Run a business directory

Directory mode turns listings into business pages: a plumber, a restaurant or a shop gets its opening hours with an Open now badge, a list of services with prices, its social links and a Request a quote button. Businesses can claim the listing you added for them, and you can charge them for every quote request they receive.

Use it for a local business directory, a guide to services in your area, or a classifieds site that also lists the businesses around it.

Directory mode is available on every plan. The business details, claims and quote requests on listing pages work with the Nova theme.

Switch directory mode on

Directory mode is off on existing sites. A new site created as a directory or services marketplace in the sign-up wizard starts with it on.

1. Go to Settings › General.
2. In Directory, set Site type to Directory (businesses) or Both.
3. Click Save changes in the bar at the bottom.

Classifieds is the normal marketplace without the directory tools. Directory (businesses) and Both switch on the same tools: pick the one that describes your site.

When you save, Yclas adds the business fields to your posting form (see below). Once directory mode is on, the Directory section also shows where everything else lives: the business fields, claims waiting for you, how quote requests are billed, and whether business seller accounts are on.

If Site type is greyed out with Set by Yclas support for your site., ask us through Support to change it. If it says Available after the next update of your site., check again a little later.

To switch it off again, choose Classifieds and save. Business listings stay on your site as normal listings.

The business fields

Directory mode adds these custom fields to the posting form. You can also add them yourself with the Directory template under Start from a template in Listings › Custom Fields.

Field	What it does
This is a business	A tick box. Only listings with it ticked get the business details, claims and quote requests.
Opening hours	Hours for each day. The listing shows an Open now or Closed badge next to its title and a weekly timetable.
Services and price list	A short list of services, each with a price, shown as Services and prices. A service without a price shows On request.
Social links	Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn profile links, shown as icons under Follow.
Venue and Event end date	For events: where it takes place and when it finishes, next to the event date.

The fields apply to every category. Open each one in Listings › Custom Fields to limit it to your business categories. The business’s website comes from the listing’s own Website field.

In Nova and the Atlantic-based themes, sellers get a simple editor for services and social links. In older themes they are plain text boxes.

Claims: let businesses take over their listing

Directories often start with listings the owner adds: you list the local businesses yourself, then invite them to take them over. A signed-in member who works for the business clicks Claim this business on its listing.

• Verified by email. If the listing has a website, the member can give an email address at the website’s domain, for example anna@bakery.com for bakery.com. They get a 6-digit code, valid for 30 minutes, and type it on the listing. If the listing still belongs to you (an administrator), it moves to their account straight away.
• Reviewed by you. Every other claim waits for you, with the member’s message (How can we check it is your business?). This includes verified claims on a listing that already belongs to another member.

Review claims in Listings › Claims in the sidebar, which shows how many are waiting. Click Approve to give the listing to the member, or Reject. Under Latest decisions you see who decided each claim, how and when.

The listing’s current owner is always emailed when someone claims it and when it changes hands. A listing that belongs to an approved business seller account can’t be claimed: that business already manages it. Each member can make up to 5 claims a day.

Quote requests

Every business listing has a Get a quote box with a Request a quote button. Visitors don’t need an account: they give their name, email, an optional phone number and what they need, and click Send request. The business is emailed about each request.

This is the directory’s lead form, sent to the business by email. It’s different from Request a quote, where a buyer asks a seller for a price in messages and pays it online.

Requests have spam protection: a hidden trap field, a check that the form was sent from your site, Cloudflare Turnstile when your site uses it, and a daily limit per visitor.

Free or paid

Out of the box, quote requests are free: the business gets the visitor’s contact details by email straight away. You can instead charge businesses for them, which is a common way for a directory to earn money.

1. Click Make money in the sidebar and choose Charge sellers.
2. In What sellers pay for, switch on Quote requests.
3. Choose how to charge (see the table) and set the Price per lead.
4. Finish the steps and click Save and switch on. See Make money for the rest of the page.

Billing	How it works
Per lead	Each request creates an order for the business. The business is emailed that a request arrived, with a link to pay. The visitor’s name, email, phone and message are sent once it pays.
Included in the plan	Each membership plan includes a number of requests per period, set in Quote requests included on the plan’s page. Requests beyond that are charged per lead. Needs seller plans on.

Businesses pay through the payment methods you’ve set up, like any other order. Requests to a listing that still belongs to you are never charged: you get them in full.

Listings › Leads lists every request with the listing, the sender, the message and how it was billed: Free, Awaiting payment, Paid, Plan credit or Refunded.

Emails

Reword them in Email templates:

Template	Sent to	When
directory-claim-code	The claimant, at the business address	With the code to confirm a claim.
directory-claim-received	The listing’s owner	Someone claimed their listing.
directory-claim-approved	The claimant	Their claim was approved.
directory-claim-transferred	The previous owner	The listing changed hands.
directory-new-lead	The business	A quote request, with the visitor’s contact details (free, or once paid for).
directory-new-lead-paid	The business	A request it must pay for, with a link to pay.

With the AI page builder

If your plan includes the AI page builder, ask it for directory sections on your home page: featured businesses, a “claim your business” call to action, upcoming events, or a quote form that sends one request to up to 5 matching businesses in a category.

Good to know

• Only listings with This is a business ticked get the business details. Ordinary listings look as they did.
• The Claims and Leads pages are for administrators. They appear in the sidebar once directory mode is on.
• A visitor’s contact details are sent by email; the business doesn’t see them in its account. You see them all in Leads.
• For dealers and agencies who post many listings, also look at business seller accounts.

Related guides

• Business sellers — business accounts with a badge, trader details and bulk import.
• Special custom fields — opening hours, event dates and more.
• Membership plans — include quote requests in a plan.
• Marketplace ideas — other ways to set up your site.