Here are five features to make sure you have when creating your own classified website:
1. Ensure A Searchable Database in Your Classified Website:
A searchable database is a standard feature in the development of a classified website.
Here are a few tips on how to do this:
Ensure You Choose the Right Keywords:
When creating your content, ensure you choose the right keywords to include your descriptions. These keywords will be used to search for information on your website.
Allow Your Search to Use Boolean operators:
Allow your users to boolean operators. Boolean operators allow you to search for specific information on the website. For example, you can use the AND operator to find content that have both the words "classified" and “website" in them.
Allow Your Search to Use Quotation Marks:
When using quotation marks, you can find content that has the exact phrase you are searching for. For example, if you search for "classified website", you will only find websites that have this exact phrase in them.
Allow Your Search to Use Wildcards:
Wildcards are a great way to find new content. They allow you to search for a specific word or phrase. For example, if you search for "cl*ssified website", you will find websites that have the word "classified" in them, as well as any other words that start with "cl".
2. Ensure The Categories Are Easy to Navigate
Including easy navigating categories, users will find it easier to find what they are looking for.
Start by deciding what types of categories you want to include as well as how you want to organize the categories.
3. Ensure Classified Listings are Detailed
Ensuring listings are detailed and comprehensive will make your website more attractive as users will quickly find the information they need rather than having to contact the sellers.
Detailed listings are particularly important for classified websites because they provide the user with all the information they need to make a decision about whether to contact the seller.
4. Ensure Classified Listings Have Easy Access to Contact Information
Ensuring listings have simple access to contact information allows people who are interested in your classifieds to get in touch with you to ask questions or inquire about buying or selling items. The easier is to contact individuals, the less likely they will go to another website.
There are a few different ways you can provide contact information on your website. The most common way is to include a contact form that people can fill out and submit. This contact form should include at minimum fields for the person's name, email address, and message. It's not recommended that one include a direct email address or phone number on the website as it leads to a considerable amount of spam.
You may also want to provide support on your classified listing contact via a chat widget. If you're looking for one, the Hubspot chat widget is free to use to start off.
5. Ensure the Classified Listings Have Lots of Images
Encourage your users to provide lots of images relevant to the items they are selling. Second, encourage your users to provide high-quality images.
By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your website is well-stocked with quality images that will help to attract users and make your website more successful.
Additional Features You May Want to Consider
Simple Ad Management
Ensure you have a good ad management system set up as part of any classified website. You'll need to be able to track the ads that are being posted, approved, and expire. You'll also need to be able to control the placement of ads on your site and set limits on how many ads a user can post.
There are a few different ways to manage ads on a classified website. You can use a plugin or extension, or you can use a custom solution. Yclas has ad management built-in already.
Payment Integration
In order to generate revenue from your classified website, you may want to integrate a payment system. Payment systems will allow you to charge users to pay for ad space on your website.
Once you have selected a payment provider, you will need to integrate their API into your website. This can be a bit technical, so if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, you may need to hire a developer. If you use a provider like Yclas, it will have been done out of the box already.
Messaging System
A messaging system is a key feature for any classified website.
Why? Messaging systems allow users to communicate with each other without revealing their personal information.
This is especially important for buyers and sellers who don't know each other and want to establish a rapport before meeting in person or completing a transaction online.
Easy Registration and Login Management
Registration allows users to create an account on the website. This account can be used to save listings, contact sellers, and more. A login account is required in order to access the account.
Easy Classified Website Management
Want to know more about starting a classified website. Start with a free trial from Yclas.
