Web Directory Free vs Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI

Web Directory Free turns WordPress into a searchable business directory. Sort listings into categories, locations and tags, build your own listing form, drop the directory onto any page with a shortcode, and let visitors search and browse – as a list, as cards, or on an interactive map. In the free edition you add and edit listings from the WordPress admin, and visitors browse, search and view them on the front end. Live demo: directory.salephpscripts.com What you can build A local business directory, a member or staff directory, a property or vehicle catalogue, a venue or event guide, a service-provider index, a classifieds board. Anything that is a list of places or things with fields, categories and a map. Organise your listings Categories and locations are hierarchical, so Country, Region, City nests the way you expect, and each level gets its own page. Tags for the cross-cutting labels that do not fit a hierarchy. Each category can carry its own marker icon and colour, so the map reads at a glance. Every category, location and tag page is a real URL with its own listings, search and map. Build the listing form yourself The form builder is drag and drop: arrange fields in rows and columns, and add your own on top of the built-in ones. Field types included: Title, Content, Excerpt Categories, Tags Address and Map Images & Videos – photos plus YouTube or Vimeo links, shown in one gallery with a lightbox Contact info, Phone, Email, Website URL Text/string, Number, Price List – as a dropdown, radio buttons or checkboxes Date-Time Opening hours File upload Every field can be placed independently on the listing card, the listing page, the search form and the map popup, so a field can be searchable without cluttering the card. Put the directory anywhere Each directory has a page builder: choose which elements appear on the home, category, location and listing pages, and in what order – search form, map, categories block, listings grid, slider, breadcrumbs, page title, buttons. If you would rather place things by hand, every element is also a shortcode: [webdirectory], [webdirectory-search], [webdirectory-map], [webdirectory-listings], [webdirectory-categories], [webdirectory-locations], [webdirectory-slider], [webdirectory-breadcrumbs], [webdirectory-listing-page] and more. They work in the block editor, in Elementor and in WPBakery. Maps Three engines: Google Maps, Mapbox and MapLibre with MapTiler tiles. Pick per site. Marker clustering, so thousands of listings stay usable. Per-category and per-listing marker icons. Rich popups built from the fields you chose, with the listing photo. A map sidebar that lists what is currently in view, and follows as the visitor pans. Radius search from an address, in miles or kilometres. Several layouts, including a full-width hero map and a sticky map beside the listings. Search that finds things The search form is built the same way as the listing form: drag in the elements you want. Keyword, categories, locations, address plus radius, rating. Any custom field you added becomes a filter – a price range, a number range, a date, a dropdown. A “More filters” separator to keep the visible form short. Sorting by newest, oldest, title, rating, random, or any numeric or date field you defined. Grid and list views, with the visitor’s choice remembered. Ratings Built in, no add-on: visitors rate a listing, the average shows on the card, the listing page and the map popup, and rating becomes a search filter and a sort option. Ratings can be switched off entirely. Bulk work CSV import and export for listings, including categories, locations, tags, custom fields, images and video links. Import creates or updates; export round-trips. A thumbnail regeneration tool for when you change image sizes. Housekeeping Colour palette controls so the directory matches your theme, with several presets. Email notifications with editable subjects, each one switchable. Google reCAPTCHA (v2 or v3) on the listing contact form. A diagnostics page that checks the directory is wired up correctly and tells you what to fix if it is not. An install wizard that creates the pages and the first directory for you. Translation ready: ships a POT file for any standard gettext or PO editor. Built for large directories: a dedicated search index and sort index keep tens of thousands of listings responsive, and both rebuild in the background. This plugin uses external services (map providers and, if you enable it, Google reCAPTCHA). See the External Services section below. What is not in the free edition Front-end submission. In the free edition listings are created and edited in the WordPress admin; visitors browse and search. The paid version adds front-end submission with membership plans, listing expiry and renewals, and WooCommerce checkout for paid, featured and upgraded listings. Get the full version: Web 2.0 Directory on CodeCanyon External Services Web Directory Free uses the following third-party services. Nothing is sent until you use the matching feature: Map providers (Google Maps, Mapbox, MapTiler / MapLibre) – when a map loads or an address is geocoded, the request (coordinates, the address being searched, and your API key/token) is sent to the provider you chose. See that provider’s terms and privacy policy. Google reCAPTCHA – when you turn it on for the contact form, the visitor’s interaction is checked with Google. See Google’s terms and privacy policy. The free edition does not contact the author’s servers: it gets updates through WordPress.org and does no license or “phone-home” checks.

Real-time SEO guidance, schema, and AI built in. Help search engines and AI systems understand your content. All AI tools included, no hidden fees. Yoast SEO: the #1 WordPress SEO plugin Since 2008, Yoast SEO has helped site owners get their content found. More than 10 million websites now run it, from small local businesses to some of the most visited sites on the web. Our mission is SEO for everyone. You should not need a specialist, a big budget, or a technical background to give your content a fair chance of being discovered. Yoast SEO gives you everything you need to manage your on-site SEO. The Yoast SEO Premium plugin and its extensions unlock more advanced and AI-powered tools. Ready for search, and ready for AI People no longer only type queries into Google. They ask AI assistants, and those answers are built from content the AI has crawled, understood, and trusted. Yoast SEO helps you prepare for both. Schema.org structured data, so search engines and AI systems can understand what your content is actually about. Premium outputs significantly more schema types, including the E-E-A-T signals (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) that help AI systems understand who you are. Schema aggregation for NLWeb (Premium), which combines your site’s structured data into a single, deduplicated graph, so AI agents get a complete picture of your content in one request. Turn it on with a single toggle. LLMs.txt management, to guide how large language models interact with your content, including manual control over which pages are included. Bot blocker (Premium), to control which AI crawlers can use your content for training, including GPTBot, CCBot, and Google-Extended. Abilities API, so AI tools, dashboards, and automated workflows can read your SEO, readability, and inclusive language scores directly. Algorithm changes have been arriving for over 15 years, and Yoast has tracked every one of them. Keeping the plugin updated means you benefit from ongoing technical improvements, schema updates, and AI advancements automatically, all guided by our signature traffic light approach. Real-time guidance while you write SEO is one of the most consistent and cost-effective sources of website traffic, though it can be complex. Whether you are just starting out or you have done this for years, Yoast SEO tells you what to fix before you publish, not after. Red, orange, green. That is the whole idea. You get in-depth content and readability analysis that helps you create content designed to perform well in search, without needing to learn a new discipline first. Quick and easy setup Setting up Yoast SEO is quick and straightforward. No technical background required. Our step-by-step configuration wizard walks you through the essentials, so Yoast SEO can generate accurate structured data that helps search engines understand your site. Switching from another SEO plugin? Migration is seamless. You can import your existing SEO data and settings safely with our built-in import and export tools. AI tools built into your workflow Yoast’s AI tools come with Yoast SEO Premium, and they sit inside the editor you already use. There is no separate AI subscription, no extra login, and no credit top-up to buy. Every suggestion waits for your approval before anything saves. Yoast AI Generate: creates five SEO-friendly titles and meta descriptions instantly, with one-click regeneration for more options. Yoast AI Optimize: suggests improvements to keyphrase placement, including introduction, distribution, and density, with the option to apply or dismiss each edit. Yoast AI Summarize: generates a quick summary of your post to place anywhere in the block editor, so readers grasp the value fast. Yoast AI Content Planner (Premium): suggests five site-specific post ideas and builds a structured starter draft the moment you open a new post. Ideas are grounded in your own site, not generic topics, so your team never begins from a blank page. Bulk editor with AI drafts: review and fix titles, meta descriptions, and focus keyphrases across your whole site from one workspace, with search and status filters and a dedicated view per content type. The bulk editor is free. With Premium, select what needs work and AI drafts the metadata, including social sharing titles and descriptions, for you to approve. All AI tools included: no extra accounts, no separate credit purchase, no hidden costs. Content analysis and optimization SEO analysis to guide your keyword targeting, with up to 5 keyphrases in Premium and support for 20+ languages. Readability analysis for clear, engaging, user-friendly writing. Inclusive language analysis, so your content is more considerate and accessible. SERP previews for both desktop and mobile results. HowTo and FAQ blocks with built-in schema support. Breadcrumbs block for improved navigation. Semrush integration for keyword research directly inside Yoast SEO. Wincher integration to track keyword performance from your dashboard. Elementor integration for optimization inside your favorite builder. Technical SEO, handled for you Yoast SEO takes care of much of your site’s technical SEO automatically, which frees you to focus on your content. Automated meta tag optimization right out of the box. Canonical URLs to prevent duplicate content issues. Advanced XML sitemaps for clear site indexing. Deep Schema.org integration to improve how search engines and AI systems understand your site. Complete breadcrumb control for visitors and crawlers. Performance improvements that help reduce load times. Crawl settings to manage how bots access your site and reduce unnecessary server load. Every update delivers ongoing technical SEO enhancements automatically. Keep your website in perfect shape Whether you are a creator, a business owner, or a developer, Yoast SEO helps you maintain your site’s SEO health: Cornerstone content tools to organize and prioritize your key pages. Front-end SEO inspector to view and edit titles, descriptions, and schema live. SEO roles to delegate plugin access securely across your team. Regular 2-week update cycle, so you stay compatible with the latest SEO standards and search engine changes. Powerful integrations Yoast SEO works seamlessly with popular WordPress tools: Google Site Kit: access insights from Search Console, Analytics, and PageSpeed inside WordPress. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF): combine with ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO for advanced field optimization. Elementor: use full Yoast SEO functionality inside Elementor’s editor. Algolia: improve internal search accuracy and performance. Semrush: discover and optimize for high-value keywords. Wincher: track keyword positions and trends in Google Search. Jetpack: manage SEO and social previews in one place. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD): improve digital product visibility with integrated schema. Mastodon: verify your website on Mastodon with Yoast SEO Premium. WooCommerce: optimize ecommerce SEO with the dedicated WooCommerce extension. Yoast SEO Premium: AI-powered SEO for WordPress Yoast SEO Premium builds on everything above with advanced automation, AI tools, and professional support. It helps you optimize efficiently for both traditional search and AI-driven discovery. What it helps you tackle: Keeping pace with algorithm changes and AI search. Reaching the right audience. Automating redirects, crawl controls, and internal linking. Finding orphaned content and improving your site structure. Getting expert help when you need it. Premium highlights: AI-generated titles and meta descriptions, page by page or in bulk. AI Content Planner, so you never open a blank page. Smart internal linking suggestions to strengthen your site structure. Social previews for Facebook and X. Redirect manager with bulk tools, CSV import and export, and automatic prompts when you move or delete content. Bot blocker for AI crawlers, including GPTBot, CCBot, and Google-Extended. Schema aggregation for NLWeb, plus significantly more schema types than free. IndexNow integration, so search engines hear about your updates the moment you publish. Front-end SEO inspector for real-time editing. SEO workouts for orphaned and cornerstone content. Task list, unlocked in full, showing what to work on next with priority levels and time estimates. Google Docs add-on, so writers can run the full Yoast analysis before content ever reaches WordPress. One seat included. 24/7 premium support from SEO specialists. Included at no extra cost: Yoast Local SEO: help nearby customers find you, with local schema, a store locator, and opening hours management. Yoast Video SEO: help Google understand your videos, with video sitemaps and schema. Yoast News SEO: help your news content get discovered in Google News and Top Stories. Yoast WooCommerce SEO: advanced SEO for online stores Yoast WooCommerce SEO builds on Yoast SEO Premium with ecommerce-specific tools for your store’s visibility. Key ecommerce features: WooCommerce-specific XML sitemap that excludes non-shopping content. Product structured data for rich results, including price, reviews, and availability. Canonical URL management to prevent duplicates. Ecommerce-focused content analysis for GTINs, SKUs, and short descriptions. AI Generate for ecommerce: optimized titles and meta descriptions for product and category pages, at page level or drafted in bulk for products and categories. What that gets you: Better product visibility through automated structured data. More efficient crawling for large catalogs. Time saved through metadata templates and automation. Metadata across your whole catalog without editing rows one at a time. Built for WooCommerce, trusted by thousands of online stores worldwide. For developers Yoast SEO is built with developers in mind. With modern APIs, hooks, and a unified indexables system, you can extend or integrate SEO functionality across custom themes, plugins, or headless setups. REST API Retrieve SEO metadata for any post or URL, including meta tags, Open Graph, Twitter Cards, and Schema.org data. Learn more about the REST API. Surfaces API Access SEO data directly in code via YoastSEO()->meta->for_current_page(). Supports titles, descriptions, canonicals, and schema. Read the Surfaces API documentation. Metadata API Use the Metadata API to filter, override, or extend meta tags with WordPress hooks such as wpseo_title, wpseo_metadesc, and wpseo_canonical. Schema API The Schema API lets you modify or extend Schema.org graph pieces, including Article, Organization, Person, Breadcrumb, and WebPage entities. Abilities API integration Let AI tools, dashboards, and automated workflows read Yoast SEO data programmatically, including SEO, readability, and inclusive language scores for recent posts. Block editor compatibility Yoast SEO integrates directly with the WordPress block editor. It outputs schema for HowTo and FAQ blocks by default, and you can extend schema for custom blocks. Indexables At the core of Yoast SEO lies the indexables system, unifying all SEO data for faster queries and consistent metadata across outputs. Ongoing support and education Yoast is powered by expert developers, testers, and SEO specialists who keep improving the plugin. We are committed to helping you grow your SEO skills: Yoast SEO Academy: free and premium SEO courses, included in all paid plans. Yoast SEO blog, newsletter, and webinars. Yoast SEO Update podcast for the latest SEO insights. Bug reports on GitHub, for issue tracking rather than support. Yoast SEO: built to make search optimization accessible, reliable, and ready for the future of AI search.