How to Create an Account as a Visitor

Introduction

In the dynamic ecosystem of an online directory, visitors are the lifeblood, driving engagement and providing valuable feedback. They represent the end-users, the clients of your sponsors, who interact with listings, contribute ratings and reviews, and ultimately shape the directory's reputation. eDirectory recognizes the importance of these users by providing a seamless system for creating visitor accounts. This article will guide you through the various scenarios where visitors can register, highlighting the importance of these accounts for fostering community interaction and enhancing user experience.

Understanding Visitor Accounts

Visitor accounts enable users to actively participate in your eDirectory platform. Upon registration, visitors gain the ability to rate and review listings, add listings to their favorites, and create public profiles. These profiles, accessible via [yourdomain.com]/profile/ , serve as a hub for visitor activity and contributions, fostering a sense of community and transparency. The visitor dashboard allows an easy way to interact with the directory, and allows for the user to rate and review listings, and add listings to their favorites.

Scenarios for Visitor Account Creation

eDirectory offers multiple avenues for visitors to create accounts, ensuring accessibility and convenience. Here are the three primary scenarios:

Adding a Review:
- When a visitor wishes to share their experience by adding a review to a listing, they are prompted to create a visitor account.
- This registration process is triggered when the visitor clicks the "Add Review" option.

Note: This functionality is contingent on the "Visitors need to login before posting reviews for listings" setting being enabled in Settings → General Settings. This setting ensures that reviews are authentic and traceable.

Adding a Listing to Favorites:
- Visitors who wish to save listings for future reference can add them to their favorites.
- Upon clicking the "Add to Favorites" option, unregistered visitors are prompted to create an account.
- This feature encourages user engagement and allows visitors to personalize their experience within the directory.

Registering on the Home Page:
- Visitors can also create an account directly from the home page by clicking the "Sign in" button.
- This option provides a straightforward registration path for users who wish to explore the directory's features and contribute to the community.

Important Note: Both sponsors and visitors can utilize the "Sign in" button on the home page to access their respective accounts.

Site managers DO NOT sign in from the home page, only sponsors and visitors do. In order to access the site manager area of your website, it is necessary to access the specific site manager log in area, which is hidden from the users of the site. The way to access this area is by adding to the URL of your site, the extension /sitemgr

For example: Here's your domain www.test.com, simply add /sitemgr to it: www.test.com/sitemgr

When accessing this URL, this log in area will be displayed:

Conclusion

Facilitating the creation of visitor accounts is essential for building a vibrant and interactive eDirectory platform. By providing multiple registration options, you empower users to actively participate in the directory's community. These accounts not only enable visitors to contribute valuable feedback and personalize their experience but also enhance the overall credibility and engagement of your platform. By understanding how visitors create accounts, you enable yourself to tailor your site to provide the greatest user experience possible. The ability to rate, review, and favorite listings allows for increased visitor engagement, and helps build trust within the directory.