A few years ago, if you wanted to build a complex website like Yelp, it would take a professional developer or digital agency hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to get it up and running.
It doesn’t even all of them Covering bug fixes, content additions, and design updates in the future.
Reading: How to create a yelp like website
Now there are much easier and more affordable options, even for those of you who have never written a line of code in your program live (and don’t feel like it ).
Granted, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but if you love to learn and follow simple instructions, with a support team by your side whenever there’s a problem, you can have a site like Yelp in no time Time, for less than $200.
How to start a site like Yelp
To start, there are a few initial steps you need to take before you get started in the Yelp-specific layout. These steps don’t take too long and are easy to complete with the additional instructions provided below.
Here’s a quick look at the website you’ll be creating:
Read More Learn how to create such a website!
1. Buy your domain name
First you need to get a domain name – the address that people type into their internet browser to go to your website.
Choosing the right name is important to avoid confusion and typos. The last thing you want is for a potential customer to accidentally find your competitor’s website! Ideally, choose your company name, but this is not always available. The next best option is to use acronyms or simple alternatives that are easy to spell and remember.
If you don’t decide on a new top-level domain extension, it won’t cost much more than 10 bis $30 per year. You can browse your options with companies like GoDaddy and Namecheap.
2. Pick a web host
To keep your website up and running, you need a quality hosting company.
The web host provides server space for your website, so when people put your domain name in their Enter browser, connect to the servers and voila, your website is displayed. You can’t have a website online without hosting.
There are many hosts available, but I recommend you use Nexcess.
Nexcess has been around for years and is both reliable and affordable .
See also: Free vs Premium WordPress Themes (Pros and Cons)
An advantage of using Nexcess is their WordPress hosting plan which offers excellent performance and a live WordPress site automatically created for you.
Click here to create your WordPress site with Nexcess now.
3. Set up WordPress
WordPress is the platform you will use to access and customize your new website.
WordPress is open source and always free to use. There’s no account creation, and when you sign up for Nexcess, there’s not even an installation process. They create the website for you automatically.
Once WordPress is installed, you get a basic website that you can add any WordPress themes and plugins to add Yelp-like design and functionality.
With billions of dollars in development investment in WordPress and the themes and plugins you’ll be using (mostly free), you can skip coding altogether and enjoy your new website right away.
Click here for an in-depth tutorial on how to find a good domain, get hosting, and build your WordPress site.
Why WordPress
With 15 years of proven success, WordPress is turning 30 today % of the top 10 million websites use and is one of the oldest and most trusted website development platforms on the market today.
Another benefit of WordPress is the level of support and community it has over the Years built to both beginners n as well as experienced programmers and designers.
The tremendous popularity of WordPress has enabled many developers to make a living creating WordPress themes and plugins. This is exactly why you can’t find ready-made solutions to build advanced websites like Yelp.
Building a complex website like Yelp requires a certain level of functionality that other website platforms simply don’t as WordPress can handle.
4. Install ListingPro Theme
ListingPro is the template that turns your website into a Yelp-like review site.
You will enjoy the modern design and the many features included in this advanced theme . The developers behind ListingPro are constantly updating it by improving existing features and adding new ones.
Here are some of the latest features added in the last update:
See also: Wait! Did you know these 3 things?
This theme was rated Best Seller #1 in directories and listings in 2017 and has been awarded five star customer support based on over 400 customer reviews. This shows how much the team wants your website to be successful.
“We built ListinPro from the ground up to meet your unmet needs and maximize your return on investment” – Sam Rizzi, Co-Founder of Cridio Studio
– Sam Rizzi, Cridio Studio co-founder
As a bonus, this theme comes with a bunch of premium plugins that will save you money and hassle by running out and finding them yourself .
An extensive self-help knowledge base is provided that answers all questions already asked. Also check out their video tutorials if you want to see things in a more visual way. Feel free to browse through their various niche demos and pick the one that best suits your project.
ListingPro Features
- User Dashboard: Businesses that profile on your site have access to a powerful dashboard packed with features and tools.
- Intelligent site search: Search provides keyword suggestions as soon as someone starts typing. There is also a category search and “quick results”.
- A detailed filter is provided for faster results
- Rating feature includes emoji-based star rating, comments, photo upload and voting
- The entry submission page is prioritized to ensure your new users complete the process
- Ad Express: Available for entry owners to allow ads in appear on their listing when they get paid, you get paid
- Map View and Grid: Styled similar to Google Maps but with an updated, modern flair
- Six languages included for translation needs
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- Three built-in payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, 2Checkout
- Latest Features: Multiple Operating Hours, Call Whatsapp, Near Me, Distance, Flag & Report, Pin, Open Past 00:00 and more
It is really amazing that you can get so much for the price of a regular theme. When you’re ready to get started, click here to download ListingPro and start customizing your WordPress site.
Alternatives to ListingPro
While ListingPro includes everything to get you started quickly up and running without problems there are some other good options to compare against.
Listify
Listify is a WordPress directory theme compatible with a good handful of plugins, to extend the functionality of your site as desired. Currently, they offer a classic demo and a rental demo to make your website run faster.
Listify also offers style kits to make it easier to offer your visitors an attractive look without needing professional design help. The layout of the homepage and list page can also be drag-and-drop, so no HTML is required.
Czar
Czar integrates with the included Visual Composer page builder Plugin integrate bundled together with 11 other premium plugins. These include Slider Revolution and Easy Social Share.
With full directory and listing capabilities, Czar offers category-specific map markers to simplify map searches. It’s also mobile-friendly and offers two unique views for the listing detail page. Do you have a use for creating more than one directory? This theme allows you to do that on the same WordPress installation.
Czar even has a demo site installer, and the support team will install it for you on yours within 24 hours of purchase Install server.
Launch your website
Now that you’ve got everything set up correctly, you can start marketing your new website and attracting the users you want to your desired directory!
Setting up such a complex website with no programming or code knowledge, on a minimal budget and so quickly is truly amazing.
To summarize the steps, here’s how to make your own website like Yelp .
- Choose a domain name
- Sign up for Nexcess
- Install WordPress
- Install a directory design (I recommend ListingPro)
- Launch!
It will take some marketing know-how to create your first Getting customers on board, but with the tools included here, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting a site like Yelp online.
See also: How to Create a News Website: A Quick Guide to Success
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