A directory website builder with the hard parts already built.

Yclas is a directory website builder for town guides, trade directories and niche listings. Business pages come with opening hours and a map, owners claim and update their own page, customers leave reviews the business can answer, and you sell sponsored places and banners. Choose a directory in the setup wizard and the categories and fields are made for you.

Build my directory See it in action

Free for 15 days · No credit card · Plans from $19 a month

Real screenshot

frontrange.yclas.com

The home page of Front Range Local, a demo business directory built with Yclas

60businesses per Google Places search, to fill a new directory

20branches per business, each with its own pin on the map

4businesses a visitor can compare side by side

$0commission taken by Yclas on what your directory earns

What an online directory builder must give you

Four things decide whether a directory works.

A directory is only useful when it is full, current and trusted, and it only lasts if it pays for itself. Each of those is a part of Yclas you switch on.

Full on day oneImport businesses from a spreadsheet or from Google Places, so visitors never land on an empty page.

CurrentOwners claim their page and keep hours, services, photos and branches up to date themselves.

TrustedReviews with photos and replies, a review guard against fake ones, and Licensed and Insured badges.

Paid forSponsored places, banner space by the week, paid leads and featured listings.

See it working

A directory built with Yclas, page by page.

Real screenshots of Front Range Local, our demo directory of garages, car dealers and bike shops around Denver. The businesses and reviews are made up; the pages are the product.

frontrange.yclas.com

Front Range Local home page with a what and where search

Directory mode Every plan

Switch the site to directory, classifieds or both.

The site type is one setting. In directory mode every listing can be a business, and one click adds the directory fields: a business flag, weekly opening hours, a price list of services, social links, and an event venue and end date for directories that list events too. Add your own fields on top, such as "Pet friendly" or "Languages spoken", and make any of them a search filter.

Categories and locations as deep as you need: town, then neighbourhood.
Attributes like wheelchair access, parking and free Wi-Fi, also as filters.
LocalBusiness structured data on every business page, with hours and coordinates.

Custom fields in the admin — Your own fields

Start full Every plan

Import the businesses before you launch.

Upload a CSV of businesses, or search Google Places for a kind of business near a place and import the results as pages their owners can claim. Each search brings up to 60 businesses within 1 to 50 km, with address, map point, phone, website and hours. Closed businesses and ones you already have are skipped.

Your own Google key, billed by Google. No photos are imported, as Google's terms require.
Imported pages belong to you until the business claims them.

Owners do the updating, you keep control.

A business claims its page with a six-digit code sent to an email at its own website's domain, valid for 30 minutes. Disputed claims wait in your queue. Once in, owners edit hours, special hours for up to 30 dates, services, photos and up to 20 branches, and see what the page brings them on a Performance page.

Licensed and Insured badges after your team checks the documents, valid for a year.
Performance: calls, website clicks, directions and the searches that found them, over 7, 30 or 90 days.

Verified business, Top rated, Licensed and Insured badges — Badges

A business adding its branches — Branches

Classifieds directory software Every plan

Business pages and a buy-and-sell board on one site.

Many town sites want both: a guide to local businesses and a place where people sell a sofa or a bike. Set the site type to both and the same search, accounts, messages and payments serve each. Businesses can post offers and stock as ordinary listings next to their page.

One account for a resident who reviews a café and sells a pram.
Separate categories so business pages and private listings never mix in results.

What the directory website builder includes.

Starter is $19 a month for up to 5,000 listings. Professional adds memberships for businesses, bookings and a multilingual site.

For visitors

Search by what, where and category
Open now filter and badges
Map of businesses and branches
Reviews with photos and replies
Compare up to four businesses
Request a quote from one or several
Deals page and saved searches

For businesses

Claim the page by email code
Hours, special hours, services, photos
Up to 20 branches
Reply to reviews in public
Invite customers to review
Performance page and monthly report

For you, the owner

Directory, classifieds or both
CSV and Google Places import
Claims queue with a record of decisions
Review guard and reports
Sponsored places and banner zones
Your domain, SSL and backups
109 looks and a visual editor

Revenue

How the directory pays for itself.

Keep the basic listing free so every business is in it. Charge for visibility and for customers.

Sponsored placesTwo or three spots above a category's results.e.g. $15 / 7 days

Banner zonesTop of every page or between results, booked by the week.e.g. $25 / week

Paid leadsA business pays to see a customer's contact details.e.g. $4 / lead

Featured listingsA badge and a place on the home page.e.g. $9 / 30 days

Prices are examples: you set your own, in your currency. Yclas takes no commission on what you earn. All the ways to make money →

Launch plan

From sign-up to a directory people use.

Describe itTell the setup wizard what the directory covers. Categories, directory fields and an About page are written for you.
Pick a lookChoose one of 109 looks and set your colours and logo.
ImportBring in businesses from a CSV file or Google Places.
Invite ownersEmail the businesses and add the "Claim your business" section to the home page.
Sell spaceSwitch on sponsored places, banners and paid leads once visitors arrive.

Questions

Directory website builder FAQ

Part of:

Business directory

What is a directory website builder?

A tool that makes a website listing businesses or places, with a page for each one, search, a map and categories, without writing code. Yclas adds what a directory needs to grow: claims, reviews, opening hours, quote requests and paid placements.

Is an online directory builder better than a WordPress directory plugin?

It depends on who maintains it. A plugin runs on your own WordPress hosting, and you combine and update the add-ons. Yclas is hosted: claims, reviews, leads and payments are built in, and we run the servers and updates.

How much does it cost?

Starter is $19 a month for up to 5,000 listings. Professional is $99 a month and adds memberships, bookings and a multilingual site. Every plan starts with a free 15-day trial and no credit card.

Can businesses update their own page?

Yes. They claim it with a code sent to an email at their own website's domain, or through your claims queue, then edit hours, services, photos, branches and deals from their account.

Can I fill it without typing every business?

Yes. Import a CSV file, or Google Places results with your own Google key, up to 60 businesses per search.

Can it be classifieds directory software too?

Yes. Set the site type to both and run business pages next to classified ads, with one search and one set of accounts.

Do I need the Nova theme?

The basics work on every theme. Branches, deals, banner zones, the review extras and the Open now chip need Nova, the default theme for new sites.

Can I use my own domain?

Yes. Connect it from your admin; SSL is included and paid plans show no Yclas branding.