Welcome to our comprehensive support guide that walks you through the process of adding a listing as a sponsor on the eDirectory platform. As a powerful and versatile platform for building directories, eDirectory offers you the ability for your customers to add listings as sponsors, giving the freedom to add listings whenever they need to.
In this article, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to seamlessly add a listing as a sponsor. Whether you're a seasoned user of the eDirectory platform or just getting started, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to effectively leverage the sponsor feature and enhance the exposure of listings.
Our aim is to empower you with clear and concise directions, accompanied by illustrative screenshots, to make the process as user-friendly as possible. So, let's dive in and discover how you can take advantage of eDirectory's sponsor feature to maximize the impact of your listings and create a more engaging experience for your users. Here are the steps.
1. Upon accessing the site home page, click on "List with us"
2. Choose the listing level you would like for your listing:
3. Type the listing title, pick a listing template, click on "Browse" to select the categories, choose a payment method and click on "Continue".
4. Next, clients will be prompted to either register to the site or if they already have an account, they can click on the option "Are you already a member? Log in" and type their credentials to log in.
5. On the next page, confirm your order, check the box to agree with the terms and hit "Continue"
6. Now, fill out your listing form with all the necessary information. Find below the screenshots and the instructions for the listings fields.
Listing title: Type the listing title on this field.
Categories: Associate the categories you created for the listings by clicking on the dropdown arrow Browse and selecting the categories by clicking on the “+” sign.
Summary Description: Type a summary description for the listing, it has a limit of up to 250 characters. This description is displayed on the summary view of the listings and on the listing detail page.
Description: Type the long description for the listing on this field. Different from the previous field, it does not have a character limit. It is displayed on the listing detail page, when you click on the listing to see more information:
Keywords for the search: Type keywords on this field related to the listing created. These keywords will be searchable when a user types them in the Search box:
Email: Type your listing email contact. The listing detail page will not display the email configured on this field, but it will display a button called "Send a message". When users click on it, they will see a pop-up form for them to fill out with their information and send a message to the email configured on this field.
URL: Type your listing website link using the https:// or the http:// format.
Example: https://www.edirectory.com
When the URL is added to the listing, the listing displays an option called "Visit website", so that when users click on, it redirects them to the configured URL.
Attention: If the URL typed in the URL field does not have either the https:// or the http:// formats, when the user clicks on the link "Visit Website", it will not work correctly, and will display a 404 error. The URL must not be typed only with "www" or without it. Check these examples: www.edirectory.com ❌ edirectory.com ❌ Always type the URL with either the https:// or the http:// formats in this manner: https://www.edirectory.com ✔
Phone number and additional phone: Type the phone number and additional phone number for your listing. They will be displayed on the header of your listing as seen in the screenshot below:
Photo Gallery: Upload photos on this field. Click on Choose file to upload photos from your computer. The images uploaded on this field will be displayed on the listing detail page, and the first photo uploaded will be displayed on the results page when a search is performed on the site.
Listing detail page:
Results page:
Note: The recommended dimension for images on the photo gallery is 1024px x 768px, and only images in JPG, GIF or PNG are supported on eDirectory. Maximum file size should be 5 MB, and animated .gif isn't supported.
Cover image: Upload a cover image for the listings on this field. Click on Choose file to upload an image from your computer. Click on Unsplash to search for a cover image on Unsplash platform integrated to eDirectory. The cover image uploaded on this field will be displayed on the listing detail page.
Note: The recommended dimension for images on the cover image is 1920px x 480px, and only images in JPG, GIF or PNG are supported on eDirectory. Maximum file size should be 5 MB, and animated .gif isn't supported.
Logo image: Upload a logo image for the listings on this field. Click on Choose file to upload an image from your computer. The cover image uploaded on this field will be displayed on the listing detail page.
Note: The recommended dimension for images on the logo image is 250px x 250px, and only images in JPG, GIF or PNG are supported on eDirectory. Maximum file size should be 5 MB, and animated .gif isn't supported.
Address: Type the listing address.
Address 2: Specify if the address is an apartment, suite, building, floor etc.
Zip code: Type the listing zip code.
Country: Click on the dropdown field and select the listing country.
State: Click on the dropdown field and select the listing state.
City: Click on the dropdown field and select the listing City.
Reference: Type your listing reference, such as a landmark or point of reference for your listing location.
Note: After adding and address, zip code, country, state and city to the listing, a map of this location should be displayed. So that your customers can see the location on the map, and click on it to get directions.
Video URL: Type your video YouTube link.
Video description: Type a description for your video.
Attention: If the URL typed in the video URL field does not have either the https:// or the http:// formats, the video may not be displayed correctly. The URL must not be typed only with "www" or without it. Check these examples: www.edirectory.com ❌ edirectory.com ❌ Always type the URL with either the https:// or the http:// formats in this manner: https://www.edirectory.com ✔
Attach additional file: On this field, you can attach additional files that your customer will be able to download, such as a PDF file, word file, or even an image. One example of usage for this field would be a restaurant listing, it is possible to add the menu on this field on a PDF format or in an image format. Simply, click on "Choose file" to select a file from your computer and upload it to your listing. Just below the "Choose file" field, you can type this file's description. If it is a restaurant menu, it can be typed "Menu", for example.
Social networks: Type the link to your listing's social media pages. By default, the supports links for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Attention: If the URL typed in the video URL field does not have either the https:// or the http:// formats, the link may not work correctly. The URL must not be typed only with "www" or without it. Check these examples: www.twitter.com/edirectory ❌ twitter.com/edirectory ❌ Always type the URL with either the https:// or the http:// formats in this manner: https://twitter.com/edirectory. ✔
Features: It is possible to add icons and label them on this field, letting your customer know what features your listing have. For example, on the icon field, you can choose a Wi-Fi icon, and on the name field, you can name it "Free wifi", for example. Click to add the feature, and it will be displayed on the listing.
Hours: Configure the hours for your listing by clicking on "Add hours", or if you need to edit them, click on the pen icon to edit.
Check an example of the abovementioned fields:
SEO Title: This field pulls the information typed on the listing title field automatically. It is not needed to type any information on this field. However, you can change it, if you would like. This is the listing title to be displayed on Google searches.
Slug URL: This field pulls the information typed on the listing title field automatically and turn it into your listing URL. It is not needed to type any information on this field. However, you can change it, if you would like. This is your listing link.
SEO keywords: Type the SEO keywords on this field related to the listing created. These keywords will be searchable when a user types them on Google. You can use the same keywords you used on the "Keywords for the search" field.
Description: Type a description for the listing on this field. This description will be displayed on Google when users perform searches. If you would like, you can use the same description you used on the "Description" field.
7. Next, click on "Save", and a notification will be displayed on the option "Billing". Click on it, and select the option "Check out"
8. On the next page, confirm your purchase, check the items you ordered, select a payment method and hit "Next"
9. Follow the steps to process your payment, and after the payment is successful, your listing should have the status "Active"
Once the listing is active, it is already live on the site, and the users will be able to access it.
Note: If even after the payment was successful and the listing is not active yet, contact your site managers, so they can confirm the payment and approve the listing to be active on the site.