creates an Add Listing page automatically with the Listing Submission block already placed.
2. To create the page manually: add a new page, insert the Listing Submission block, and publish.
3. Configure submission behavior under Listora → Settings → Submissions:

• Submitting requires a logged-in account (since 1.3.0) - visitors who are not signed in see a sign-in prompt with a Create Account link.
• Moderation mode - choose Auto-publish or Manual review (listings held as Pending).
• Edit approval - require re-approval when a listing is edited.
• Allowed types - restrict which listing types accept submissions.
• Image limits - maximum number of gallery images per listing.
• Expiration - days until a listing expires (0 = never).
• Submission form style (since 1.2.0) - choose Step-by-step wizard or Single page form site-wide. The block's Layout Mode attribute overrides this per instance. See Submission Settings for details.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Submitting a new listing:

1. Go to the Add Listing page and click Start.
2. A pre-submit duplicate check runs as you type the listing name. If a matching listing is found, you'll see a warning with a link to the existing listing - preventing accidental duplicates.
3. Complete the five steps:

• Choose Type - select the listing type (Restaurant, Hotel, Real Estate, etc.).
• Basic Info - title, description, and featured image.
• Type Fields - fields specific to the chosen type (address, phone, hours, price range, social links, etc.).
• Categories - select relevant categories and feature tags.
• Preview & Submit - review your listing before submitting.

4. After submitting, the listing is either published immediately or set to Pending depending on your site's moderation mode.

Editing an existing listing:

1. Go to User Dashboard → My Listings.
2. Click Edit next to the listing you want to update. Since 1.2.0, the edit form opens inline inside the dashboard (same page, no redirect) when the listing is on the My Listings tab. The full submission block handles the edit, so all the same steps and validation apply.
3. Make your changes and save. If the site requires edit approval, the listing returns to Pending until approved.

Adding a new listing from your dashboard (since 1.2.0):

From User Dashboard → My Listings, you can also start a new listing inline - the submission form opens within the dashboard rather than redirecting to the Add Listing page. Both paths (Add Listing page and dashboard inline) use the same form and reach the same outcome.

Managing services on a listing:

From My Listings, click Manage Services to add, edit, or delete services offered by that business. See Services per Listing.

Draft reminder: If a user starts a listing and doesn't submit within 24 hours, WB Listora sends an email reminder with a link to resume. This is handled automatically - no configuration required.

Tips

• Set Moderation mode to Manual review for public directories. This prevents spam and low-quality listings from going live automatically.
• Use Allowed types to restrict submissions to specific types. For example, a restaurant directory should only allow the Restaurant type.
• Conditional fields: some field types only appear based on earlier answers (e.g., a "Cuisines" field only appears after selecting the Restaurant type).
• The draggable map pin on the address field lets submitters fine-tune their precise location on the map.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Submission form is blank	Confirm the Listing Submission block is on the page, not a shortcode
Users can't see the form	Confirm the user is logged in - submission requires an account
Submitted listing not visible	If moderation is on, approve the listing under Listora → All Listings
Draft reminder not sending	Verify WordPress cron is running - check with a plugin like WP Crontrol
Images not uploading	Check your server's upload_max_filesize and post_max_size PHP settings

Related features

• Listing Types
• User Dashboard
• Services per Listing

Duplicate Check

Availability: Free + Pro.

Prevent duplicate listings from polluting your directory before they're even submitted. When a listing owner types a title + picks a type during submission, the wizard quietly checks if a similar listing already exists - and if it does, shows a "Review duplicates" step with side-by-side cards so the owner can claim the existing listing instead of creating a duplicate.

What it is

Duplicate listings are the single biggest source of customer-support pain in directories: when the same restaurant or service shows up three times because three different users submitted it, search-relevance suffers, reviews are split, and moderators end up manually merging records.

Duplicate Check intercepts that at submission time:

• REST endpoint - POST /listora/v1/submission/check-duplicate runs a fast, scoped query against the search_index table for listings matching the title + listing type, optionally weighted by geographic proximity if the owner has set lat/lng.
• Submission wizard integration - the wizard fires the endpoint after the Basics step. If matches come back, a Duplicate Review step is inserted ahead of the rest of the form.
• Side-by-side display - each potential duplicate shows as a card with title, type badge, address, and two actions: Claim this listing (jumps the owner into the claim flow for that existing record) or It's a different business (continues submitting their new listing).
• Geographic weighting - when both submission lat/lng AND the existing listing's lat/lng are known, matches within ~250m boost their score; matches further away score lower so a "Mario's Pizza" in Brooklyn doesn't suppress a new "Mario's Pizza" in Queens.
• Title similarity - uses MySQL MATCH AGAINST on the FULLTEXT search-index title column, with a configurable minimum similarity threshold.

Why this matters: directories that rely on moderator merge-after-the-fact never catch up. Duplicate Check shifts the prevention to the submitter, who's the only person with full context ("is this my business or a different one with the same name?").

How you use it

As a site owner - no configuration needed

Duplicate Check is on automatically. To verify it's working:

1. Open /add-listing/ in an incognito window (or as a test user).
2. Pick a listing type that already has at least one listing.
3. In the Basics step, type the exact title of an existing listing.
4. Advance to the next step. If a match was found, the wizard inserts a "Review possible duplicates" step.

If no duplicate step appears even on an exact-title match, check that the search_index table is populated (Listora → Tools → Rebuild Search Index).

As a listing owner - what you see

When the wizard finds a possible duplicate:

1. A new step appears: "We found a similar listing - is this yours?"
2. Each candidate appears as a card with title, type, address, and an existing-listing screenshot.
3. If it's your business - click Claim this listing. The wizard switches into the Business Claims flow; the existing listing is reassigned to you once an admin approves the claim.
4. If it's a different business - click It's a different business and continue submitting. The duplicate-check step disappears.
5. Override required for admins - admins can always proceed past the duplicate-check step (e.g. legitimately re-listing for a chain franchise).

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Endpoint	POST /listora/v1/submission/check-duplicate	Always on	Public-write endpoint, nonce-protected
Similarity threshold	Hardcoded MySQL MATCH AGAINST weight	(system)	Tunable via wb_listora_duplicate_threshold filter
Geo radius (boost)	Hardcoded 250m	(system)	Tunable via wb_listora_duplicate_geo_radius_meters filter
Max matches shown	3	-	Tunable via wb_listora_duplicate_max_matches filter

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_duplicate_threshold (filter) - increase or decrease how strict the title match needs to be.
• wb_listora_duplicate_geo_radius_meters (filter) - change the boost radius (250m default).
• wb_listora_duplicate_max_matches (filter) - return more or fewer candidates.
• wb_listora_duplicate_check_results (filter) - modify the candidate list before showing in the wizard (filter out admins' own listings, etc.).

Related

• Business Claims - the flow Duplicate Check routes owners into when they recognize their own listing.
• Submitting a Listing - the full wizard Duplicate Check intercepts.
• Search & Filters - uses the same search_index table, so a well-indexed directory powers both search AND duplicate prevention.
• Developer Reference: REST API - /submission/check-duplicate endpoint shape.

Draft Reminder

Availability: Free + Pro.

Recover incomplete listing submissions automatically. When someone starts the Add Listing wizard, saves a draft, and walks away without finishing - the plugin sends a friendly reminder email 24 hours later with a one-click link back to where they left off. Twice-daily cron sweeps catch every stale draft; opt-out per user is respected.

What it is

Listing submission is multi-step (Type → Basics → Details → Media → Preview → Submit). Real submitters get interrupted, switch tabs, lose focus. Without nudging, a meaningful share of started drafts are never completed.

Draft Reminder is a tiny, reliable recovery system:

• Cron event - wb_listora_draft_reminder_cron runs twice daily via Action Scheduler (group wb-listora).
• Sweep logic - queries wp_posts for listora_listing rows with post_status = 'draft' that haven't been emailed yet, are older than the threshold (default 24h), and belong to a registered author (every submission requires a logged-in account, so a draft always has an owner to email).
• Per-user state - each emailed draft is marked with a _listora_draft_reminder_sent meta flag, so a user gets one reminder per draft (not a daily stream).
• Send path - fires do_action( 'wb_listora_draft_reminder', $post_id ) for each candidate; Notifications::draft_reminder() listens, builds the template variables, and sends templates/emails/draft-reminder.php via the same email infrastructure as every other notification.
• Personalized CTA - the email's "Continue your listing" button deep-links to /add-listing/?edit={post_id} so the wizard resumes at the same step.
• Opt-out aware - respects the user's per-event notification preference (should_send( 'draft_reminder', $user_id )); users who disabled drafts in their profile don't get a reminder.
• Always a valid recipient - since submission requires a logged-in account (1.3.0), every draft is owned by a registered user, so there's always an address to send the reminder to.

The whole feature is one cron + one email template + a 50-line listener - Grade-A simplicity.

How you use it

As a site owner - no configuration needed

Draft Reminder is on by default. To verify:

1. Check the cron is scheduled: WP Admin → Tools → Site Health → Info → Cron Events → look for wb_listora_draft_reminder_cron (Action Scheduler runs it twice daily).
2. Trigger a test reminder: save a logged-in test user's listing as a draft; in Listora → Settings → Notifications, click Send Test → Draft Reminder. The reminder fires immediately to the user's email.
3. Customize the template: copy wb-listora/templates/emails/draft-reminder.php to your theme at {theme}/wb-listora/emails/draft-reminder.php and edit; the override wins. See Email Templates.

As a listing owner - what you see

If you start a submission and don't finish:

1. Within 24 hours, you receive an email titled "Your listing is almost ready" (or your site's customized variant).
2. The body summarizes what you'd entered (title, type, optional description excerpt) so you remember the context.
3. The "Continue your listing" button opens /add-listing/?edit={id} - the wizard resumes at the step you left off.
4. Once you finish OR delete the draft, no further reminders for that draft.
5. To opt out of all draft reminders: visit your dashboard → Profile → Email preferences → uncheck Draft reminders.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Feature	(always on)	On	Free - no toggle needed
Cron event	wb_listora_draft_reminder_cron	Twice daily	Action Scheduler, group wb-listora
Reminder threshold	24 hours after draft saved	(system)	Filterable via wb_listora_draft_reminder_threshold
Per-draft cap	1 reminder per draft	(system)	_listora_draft_reminder_sent meta key gates re-sends
Per-user opt-out	Dashboard → Profile → Email prefs	Opted-in by default	Honored by should_send()
Template	wb-listora/templates/emails/draft-reminder.php	-	Theme overridable per the Email Templates standard

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_draft_reminder (action) - fires per candidate; listen for custom routing (Slack, in-app notification, SMS, etc.).
• wb_listora_draft_reminder_threshold (filter) - change the 24-hour threshold (in seconds).
• wb_listora_draft_reminder_query_args (filter) - modify the candidate query (e.g. exclude admins, limit to specific types).
• wb_listora_email_content_draft_reminder (filter) - modify the rendered HTML (subject/body/tone) without theme override.

Related

• Submitting a Listing - the wizard whose drafts this feature recovers.
• Email Templates - the unified email system this template lives in.
• User Dashboard - where users opt out of draft reminders + see/edit their drafts.
• Developer Reference: Hooks - the underlying action + filter signatures.

User Dashboard

Availability: Free + Pro. Free tabs: Overview (stat cards), Listings, Reviews, Favorites, Claims, Credits, Profile. Pro adds the Saved Searches tab (recurring alerts), the My Needs tab (the buyer's posted needs from Needs Marketplace), the My Responses tab (quotes sent by businesses), and Pro-funded credit-balance display in the existing Credits tab.

What it does

The User Dashboard gives listing owners a self-service frontend panel to manage everything related to their presence in your directory - listings, reviews, favorites, claims, credits, and profile - without needing access to the WordPress admin.

Why you'd use it

• Business owners update their own listing details 24/7, reducing support requests.
• Claimants track their claim status without emailing you.
• Users view all their activity in one place, improving retention.
• The dashboard respects permissions - users only see their own data.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. The Setup Wizard creates a Dashboard page automatically. If you skipped the wizard, create a new page and add the User Dashboard block.
2. Make sure the page is not restricted to logged-in users by your theme or a membership plugin - WB Listora handles its own login redirect.
3. Go to Listora → Settings → General to confirm the Dashboard Page is set correctly.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Log in and navigate to the Dashboard page. You'll see four clickable stat cards at the top:

Card	What it shows
Active	Published listings
Pending	Listings awaiting review
Reviews	Total reviews received
Saved	Favorited listings

Clicking any card jumps to the matching tab.

My Listings tab

• See all your submissions with status badges: Published, Pending, Draft, Expired.
• Click Edit to update any listing field, images, or description. Since 1.2.0, the edit form opens inline within the dashboard - no redirect to a separate page.
• Click Add New to start a new listing inline (since 1.2.0), without leaving the dashboard.
• Click Renew on expired listings.
• Click Delete to remove a listing.
• Each listing row shows a Manage Services link. Since 1.2.0, the Services manager opens as a modal dialog rather than scrolling to a panel below the listing row - press Esc, click the backdrop, or click the X button to close it (see Services per Listing).

Reviews tab

• View every review left on your listings.
• Click Reply to post an owner response directly from the dashboard.
• Track your average rating across all listings.

Favorites tab

• See listings you've saved.
• Click the listing title to visit it, or click Remove to unsave.

My Claims tab

• See every claim you've submitted, with a status pill: Pending, Approved, or Rejected.
• Pending claims show an information message while your claim is under review.
• Approved claims show an Edit Listing button - click it to start managing that listing immediately.
• Rejected claims show the rejection reason if one was provided.

Credits tab

• View your current credit balance.
• See your transaction history (top-ups and deductions).
• A Buy Credits CTA links to your credits page (Pro feature - upgrade prompt shown in Free).

Profile tab

• Update your display name, bio, and contact details.
• Changes apply to your WordPress user account.

Welcome banner

After completing the Setup Wizard for the first time, a welcome banner appears on the dashboard. It links to key next steps: add your first listing, customize settings, and read the docs. The banner appears once and disappears after you dismiss it.

Tips

• Pin the dashboard URL in your navigation menu so users can find it easily.
• Set the Dashboard page to Wide template or Full Width in your theme for the best layout.
• If a user's listing is expired, the My Listings tab shows a Renew button - make sure your expiration settings are configured under Listora → Settings → Submissions.
• The Credits tab always appears in Free, but displays a Pro upgrade prompt instead of a balance. This is intentional - it signals to power users that a credits system is available.
• Stat card click-through only works when the matching tab has content. Empty states show a CTA to add a listing or save a favorite.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Dashboard shows a login form instead of content	Verify the Dashboard page uses the User Dashboard block, not a shortcode from another plugin
"My Claims" tab is missing	Claims must be enabled under Listora → Settings → Claims
Stats show 0 even though listings exist	Clear your site cache - stat cards are cached for 60 seconds
User can see other users' listings	Check no third-party plugin is removing the edit_listora_listings capability

Related features

• Business Claims
• Favorites
• Frontend Submission
• Services per Listing

Services per Listing

Availability: Free + Pro. Per-listing service catalog, pricing, search indexing, and Schema.org OfferCatalog markup are Free. Pro adds cross-listing service discovery (/services/search), service-level comparison, and booking-CTA hooks via wb_listora_after_service_detail.

What it does

Listing owners can attach a catalog of services to their listing - each with a name, price, duration, and category. Services appear on the listing detail page in a card grid and are indexed for full-text search, so visitors can find listings by the services they offer.

Why you'd use it

• Businesses showcase their service menu directly in the directory (e.g., a spa listing can list "60-min massage - $80").
• Richer listings attract more engagement and give visitors a reason to contact the business.
• Services are searchable - a visitor searching "haircut" can find salons that explicitly list that service.
• Schema.org OfferCatalog markup is added automatically, improving how Google displays the listing.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Services are enabled by default - no settings toggle required.
2. To create service categories, go to Listora → Service Categories and add your categories (e.g., Treatments, Packages, Consultations).
3. Service categories are optional. Listings can have uncategorized services.
4. You can add services to any listing directly from the WordPress admin by editing a listing post and scrolling to the Services panel.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Adding services from the dashboard:

1. Log in and go to your User Dashboard → My Listings.
2. Click Manage Services next to the listing you want to update.
3. Click Add Service.
4. Fill in the service details:

• Name - the service name (e.g., "Deep Tissue Massage").
• Price - price as a number (e.g., 80).
• Duration - duration in minutes (e.g., 60).
• Category - optional service category.
• Description - a brief description of the service.

5. Click Save. The service appears immediately on the listing detail page.

Editing or deleting a service:

From the Manage Services panel, click the pencil icon to edit or the trash icon to delete any service.

How services appear to visitors:

Services display in a card grid on the Services tab of the listing detail page. Each card shows the name, price, duration, and category badge. Visitors can browse all services without leaving the page.

Tips

• Use service categories to group related offerings - for example, a clinic might have categories "Consultations" and "Procedures."
• Include a duration even for services without a fixed time - visitors appreciate knowing what to expect.
• Set a price to 0 if the service is free or price-on-request - you can note "See website for pricing" in the description.
• Services are included in the full-text search index, so adding specific service names improves discoverability in keyword searches.
• Keep service names concise (under 60 characters) - they appear on cards with limited space.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Services tab not visible on listing detail	Confirm the listing has at least one published service
Services not showing in search results	Wait for the search index to rebuild - it updates when a service is saved; or trigger a manual rebuild under Listora → Settings → Search
"Manage Services" link not visible on dashboard	Check the user is the listing owner or has the edit_listora_listings capability

Related features

• User Dashboard
• Frontend Submission
• Listing Types

Credits and Pricing Plans

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Free sites can use listing limits per role without a credit system.

Monetization is opt-in by default (since 1.2.0)

On a fresh install of WB Listora Pro, the entire credit and pricing-plan system is off by default. Users can submit listings at no cost until you choose to enable it.

To switch it on, go to Listora → Settings → Features and enable the Monetization toggle. This single toggle activates the credit system, pricing plans, coupons, and the payment webhook receiver together.

Upgrading from a version before 1.2.0? Nothing changes for you. The toggle is automatically set to ON for existing installs to preserve your current setup.

Why the submission form no longer shows a Plan step:

If you installed WB Listora Pro for the first time and the "Choose a Plan" step is missing from the submission form, Monetization is off (the default). Enable the toggle in Settings → Features and the plan step appears immediately. See Submission Settings for other form controls.

What it does

WB Listora Pro includes a credit-based payment system. Users purchase credits (via your payment provider of choice), and spend those credits to activate listing plans. Each plan determines how long a listing stays active, whether it gets featured placement, and what perks it includes.

Why you'd use it

• Monetize your directory without a WooCommerce store - credits work with any payment gateway via webhook.
• Pricing plans give you flexible packaging: a free basic plan, a paid featured plan, and a premium plan can all coexist.
• Credits are reusable - users can top up once and submit multiple listings over time.
• The webhook-based topup system is payment-processor-agnostic: Stripe, PayPal, Paddle, or any custom solution works.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

Step 1: Set up the webhook

1. Go to Listora → Settings → Credits and find the Credit System section.
2. Copy the Webhook URL and Webhook Secret.
3. In your payment platform (e.g., Stripe), create a webhook that fires on payment success and posts to that URL. Set the webhook secret as the HMAC key.
4. When a payment succeeds, the webhook credits the purchasing user automatically.

Step 2: Configure the credits page

1. Create a page on your site where users can purchase credits (e.g., an embedded payment form or a link to your payment platform).
2. Go to Listora → Settings → Credits → Credit System and set Credits Page to that page.
3. This page URL is used for "Buy Credits" links throughout the plugin (e.g., when a user can't afford a plan).

Step 3: Create pricing plans

1. Go to Listora → Pricing Plans → Add New Plan.
2. Fill in the plan settings:

• Plan title - the name shown to users (e.g., "Basic", "Featured", "Premium").
• Plan Price (credits) - credits required to purchase this plan. Set to 0 for a free plan.
• Credit Cost - credits deducted per listing submission on this plan.
• Display Price - optional label shown to users (e.g., "$29/month"). This is for display only; actual charging happens via your webhook.
• Duration (days) - how long the listing stays active. Set to 0 for permanent listings.
• Featured Plan - tick this to highlight the plan as recommended in the plan selection step.
• Badge Text - optional label on the plan card (e.g., "Most Popular", "Best Value").
• Plan Perks - checkboxes for: Mark listing as Featured, Priority support, Analytics dashboard access.

3. Publish the plan.
4. Repeat for each plan you want to offer.

Step 4: Verify the plan selection step

When a user submits a new listing, a Choose a Plan step appears in the submission form showing all published plans. Plans the user can't afford are greyed out with a "Buy Credits" link.

Adding credits manually:

Go to Users → Edit User and use the Listora Credits panel to add credits directly without a payment. Useful for comping credits to early adopters or resolving disputes.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

1. Go to the credits purchase page to buy credits.
2. When submitting a listing, the Choose a Plan step shows all available plans with their credit cost, duration, and perks.
3. Select a plan. If you have a coupon code, enter it in the coupon field - the credit cost adjusts immediately.
4. Your credit balance is shown on the plan selection screen. After submitting, the credit cost is deducted from your balance.
5. View your current balance and transaction history in User Dashboard → Credits.

Low balance alerts

Where: the Low Balance Alert field in Listora's credit settings. Default: 5 credits. Set it to 0 to switch the alert off entirely.

When a member's balance falls to the threshold, they are emailed once. The setting has existed for some time; until Pro 1.6.0 nothing acted on it, so the field promised an email that was never sent.

The alert is once per crossing, not once ever. The member is marked as notified when the mail goes out, and that mark is cleared as soon as their balance climbs back above the threshold. So a member who runs low, tops up, and later runs low again is warned both times - but a member sitting below the threshold for a month is not emailed every day.

Requires Pro: the threshold is a Free setting because credits are a shared surface, but the notifier that sends the mail ships in Pro.

Payments and reconciliation

Where: Listora > Payments (Pro).

The Payments screen shows what the gateway actually charged for each transaction, not just what Listora recorded. That distinction matters at reconciliation time: a refund processed at the gateway can be matched against the payment it reverses, so the ledger and the gateway can be squared without exporting both and comparing by hand.

The Transactions screen and the credit settings tab are hidden while monetization is off, so a site that does not sell credits never shows its owner a rate table or a gateway picker it has no use for.

Tax, VAT and GST compliance (EU / UK / Australia and others)

Credits are a digital service. If you sell them to consumers in jurisdictions with consumption tax - EU/UK VAT, Australia/New Zealand GST, and similar - you are generally responsible for charging the correct tax at the buyer's location, issuing a compliant tax invoice, and (for business buyers in the EU) handling reverse-charge with a validated VAT ID. The rules, rates, thresholds, and invoice fields vary by country - confirm your obligations with a tax advisor. This page describes what the plugin does, not legal advice.

Which purchase route you use determines whether tax and invoicing are handled:

• WooCommerce route (recommended when you owe VAT/GST). Sell credits as a WooCommerce product and let WooCommerce + a tax extension (e.g. WooCommerce Tax / an EU-VAT plugin) and an invoice/PDF plugin do the work. WooCommerce then collects the billing address, applies the correct location-based VAT/GST rate, supports B2B VAT-ID reverse-charge, and issues compliant invoices. WB Listora's WooCommerce credit top-up consumes the completed Woo order, so the tax and invoice are produced by your store, configured the way you already run it. This is the compliant path for tax-liable merchants today.
• Direct Stripe / PayPal gateways. The built-in direct credit checkout charges a flat credit price with no tax calculation, no billing-address or VAT-ID collection, and no invoice - it is a fast, low-setup way to take payment, suitable where you have no tax-collection obligation (or where you handle tax/invoicing entirely outside the plugin). It does not make you EU-VAT or GST compliant on its own.

Rule of thumb: if you are registered for (or required to register for) VAT/GST on digital sales to consumers, route credit purchases through WooCommerce. Use the direct Stripe/PayPal gateways only where you have no tax obligation on the sale.

Automatic tax calculation and invoicing on the direct gateways (e.g. Stripe Tax) is on the roadmap; until then, the WooCommerce route is the supported way to stay compliant.

Receipts and refunds (since 1.2.0)

After a successful credit purchase, users receive a receipt email with a summary of what they bought. You can also retrieve a receipt link from the admin: Listora → Transactions → (transaction row).

Refunds can be issued from your payment provider (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) using the standard refund flow. The webhook receiver picks up the refund event, deducts the refunded credits from the user's balance, and rolls back any listing plan that was activated with those credits (the listing returns to a paused state until the user tops up again).

Tips

• Create a free plan (0 credits) alongside paid plans - this lets listing owners submit basic listings without buying credits, then upgrade to paid plans for featured placement.
• Set Duration (days) to 0 for the free plan and a finite number (e.g., 30, 90, or 365) for paid plans. This creates a natural renewal cycle.
• The webhook system is idempotent - duplicate webhook calls (e.g., Stripe retries) will not double-credit a user. Since 1.1.0 the event is recorded before the credit is granted, replayed events are ignored, and a webhook with no transaction id can no longer double-credit. Refunds deduct the real refunded amount, and a refund that arrives after a plan has activated rolls that plan back.
• Sort plans by setting a low Sort Order number for the plan you want shown first.
• If you use the Wbcom Credits SDK alongside other Wbcom plugins, all credit balances are unified - users see a single balance across all products.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Plan step not appearing in submission form	Confirm at least one plan is published under Listora → Pricing Plans
Credits not added after payment	Check the webhook URL and secret are entered correctly in your payment platform
User sees "Not enough credits" on all plans	The user's balance is 0 - direct them to the credits purchase page
Plan duration not applying	Confirm Duration (days) is set to a non-zero value on the plan

Related features

• Coupons
• Analytics
• License Management

Listing Lifecycle Actions

Availability: Free + Pro. The Feature (promote) action is credit-gated in Pro.

The self-service actions a listing owner can take on their own listings from the My Listings dashboard - Renew (extend expiration), Feature (promote, Pro), Deactivate (hide from directory), Reactivate (restore deactivated), Edit (re-open in the submission wizard), Delete (trash), and Report (flag for admin review). These actions consolidate every state transition a vendor can perform without admin intervention.

What it is

Every listing transitions through a small state machine. The lifecycle actions on the dashboard are the customer-facing controls for these transitions:

Action	Status before	Status after	Who can trigger
Renew	publish, listora_expired	publish with new expiration	Listing owner
Feature (Pro)	publish	publish (Featured flag set)	Listing owner with credits / plan
Deactivate	publish	listora_deactivated	Listing owner
Reactivate	listora_deactivated	publish	Listing owner
Edit	any	any (no transition)	Listing owner
Delete	any	(trashed)	Listing owner
Report	any	(no transition, admin notified)	Any logged-in visitor

The same buttons surface in the Listings admin page for admins with edit_others_listora_listings.

How you use it

Renew an expired or expiring listing

1. Open My Listings (/my-listings/).
2. Find the listing showing Expired or Expiring soon.
3. Click Renew.
4. The modal shows the renewal cost (credits if Pro Pricing Plans is on, free otherwise) and the new expiration date.
5. Confirm - the listing transitions back to publish with a fresh expiration.

Renewal pricing comes from /listings/{id}/renewal-quote and the actual renew posts to /listings/{id}/renew. Listings can be renewed at any time within the renewal window (configured on the Pricing Plans).

Deactivate a listing (vendor pause)

1. Open My Listings.
2. Click Deactivate on the row.
3. Confirm in the design-system modal.
4. The listing transitions to listora_deactivated. It disappears from the directory, search results, map markers, and category archives. It still exists in the database - the owner can reactivate any time.

Deactivation does NOT delete reviews, favourites, or claims. It's a soft pause. The View icon disappears from the row when deactivated (since the public URL would 404).

Reactivate a deactivated listing

1. Open My Listings.
2. The deactivated row shows Reactivate instead of Deactivate.
3. Click it. Listing transitions back to publish and reappears everywhere it was before.

Feature a listing (Pro)

Requires the Pricing Plans feature to be on, the listing to have a plan with featured-rotation entitlement (or credits to spend), and featured_listings toggle enabled.

1. Open My Listings.
2. Click Feature on a published listing.
3. The modal shows the cost (credits) and the duration the feature flag stays active.
4. Confirm. The listing immediately joins the listing-featured block's rotation and gets the Featured badge on its card / detail page.

See Featured Listings for the full Featured rotation logic.

Edit an existing listing

1. Open My Listings.
2. Click Edit on the row.
3. The submission wizard re-opens with all fields pre-populated.
4. Make changes, save. Status transitions depend on your Settings → Submissions → Edited submissions flow:

• Auto-publish edits → goes straight back to publish.
• Re-moderate edits → goes to pending until admin re-approves.

Delete a listing

1. Open My Listings.
2. Click Delete on the row.
3. Confirm. The listing transitions to trash (standard WordPress behavior).

Trashed listings disappear from the directory but stay recoverable for 30 days via WP Admin → Listings → Trash. After 30 days WordPress permanently deletes them.

Report a listing (any logged-in visitor)

1. Open any listing detail page.
2. Click Report in the action bar.
3. Pick a reason (spam, inappropriate, wrong category, duplicate, etc.) and optionally add a note.
4. Submit. Listing owner is NOT notified. The report enters the admin Reports queue (Listora → Reports).

REST endpoints

Every action above maps to a single REST route. See REST API for full parameter detail.

Action	Endpoint	Method
Renewal quote (pricing)	/listings/{id}/renewal-quote	GET
Renew	/listings/{id}/renew	POST
Deactivate	/listings/{id}/deactivate	POST
Reactivate	/listings/{id}/reactivate	POST
Feature (Pro)	/listings/{id}/feature	POST
Report	/listings/{id}/report	POST
Edit	/listings/{id}	PUT
Delete	/listings/{id}	DELETE

Permissions

Every action checks the user's relationship to the listing:

• Owner-only (Renew / Feature / Deactivate / Reactivate / Edit / Delete) → post_author === current_user_id OR edit_others_listora_listings.
• Public (Report) → is_user_logged_in() only. Guests can't report.

Admins with edit_others_listora_listings can do any of these from the Listings admin page bypassing the dashboard.

Hooks

Every transition fires a before_ filter (return WP_Error to abort) and after_ action:

• wb_listora_before_renew_listing / wb_listora_after_reactivate_listing / wb_listora_after_deactivate_listing
• wb_listora_listing_status_changed ($post_id, $new_status, $old_status) - single canonical listener point for any state transition. Free's Notifications dispatcher hooks here so approve / reject / expire / renew emails fire from one place.

Full list at Hooks reference.

Related

• User Dashboard - the My Listings page that hosts these actions.
• Featured Listings - the Feature action's downstream rotation.
• Pricing Plans (Pro) - credits + plans that gate Renew / Feature pricing.
• Notifications Settings - emails fired on each transition.
• Moderation Queue - where rejected / reported listings go for admin review.
• REST API - every endpoint above.

Search and Filters

Availability: Free + Pro. Keyword search, faceted filters, Near-Me geolocation, and "Search this area" are Free. Pro adds Advanced Search (custom field filters, saved alerts) and Infinite Scroll on results.

What it does

WB Listora's search system lets visitors find listings by keyword, type, category, location, and distance. It updates results reactively without reloading the page and supports geo-radius queries so users can find listings near them.

Why you'd use it

• Visitors find what they need without scrolling through hundreds of listings.
• Location-based search with "Near Me" geolocation reduces friction on mobile.
• Faceted filters (category, feature, price, rating) let users narrow results in any combination.
• Results stay fast at scale - WB Listora uses a dedicated search index table, not generic WordPress queries.

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

1. Go to Listora → Settings → Search to configure defaults:

• Results per page - how many listings appear per page (default: 12).
• Default sort - the initial sort order when no keyword is entered.
• Distance unit - Kilometers or Miles.
• Default radius - the radius used when a user searches by location without adjusting the slider.

2. Add the Listing Search block to your directory page. See Creating Your Directory Page.
3. Optionally set the Listing Search block to Stacked layout for a taller, full-width appearance suited to homepage hero sections.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

Keyword search: Type any word into the search bar. Autocomplete shows matching listing names. Results search titles, descriptions, custom field values, and service names.

Location search: Type an address into the location field, or click Near Me to use your device's GPS. Results are filtered by distance from that point.

Type tabs: Click a type tab (All, Restaurant, Hotel, etc.) to show only that type.

Advanced filters: Click the filters button to expand the panel. Available filters depend on your listing types:

Filter	Description
Category	Filter by listing category (e.g., Italian, French)
Features	Filter by amenity checkboxes (WiFi, Parking, etc.)
Price range	Minimum and maximum price slider
Rating	Minimum star rating
Geo-radius	Distance slider (requires a location to be entered)
Date range	Start and end date (for Event listing types only)

Active filter pills: Applied filters appear as removable pills below the search bar. Click the × on any pill to remove that filter.

Sort options: Use the sort dropdown in the grid toolbar to change order:

• Relevance (default for keyword searches)
• Newest / Oldest
• Rating (highest first)
• Distance (requires a location)
• Featured (featured listings first)
• Alphabetical (A-Z)

Tips

• Add the Listing Map block alongside the grid to let users see results geographically while filtering - the map updates with the same filters.
• The geo-radius filter only activates once the user enters a location or clicks Near Me. Without a location, the radius slider is hidden.
• For event directories, the date filter is specific to the Event listing type. Configure date fields in Listora → Listing Types → Event.
• Saved Searches (Pro) let logged-in users save any filter combination and receive email alerts when new matching listings are published. See Saved Searches.
• Re-indexing: if you bulk-import listings and search results don't reflect them, go to Listora → Settings → Search and click Rebuild Search Index.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
Keyword search returns no results	Check that the search index was built - activate, then deactivate and reactivate the plugin to trigger a rebuild
"Near Me" button does nothing	The user's browser must allow location access; HTTPS is required
Distance filter not appearing	A location must be entered in the location field first
Date filter missing	Confirm the listing type has date fields configured in Listora → Listing Types

Related features

• Blocks Overview
• Listing Types
• Creating Your Directory Page

Advanced Search

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Power-user search that goes beyond keyword + category - multi-facet filtering (price range, rating, distance radius, custom field values), saved-search alerts that email new matches daily, and a wider field weight tuned for relevance. Built on the same query engine as Free search, just unlocked with more signal.

What it is

Free WB Listora ships a solid search experience - keyword + listing type + category + map radius. Advanced Search extends it for the segments that need more:

• Multi-facet UI - open a "More filters" panel and combine: keyword, type, category, location (with adjustable radius), price range, rating threshold, custom-field values (e.g. amenities for hotels, "remote OK" for jobs), open-now-only for businesses with hours.
• Saved searches - once a visitor finds a filter combo they like, they save it (in their wp_user_meta under _listora_saved_searches).
• Daily email alerts - Action Scheduler job wb_listora_pro_saved_search_alerts runs daily, finds new listings matching any user's saved searches since the last run, and emails matches via the saved-search-alert.php template.
• Tuned relevance - Advanced Search uses a different MySQL MATCH AGAINST weight + a larger candidate pool than Free search, so long-tail queries return more results.
• REST routes - GET /listora/v1/saved-searches, POST /listora/v1/saved-searches, PATCH /listora/v1/saved-searches/{id}, DELETE /listora/v1/saved-searches/{id} - usable by your own mobile app.

Combined with Programmatic SEO Pages, Advanced Search turns the directory into a real search destination - not just a browsing surface.

How you use it

As a site owner - enable + configure

1. Enable the feature: Listora → Settings → Features → Advanced Search (default: off per product design - turn on intentionally; defaults emphasize the simpler search UX).
2. Visit your Directory page in an incognito window - verify a More filters button appears next to the existing search bar. Click it; the multi-facet panel slides open.
3. Tune facet visibility (optional): Settings → Search → Advanced Filters - tick which facets appear (price, rating, custom fields, open-now). Some may not apply to all listing types.
4. Saved-search alerts: Settings → Search → Daily Alerts - toggle on/off globally; per-user override is in each user's dashboard profile.

As a visitor - power-search

1. On the Directory page, click More filters.
2. Set price range, rating, radius, custom fields. Hit Apply.
3. The grid + map update. Refine until you have what you want.
4. Click Save this search → name it ("Pet-friendly hotels in NYC under $200"). The search is stored against your user account.
5. From now on, when a new listing matches your search, you receive an email digest (daily) listing the matches with one-click links.
6. Manage saved searches from your dashboard → Saved Searches tab - edit, rename, disable, delete.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Feature toggle	Settings → Features → Advanced Search	Off	Off by default - enable if your audience benefits from filter density
Facet visibility	Settings → Search → Advanced Filters	All on	Per-facet toggle
Daily alerts	Settings → Search → Daily Alerts	On (when feature enabled)	Per-user override available
Alert cron	wb_listora_pro_saved_search_alerts	Daily	Action Scheduler
Storage (saved searches)	wp_usermeta._listora_saved_searches	-	Per-user, JSON-encoded
Storage (alert state)	wp_usermeta._listora_saved_search_last_alert_at	-	Per-saved-search timestamp

REST routes (logged-in):

• GET /wp-json/listora/v1/saved-searches - list the current user's saved searches.
• POST /wp-json/listora/v1/saved-searches - create one.
• PATCH /wp-json/listora/v1/saved-searches/{id} - rename, change filter, toggle alerts.
• DELETE /wp-json/listora/v1/saved-searches/{id} - delete.

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_pro_advanced_search_facets (filter) - modify the facet list shown in the More-Filters panel per page.
• wb_listora_pro_saved_search_alert_subject (filter) - modify the daily alert email subject.
• wb_listora_pro_saved_search_match_query (filter) - modify the candidate-match SQL (e.g. exclude listings older than 1 hour).

Related

• Search & Filters (Free) - the underlying search engine; Advanced Search is the extended UX on top.
• Saved Searches (Pro) - companion doc focused on the alert flow specifically.
• Programmatic SEO Pages (Pro) - turn high-value filter combinations into indexed landing pages.
• Developer Reference: REST API - /saved-searches/* endpoint shapes.

Infinite Scroll

Availability: Pro only. Requires WB Listora Pro. Replace the paginated grid with infinite scroll or load-more button UX on listing grids - keeps visitors in flow, never breaks scroll position, never requires a click to advance. Choose the mode globally (pagination / load-more / infinite scroll) from Settings; works with every listing-grid block on the site.

What it is

Pagination is the safest default - clear, accessible, screen-reader friendly. But for high-engagement directory browsing (restaurants on a Friday night, real estate, events), endless scroll mirrors how visitors actually browse on phones.

Infinite Scroll is a drop-in mode swap for the existing listing-grid block:

• Three modes - pagination (default), load_more (button at the end of the grid that fetches the next page), infinite_scroll (automatic fetch when the grid bottom enters the viewport).
• One global setting controls all listing-grid blocks site-wide; per-block override is on the roadmap.
• REST-driven - uses the existing GET /listora/v1/listings endpoint with cursor pagination so the n-th page is O(1) (not O(n) like OFFSET).
• Filter wb_listora_grid_output is how the feature replaces the pagination markup with the infinite-scroll trigger / load-more button. Free's grid remains unchanged.
• Card markup injection - the response includes a pre-rendered card_html field (added via inject_card_html) so the client doesn't have to re-render the card template, just append the HTML.
• Sentinel element + IntersectionObserver - when in infinite_scroll mode, a sentinel <div class="listora-grid__load-more-sentinel"> appears at the grid bottom; an observer fires when it enters the viewport and triggers the fetch.
• A11y-aware - pagination remains the default precisely because infinite scroll breaks keyboard-only navigation and the screen-reader experience. Pick the mode appropriate for your audience.

How you use it

As a site owner - choose your pagination mode

1. Enable the feature: Listora → Settings → Features → Infinite Scroll (default: off per product design - pagination is the safe default).
2. Settings → Search → Pagination Mode - radio choice between:

• Pagination (numbered pages) - best for accessibility.
• Load More (button at the end of the grid) - middle ground; keyboard-reachable.
• Infinite Scroll (automatic) - best for mobile flow; weakest for accessibility.

3. Save. The change takes effect site-wide; refresh any directory page to see the new mode.

As a visitor - what changes

Mode	What you see
Pagination	Numbered pagination at the bottom of the grid (1 2 3 …) - Free default.
Load More	A "Load more listings" button at the bottom - click to fetch + append the next page. Scroll position preserved.
Infinite Scroll	Listings auto-append as you scroll. A subtle loader spins near the bottom while fetching. Use the browser's "scroll to top" if you want to go back.

For accessibility, every mode preserves: aria-live updates for screen readers when new cards load; focus management on the next-page first card after Load More; ESC interrupts an active scroll-load.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Feature toggle	Settings → Features → Infinite Scroll	Off	Off by default; pagination is the safer accessibility floor
Pagination mode	Settings → Search → Pagination Mode	pagination	Three modes: pagination / load_more / infinite_scroll
Cards per fetch	(uses per_page from grid block)	12	Configurable per block in the editor
REST source	GET /listora/v1/listings?cursor=…	-	Cursor pagination - O(1) past page 1000

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_pro_pagination_type (filter) - programmatically override the mode (e.g. force load-more for one specific block).
• wb_listora_pro_infinite_scroll_threshold_px (filter) - fire the next fetch when the sentinel is N pixels from entering the viewport (default 200).
• wb_listora_grid_output (filter, Free) - the hook this feature uses to swap the pagination markup. Other extensions can hook the same filter.

Related

• Search & Filters - the underlying grid + search.
• Advanced Search (Pro) - works with all three pagination modes.
• Developer Reference: REST API - cursor pagination contract on /listings.

Browse by Category

Availability: Free + Pro.

Insert a Categories block on any page to give visitors a beautiful, image-and-icon-led category grid - each tile links to a filtered directory view scoped to that category. Tiles render with type colors, listing counts, and an empty-state CTA when no listings exist yet.

What it is

A directory homepage often needs a "browse" surface in addition to a search surface. The Categories block is that - a row or grid of category tiles that visitors click to jump into a pre-filtered listing view.

Each tile shows:

• The category icon (Lucide icon, configurable per category in the admin)
• The category name (taxonomy term)
• A colored tint sourced from the category's --cat-color (set per term in the admin) - tile background is a soft 10% tint of the color; on hover the tile lifts with a -2px translate and a primary border (matches the modernized card surface).
• The listing count in that category - server-rendered so accurate at page load.
• An empty-state path - when a tile has zero listings, it links to the directory home instead of an empty results page.

Hook surface for developers:

• do_action( 'wb_listora_before_categories_grid' ) and wb_listora_after_categories_grid fire around the block - hook your own banners, ads, or CTAs.
• apply_filters( 'wb_listora_category_card_data', $card_data, $term_id ) lets you modify per-tile data before rendering (e.g. customize the link, swap the icon, override the count).

The block is server-rendered (no client-side fetch) and reuses the same --listora-card-border / --listora-radius-xl / --listora-shadow-md tokens as the other modernized list-container surfaces - automatically dark-mode-aware via the theme bridge.

How you use it

As a site owner - place the block

1. Edit a page (your homepage, a "Browse" landing page, etc.).
2. In the block editor, search for Listora Categories and insert it.
3. Inspector controls:

• Listing Type - restrict tiles to one type's categories (e.g. show Restaurant categories only).
• Layout - grid (default) or row (horizontal scroll).
• Columns per row - 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 (responsive - collapses to 1 on mobile).
• Show count - toggle the listing-count badge per tile.
• Sort - alphabetical or by listing count (descending).

4. Configure category colors + icons in the admin: WP Admin → Listora → Categories → edit a term → set Color + Icon (Lucide picker).

As a visitor - what you see

1. The Categories block renders as a grid of colored tiles.
2. Click a tile → land on the directory with that category pre-filtered (/listings/?category={slug}).
3. The grid + map + count badge update; you can stack the category filter with search keywords or other facets.
4. From the filtered view, click the category chip at the top to clear the filter.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Block	Editor → Insert → Listora Categories	-	Server-rendered, no client JS needed for tiles
Per-category color	WP Admin → Listora → Categories → edit term	(auto-assigned)	Drives the tile tint + hover border
Per-category icon	WP Admin → Listora → Categories → edit term	(none)	Lucide icon picker
Per-block columns	Inspector	4	Responsive: collapses to 1 at 640px
Sort	Inspector	Alphabetical	Or by listing count desc
Show count	Inspector	On	Hide the count badge per block if desired

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_before_categories_grid / wb_listora_after_categories_grid (actions) - hook before/after the grid.
• wb_listora_category_card_data (filter) - modify per-tile data (name, link, count, color, icon, image_url).
• wb_listora_categories_query_args (filter) - modify the get_terms() args (filter out specific categories, change ordering).

Related

• Search & Filters - clicking a category tile navigates to the search with the category pre-filtered.
• Listing Types - categories are scoped per listing type; the block's "Listing Type" control filters which categories appear.
• Featured Listings - pair Categories with Featured for a strong homepage layout.
• Developer Reference: Hooks - full categories hook signatures.

Featured Listings

Availability: Free + Pro. Free ships the Featured block, the Featured_Metabox admin one-click feature + _listora_is_featured meta + auto-fill fallback. Pro adds the pricing-plan featured flag + credit-gated rotation.

A dedicated block to surface your best content - featured listings (admin-marked or plan-driven) at the top of the page, with a carousel option for hero layouts. Falls back to top-rated when no manually-featured listings exist, so the block is never empty.

What it is

Most directories need a way to put a thumb on the scale - surface paid premium listings, editorially-promoted picks, or hot new businesses. Featured Listings is that surface, with a graceful empty-state fallback.

The system has three independent inputs that combine cleanly:

1. Manual feature flag (Free) - admins flag any listing via the Featured checkbox in the Edit Listing screen (Featured_Metabox); a _listora_is_featured post-meta key controls the badge + Featured-block inclusion.
2. Pricing-plan featured flag (Pro) - Pricing Plans (Pro) can mark a plan's listings as automatically featured (featured = true in the plan record). Listings on that plan are featured for the plan's duration.
3. Auto-fill fallback - when the Featured block requests 6 listings but only 3 are manually-featured, the remaining 3 fill with top-rated listings of the same type, so the block is never empty.

How it renders:

• Grid mode - N tiles in a responsive grid (1/2/3/4 cols depending on viewport).
• Carousel mode - horizontal scroller with snap-to-card on mobile.
• Featured badge - every card carries a "Featured" pill rendered via the canonical .listora-badge--featured token; same look as the search-grid badge.
• Modernized surface - uses --listora-radius-xl + --listora-shadow-md + --listora-bg-elevated - identical to other list-container surfaces (light + dark inversion automatic).
• Hook surface - do_action( 'wb_listora_before_featured_listings' ), apply_filters( 'wb_listora_featured_query_args', $args ), do_action( 'wb_listora_after_featured_listings' ) - Pro hooks wb_listora_featured_query_args to inject credit-gated rotation when the Featured feature is on.

How you use it

As a site owner - place the block

1. Edit a page - typically your homepage or a "Featured" landing page.
2. Insert the Listora Featured block.
3. Inspector controls:

• Listing Type - restrict to one type (e.g. featured Restaurants only).
• Sort - featured (manual flag first, then top-rated) or top-rated (skip the featured flag entirely).
• Count - how many listings to show (default 6).
• Layout - grid or carousel.
• Show empty-state - what to render when zero matches found.

4. Manually feature a listing: WP Admin → Listora → All Listings → edit a listing → in the right sidebar metabox, tick Featured. Save. The listing now appears in the Featured block.

As a Pro user - credit-gated featured rotation

In Pro, the Featured feature (credit-system + pricing-plans) introduces:

• A "Featured" perk on certain pricing plans - listings on those plans are featured for the plan's duration automatically.
• A daily Action Scheduler job wb_listora_expire_featured that demotes listings whose featured-from-plan period has ended.
• A Featured::feature_listing() API used by both manual and credit-gated paths so rotation logic is shared.

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Block	Editor → Insert → Listora Featured	-	Server-rendered
Manual feature flag	Edit Listing → sidebar metabox → Featured	Off	Free
Auto-fill fallback	(system)	Top-rated	Fills the count gap when manually-featured listings are fewer than the requested count
Pro: featured plan perk	Pricing Plan edit → Featured	Off per plan	When on, listings on the plan are featured automatically
Expiration cron (Free)	wb_listora_expire_featured	Daily	Action Scheduler - demotes listings whose featured period has ended (manual + plan-driven both share this)

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_before_featured_listings / wb_listora_after_featured_listings (actions).
• wb_listora_featured_query_args (filter) - Pro extends via this to enforce credit-gated rotation.
• wb_listora_featured_card_data (filter) - modify per-card data before rendering.

Related

• Pricing Plans (Pro) - plans with the "Featured" perk auto-feature listings.
• Listing Categories (Free) - pair with Featured for a "Browse by Category" + "Editor's Picks" homepage.
• Search & Filters - sort-by-featured is also available in the main grid (not just the dedicated block).
• Developer Reference: Hooks - full Featured hooks list.

Calendar & Events

Availability: Free + Pro.

Show a true monthly events calendar driven by your directory - date-bound listings (Event listing type, or any type with date fields) render on the right day, recurring events expand to virtual occurrences for the current month, and clicking any day or event drills into the listings. Color-coded per listing type, accessible with proper ARIA, mobile-friendly.

What it is

A directory of events without a real calendar is a list of dates pretending to be a calendar. The Listora Calendar block solves three things together:

1. Date-bound listings - any listing with a start_date (and optional end_date) field surfaces on the right day of the month. The Event listing type sets these by default; other types can opt in via custom fields.
2. Recurring events - for listings flagged as recurring (weekly, monthly, custom intervals), the block generates virtual occurrences for the displayed month. A weekly meetup at 7pm Wednesdays produces 4-5 calendar entries automatically; no separate posts needed.
3. Color coding by listing type - each event dot uses the listing's type color (--listora-type-color, the per-type class system) - so a calendar with restaurants, events, and jobs becomes glanceable by category.

How it renders:

• Monthly grid - 7×5 or 7×6 grid, sized to the month. Hover/focus a day shows the event list as a tooltip; click drills into a day-detail view.
• SQL - two phases:
• Phase 1 - SELECT … WHERE start_date in this month for non-recurring events.
• Phase 2 - SELECT … WHERE is_recurring = 1 then PHP-generates virtual occurrences from each recurrence rule within the displayed month.
• Cache-friendly - generated occurrences are computed per-request; no DB rows are persisted for virtual occurrences (so deleting a recurring rule cleans up automatically).
• Hook surface - do_action( 'wb_listora_before_calendar' ), apply_filters( 'wb_listora_calendar_events', $events, $year, $month ), do_action( 'wb_listora_after_calendar' ).

For event-heavy directories (community calendars, meetup hubs, performance schedules) this turns the directory from a list into a navigable timeline.

How you use it

As a site owner - place the block

1. Insert the Listora Calendar block on any page (homepage, dedicated /calendar/ page, sidebar).
2. Inspector controls:

• Listing Type - restrict to one type (e.g. Events only). Leave empty to show all date-bound listings.
• Categories - restrict to specific categories.
• Default month - current month (default) or a specific year+month.
• Show navigation arrows - toggle the prev/next month buttons.
• First day of week - Sunday or Monday (locale-aware default).

3. Save the page. Date-bound listings auto-render on the right days.

As a listing owner - add a calendar event

1. Submit a listing with the Event listing type (or any type that has Start Date in its fields).
2. Fill in Start Date + optional End Date.
3. For recurring events: check Recurring + pick the pattern (weekly / monthly / custom). Pick the days/dates within the pattern.
4. Save. The event appears on the calendar block(s) on your site immediately.
5. For one-off cancellation of a recurring instance: add a Skip Dates entry in the listing.

As a visitor - what you see

• Monthly grid with colored event dots per day.
• Hover a day → tooltip lists events with title + time.
• Click a day → opens a panel listing all events that day, with click-throughs to each listing's detail page.
• Click prev/next month arrows → calendar reloads via the IAPI store (no page reload).

Settings & options

Setting	Location	Default	Notes
Block	Editor → Insert → Listora Calendar	-	Server-rendered, IAPI-powered nav
Date fields	Event listing type (default)	start_date, end_date, is_recurring, recurrence_rule	Other types can opt in via custom fields
Color per dot	--listora-type-color (auto)	Per listing type	Set per type in WP Admin → Listora → Listing Types
Virtual occurrence generation	(system)	Per request, per displayed month	No DB rows; recurrence is computed on read
First day of week	Inspector / locale	Locale default	Per-block override

Developer hooks:

• wb_listora_before_calendar / wb_listora_after_calendar (actions).
• wb_listora_calendar_events (filter) - modify the events array before render; useful to inject external calendar feeds.
• wb_listora_calendar_query_args (filter) - modify the SQL query args.

Related

• Listing Types - the Event type ships with the date fields by default; create custom types and add date fields to use the calendar for them.
• Search & Filters - pair the calendar with type/category search for a discovery surface.
• Featured Listings - a complementary block - Featured for "what's hot now", Calendar for "what's coming up".
• Developer Reference: Hooks - full calendar hooks list.