eDirectory - Support Center

Welcome to our comprehensive support guide that walks you through the process of adding content 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 content as sponsors, giving the freedom to add it whenever they need to. 

In this article, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to seamlessly add content 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.

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. 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. Next, a payment confirmation page will be displayed. Click on "Go to dashboard". 

6. A subscription page will be displayed, allowing the user to add the content they subscribed to. Click on "Add Listing" to add your listing to the site. 

7. Now, choose the listing template under which you would like to be listed under, and click on "Select template". 

8. Now, fill out your listing form with all the necessary information. Find below the screenshots and the instructions for the listings fields. 

Listing title

• Backend: Type the listing title in the provided field.
• Frontend: The listing title appears as the main heading on the listing's detail page and on the thumbnail.

Backend	Frontend
	Thumbnail:  Detail page:

Categories

• Backend: Associate the listing with categories by selecting them from the dropdown and clicking the "+" sign.
• Frontend: Categories are displayed below the title on the listing detail page, and on the category widgets.

Backend	Frontend
	Category widget:  Detail page:

⚠️ Attention: Only main categories will appear in the category widgets. Subcategories are not displayed in the widgets, but can be viewed on the results page. When a user clicks on a main category from the widget, they will be directed to a page where the subcategories are shown.

For example, the above listing example is categorized under "Golf," which is a subcategory of "Sports". We can see that it will only show "Sports" in the widget. Clicking on "Sports" will take the user to the results page, where they can see the associated subcategories.

Summary Description (250 Characters Limit)

• Backend: Add a summary description (limit: 250 characters). 
• Frontend: This is displayed in summary views and on the listing detail page. 

Backend	Frontend
	Summary views:  Detail page:

Description (No Character Limit)

• Backend: Provide a detailed description. There is no character limit.
• Frontend: This will appear in the listing’s detail page under the description section, , when you click on the listing to see more information: 

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

Keywords for Search

• Backend: Add relevant keywords for search. Users will be able to find the listing by these terms.
• Frontend: Keywords are used in the site's internal search engine for user searches, and when typed in the search box, the user will be able to find the listing.

Backend	Frontend
	Search:

Email

• Backend: Add an email for contact. The email is hidden from users but appears as a "Send a Message" button.
• Frontend: Users access the listing detail page, and click the "Send a Message" button, a form pops up for the user to send a message to the provided email.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

⚠️ Attention: If you would like to learn more on how the "Send a message" feature works, please, access our instructional article about leads: Understanding Leads in eDirectory

URL (Listing Link)

• Backend: Add the URL for the listing's website in the format https:// or http://.
• Frontend: The URL appears as a “Visit Website” button, redirecting users to the configured URL.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

⚠️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

• Backend: Add the listing’s contact number.
• Frontend: The phone numbers appear in the listing header.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

Photo Gallery

• Backend: Upload photos (JPG, GIF, PNG; recommended size: 1024px x 768px). It is possible to select which photo from the photo gallery will display the listing thumbnail by clicking on the desired photo and when a blue bar appears on the left side of the photo, it means this photo is selected to display as a thumbnail.
• Frontend: The selected photo to display will be displayed on the summary page; all images are shown on the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	Thumbnail:  Detail 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

• Backend: Upload a cover image (recommended size: 1920px x 480px).  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.
• Frontend: This appears as the main image at the top of the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	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

• Backend: Upload a logo image (recommended size:250px x 250px).  Click on Choose file to upload an image from your computer. 
• Frontend: This appears as the main image at the top of the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	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.

Location information

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

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. 


If your site is still not displaying the Google maps, it is needed to configure the Google Maps API key. In order to check out these steps, please, check out our instructional article: How to activate Google Maps and Nearby Results APIs

Video URL and description

• Backend: Add the URL for your video YouTube link and its description.
• Frontend: The video is displayed in the listing detail page. 

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

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

• Backend: 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.
• Frontend: The file will be displayed in an icon format with its description.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

Badges

• Backend: Assign a badge to the listings of your site by selecting the desired badge and saving changes. 
• Frontend: The badges are displayed in the header of the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

Attention: In order to have badges in your listing form, it is needed to upload them to your site first. Please, check out this article on how to upload badges to your eDirectory website: Setting up Awards & Badges

Social networks

• Backend: Type the link to your listing's social media pages. By default, the supports links for Facebook, Instagram, X,  LinkedIn, and TikTok. 
• Frontend: The social networks are displayed in a button format in the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

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

• Backend:  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.
• Frontend: The features are displayed in an icon format in the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

Hours

• Backend:  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.
• Frontend: The hours are displayed in the body of the listing detail page.

Backend	Frontend
	Detail page:

Check this general example of the abovementioned fields: King Golf Club

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. 

9. Next, click on "Save" to save your lisitng. After saving the listing, a message will be displayed saying that the listing was successfully saved. 

10. Now, click on the option "Dashboard" to check on your newly added listing. 

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.