Running a free directory is straightforward. Charging vendors for listings is where most Directorist site owners run into configuration problems. The paid listing system routes through WooCommerce, which means there are two systems to configure correctly before money changes hands. This guide covers the complete setup from WooCommerce installation to a vendor’s first paid submission.
Why Directorist Uses WooCommerce for Payments
Directorist delegates payment processing to WooCommerce rather than building its own checkout. This is a deliberate architectural choice that has real advantages: you can use any WooCommerce-compatible payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, bank transfer, or dozens of others), recurring subscriptions work through WooCommerce Subscriptions, and your financial reporting is centralised in one place rather than split between a directory plugin and a separate payment system.
The trade-off is that both systems need to be configured correctly and kept in sync. When a vendor buys a listing plan, the transaction flows through WooCommerce – the WooCommerce order is what triggers the listing activation in Directorist. If this connection breaks, you get paid vendors whose listings stay pending. Understanding this flow makes troubleshooting faster when something goes wrong.
Step 1: Install and Configure WooCommerce
Install WooCommerce from WordPress.org and run the setup wizard. For a directory-only site where all sales are listing plans (not physical or digital products), configure WooCommerce minimally: set your currency, enable your preferred payment gateway (Stripe is the most reliable for most markets), and configure the checkout page. You do not need shipping, tax, or product catalog settings for a listing-only setup, though WooCommerce will prompt you to configure them.
Connect Stripe through WooCommerce -> Settings -> Payments -> Stripe. Enter your Stripe publishable and secret keys from your Stripe dashboard. Enable the gateway. Run a test transaction with Stripe’s test card number (4242 4242 4242 4242) before activating real payments to verify the checkout flow works end to end.
Step 2: Install the Directorist Monetisation Extension
The paid listing functionality in Directorist requires the Monetisation extension, which is part of the Directorist Business or Developer plans. Install it from your Directorist account dashboard and activate it. Go to Directorist -> Extensions and verify the Monetisation extension shows as active. After activation, a new “Pricing Plans” menu appears under the Directorist menu in WordPress admin.
Step 3: Create Your Listing Plans
Go to Directorist -> Pricing Plans -> Add New Plan. Think about your plan structure before creating plans – changing plans after vendors have subscribed to them can cause billing complications. A typical directory structure uses three tiers:
- Free plan – one listing, basic fields only, no photos or limited to one photo, no featured badge, listing expires after 30 days. This tier lets vendors test your directory before paying and gives you initial content to show paying vendors the value of the directory.
- Standard plan – up to 3 listings, photos enabled (up to 5 per listing), standard fields, 90-day listing duration, no featured badge. Price this at whatever your market supports – research competitor directories in your niche.
- Featured plan – unlimited listings or a higher cap, all photos, all fields including video, featured badge on all listings, priority placement in search results, 12-month duration. Price this at 2-3x the Standard plan.
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Configuring Each Plan in Detail
For each plan, the settings that matter most:
Plan type – one-time payment or recurring subscription. One-time means the vendor pays once and the listing runs for the configured duration. Recurring means they pay monthly or annually and the listing stays active as long as they keep paying. Recurring requires WooCommerce Subscriptions ($279/year from WooCommerce) in addition to the Directorist Monetisation extension. If you do not have WooCommerce Subscriptions, stick to one-time plans.
Listing expiry – when listings under this plan expire. Set this meaningfully – a 30-day expiry on a Standard plan forces vendors to renew monthly, which is appropriate for time-sensitive listings (jobs, events) but annoying for permanent business listings. Business directories typically use 6 or 12-month expiry on paid plans.
Featured listing – whether listings under this plan get a “Featured” badge and priority placement. Only enable this for your highest tier – the scarcity of featured badges is what makes them valuable to vendors.
Allowed fields and media – which custom fields vendors can fill in under this plan. Restricting photo uploads and video to paid tiers is the most effective way to show vendors what they get for paying.
Step 4: Connect Plans to WooCommerce Products
After creating your plans in Directorist, go to WooCommerce -> Products. Directorist automatically creates a WooCommerce product for each listing plan. Verify these products exist and are set to the correct price. Each product is linked to a Directorist plan – when a vendor purchases the WooCommerce product, Directorist activates the corresponding plan for their account.
Do not delete these auto-created products. If you need to change the price, edit the WooCommerce product directly rather than changing it only in Directorist settings. The price displayed in the Directorist plan listing page comes from the WooCommerce product price, not from a separate Directorist price field.
Step 5: Test the Complete Vendor Flow
Create a test WordPress user with no admin privileges and log in as that user. Go to your directory’s listing submission page. Select a paid plan. You should be redirected to WooCommerce checkout with the plan product in the cart. Complete checkout with a Stripe test card. After payment, return to the directory and verify that the listing submission form is now available and that the plan appears in the vendor’s account dashboard.
If the submission form does not appear after payment, the connection between WooCommerce order completion and Directorist plan activation is broken. This is usually caused by a WooCommerce webhook or action hook not firing correctly. Check WooCommerce -> Status -> Logs for any errors during the test checkout.
Handling Free Trials
If you want to offer a trial period before charging (common for launching a new directory where you need vendor buy-in before asking for money), configure the trial in the WooCommerce product for the plan rather than in Directorist settings. For recurring plans using WooCommerce Subscriptions, set the free trial period in the subscription product settings. For one-time plans, create a separate coupon that discounts the first payment to zero and expires after a set date.
Common Problems and Fixes
Vendor paid but listing is still in pending review status: The listing pending status is set by Directorist’s moderation setting, which is separate from the payment status. Go to Directorist -> Directory Types -> [your type] -> Moderation and check whether admin approval is required. If it is, payment alone does not publish the listing – you still need to manually approve. Decide whether paid listings should skip moderation and configure accordingly.
WooCommerce order shows completed but plan not activated: Go to WooCommerce -> Orders -> [the order] and check the order notes. Directorist should log a note when it activates a plan. If no note exists, the Directorist hook did not fire. Deactivate and reactivate the Monetisation extension, then manually mark the order as complete again from the order edit screen to re-trigger the hooks.
Vendor cannot see their plan in their account after payment: Verify the vendor’s WordPress user account is the same one that placed the WooCommerce order. If they checked out as a guest and a new account was created, the new account is different from an existing account. The plan activates on the account that purchased – merge or transfer if needed.