My attempt at creating a local business directory / community site

by Mike T
6 replies
I've been developing a site aimed at the area around where I live. I've had the idea and the domain for quite some time but have at last got round to seriously developing it. I hope this post will give some people ideas that they can use in their own sites, and I'm also hoping to get feedback from Warriors about my site in general, and certain aspects in particular. It is quite a long post so I apologise in advance for taking up your time.

The site is www.mid-cheshire.co.uk. It is aimed at people living and working in this part of England. There are four main towns and a good number of satellite villages. The county of Cheshire is just south of and fairly central between the conurbations of Liverpool and Manchester. It is seen by some as an affluent part of the country, however Mid-Cheshire certainly contains areas of deprivation. I would estimate the population of Mid-Cheshire to be around 100,000, and according to my research there are at least 5,000 businesses in the area.

Rationale and features overview

The site is intended to be useful to individuals and businesses, but obviously I would also like to make some money! It is not intended to provide me with a full time income, initially at least, but I believe it could provide a reasonable supplement to my salary and provide a stepping-stone to the relative freedom of working for myself eventually.

In order to build up a user base and provide reasons for people to use and return to the site I have implemented a number of features :

  • Community section - which includes a forum; extensive user profile possibilities; personal messaging system; event calendars; gallery; possibility to have own blog on request; facility to report problems eg. potholes in road, fly tipping, to relevant local council; 'hotspots' which are map-based with the ability to add photos and text linked to a particular location; and finally newsfeeds from the local police
  • Main business directory - extensive selection of fields for each business; basic fields free, some additional fields chargeable, business owners can choose which individual fields they wish to pay for (ie. they are not forced to pay for a package of features); rating system and review facility for each entry; each entry can be placed in up to ten categories; entries can be edited by owner whenever they want
  • Food and drink directory - more specialised directory catering for bars, pubs and restaurants; as above basic fields free with some additional fields chargeable; rating system and review facility for each entry; entries can be edited by owner whenever they want
  • Marketplace - classified adverts; free to post basic ad; small charge for including an image; dedicated section for vehicles to follow (aiming for end of May); vehicle ads will incur small charge; additional charge for image gallery
  • The site is responsive
AlphaUserPoints (a referral user points system) is also planned to be implemented. This should act as an incentive to users to participate.


Monetisation

All of the 'community' features are free of charge, although to make full use of the facilities the user has to register. At present I have implemented login / sign-up using Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn credentials as well as the dedicated site sign-up. The money-making model is based on businesses and those placing classified adverts paying for additional information in their entries.

My initial thoughts on pricing for the business directory are :

Basic information fields that are free would be business name, entry in up to 10 categories, slogan, short plain text summary, tags, address and map, telephone numbers, payment methods accepted, fax number, text number, one promotional image.

Fields requiring payment (per annum) would be company logo (£2), rich text 'About us' with wysiwyg editor and 10,000 character limit (£5), email (£2), website link (£2), business hours (£2), image gallery of up to 10 images (£20), video gallery of up to 5 videos (£20), brochure download (£5). Should a business want all the paid fields this would cost them a total of £58 (about $85) per year. To get an idea of what a listing with a lot of the fields populated would look like you can visit Business Directory - Shopping / Retail - Toys and Games - Bags of Creativity.

I am unsure whether or not to charge for email, website link and business hours. I want to get a balance between providing sufficient useful information for users browsing the site and getting money in. I invite your opinions on this.

Possible other methods of monetisation :

  • Providing a video production service - I have neither experience nor skills in this area, could be something I could broker?
  • Providing a brochure design service - I have the technical skills to do this, but not the design skills. Again this could be something I could act as a broker for.
  • Full website design and production - I could provide a service for businesses that do not have a website or would like their existing site updated.

Any ideas for other methods of monetising the business directory would be welcome.

As for the food and drink directory this is an area that I need to work on, but my thoughts on monetisation are on similar lines to the business directory. Possibilities would include charging for eg. an image gallery and menu download. Another thought I've had would be to charge a fixed price for entry in the food and drink directory which would include an enhanced entry in the main business directory as well.

The classifieds section would provide money by charging £2 to include an image in an advert. The ads would appear for a limited time, say one month. Vehicle ads would cost £2 (including one image), with a further £5 for a gallery of up to 10 images. Again these would would be live for a limited period of time.


Things I would appreciate opinions and ideas on

The home page of the site has a 'Business showcase' slideshow, latest forum posts and forthcoming events at the top. Unless you are logged in this is followed by a strip promoting some of the facilities of the site. Do you think it is worth keeping this as is, or should I lose this from the home page and include it on a dedicated page covering the site's features?

I have deliberately kept the header area very clean, some would say plain! Does anyone think that the site would benefit from a header image? This would have to be in the background as otherwise it would take up valuable real estate.

The home page has a map that shows businesses in random categories. Next to that is a business search that I intend cleaning up a little so that it does not take up so much room. Do you think these elements would be better at the top of the page, immediatelt below the menu / breadcrumbs?

The bottom strip of the home page has a slideshow showing random pictures from the gallery component. To the right of this there is at present a simple module showing some random business names from the directory. I intend replacing this module with either latest classified ads or randomly showcasing entries from the food and drink directory. Which do you think would be better, or does anyone have any other ideas?

When the site is launched the forum will be virtually empty. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting the forum populated reasonably quickly? I have to be honest and say that I do not like the idea of creating 'false' users and posting things under their names to make it look as though the site is being used, so other suggestions would be very welcome. In a similar vein does anyone have ideas to help get people to post classified ads?

What sorts of fields would it be useful to have on member profiles for this sort of site? I do not want this part of the site to be too 'business' oriented, although I shall add a 'business' tab to member profiles for those users that have businesses registered on the site.

I have put basic information from quite a number (over 1,000 at present) businesses up to seed the site, and will be adding more over the coming days. Businesses can easily 'claim' their entry once registered. When the site is officially launched my rather unoriginal plan is to offer free enhanced listings for the first couple of weeks or so, or to the first so many businesses. Does anyone have any other ideas to encourage businesses to add more of their information, even if it just be in free fields, to the site?

Any other comments or suggestions about any aspect of the site would be welcome. It is certainly not a finished product yet, but I feel there is enough structure for people to make meaningful comment on. I promise that all comments will be read and carefully considered, as I am certainly not here to waste other people's time. I hope that as well as asking questions I have provided some useful ideas that others may make use of in their own endeavours.

Thanks in anticipation,
Mike.
#attempt #business #community #creating #directory #local #site
  • Profile picture of the author Freebiequeen1999
    Hi....you have obviously put a lot of work into this and it looks pretty good...

    my thoughts....The header needs to tell me what it is about

    is a government/civic site? or a site where I can see local biz and get (hopefully) deals and such?

    this part >>> Community section - which includes a forum; extensive user profile possibilities; personal messaging system; event calendars; gallery; possibility to have own blog on request; facility to report problems eg. potholes in road, fly tipping, to relevant local council; 'hotspots' which are map-based with the ability to add photos and text linked to a particular location; and finally newsfeeds from the local police

    ?? I don't know...maybe people are more polite in Cheshire but where I live that would be full of people arguing, complaining, "red vs blue" and such.....I have no idea what "fly tipping" is LOL
    but I wonder if this is something that government agency should publish? Police reports? I can only imagine the debates and name calling that might bring.

    IMHO I also think your biz model is a bit overwhelming...too many choices...

    I would keep it more simple...maybe 3 plans...

    make one plan the ability to add coupons - that is what people would come back for IMHO

    People like deals - look at Groupon and Living social

    Biz owners are often hurt by their model - half price and then Groupon gets 1/2 so they are doing deals for 1/4...ouch. You can offer them chance to offer deals for a yearly fee

    IMHO $2 or 2 pounds is not worth it , especially with processing costs....I would go for something like $10 ...basic ......$25....and $50....(do the currency conversion) with maybe your $85 as top /featured some times and all aspects

    It is hard to be all things to all people....I am not sure if you are going to be policing these blogs, forums...I think by putting in the "government" /council/etc aspect you open yourself up to potential problems and hard feelings.

    Instead of blogs you might have "guest" reviewers .....let them review a restaurant, etc...engage some local bloggers who want exposure and let them write some stuff for you.


    JMO
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10000754].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Jopaar
      Its nice to see someone is in the same shows.
      Basically i study as an IT engineer,with very few business
      experiences.I also found a directory site(the site engine is ready,i ordered the domains),and made some costume development to fit for local demands.The niche is the scrap buyers.
      As i said i have very few business experience.
      There are challenges for me:
      #1:
      I don't have a company for myself,i can not give invoice for the procurer.
      They will not use the services without it.
      #2:
      In my country there are strict rules for storing personals information.
      I have to register my site by the national office.I need to pay for a layer
      to deal it.
      #3:
      I don't know how to get a costumers,i don't believe that i can just upload their address and photo without their permission.
      #4:
      in the last few years the brand OLX made a massive campaign(in the TV,street posters,Radio etc) they now the number one.I can not make such as big,expensive
      marketing.
      #last:
      Until now i invested around 150usd to the project and my self knowledge and time.
      I feel that if i want to lunch the site i have to invest a lot of money,without having any costumers.
      It would be my first project that's why it is so complicated for me now


      Any advice are welcome,thank you for your time to read my post.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10002188].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Mike T
        Freebiequeen, thank you for taking the time to read my post and the thought you have put into your reply.

        "my thoughts....The header needs to tell me what it is about

        is a government/civic site? or a site where I can see local biz and get (hopefully) deals and such?
        "

        This is something I'd like to get across but without taking too much home page real estate. I'll have to give this more thought.

        "this part >>> Community section - which includes a forum; extensive user profile possibilities; personal messaging system; event calendars; gallery; possibility to have own blog on request; facility to report problems eg. potholes in road, fly tipping, to relevant local council; 'hotspots' which are map-based with the ability to add photos and text linked to a particular location; and finally newsfeeds from the local police

        ?? I don't know...maybe people are more polite in Cheshire but where I live that would be full of people arguing, complaining, "red vs blue" and such.....I have no idea what "fly tipping" is LOL
        but I wonder if this is something that government agency should publish? Police reports? I can only imagine the debates and name calling that might bring.
        "

        To clarify, the 'Improve our environment' page is a front end to a very useful UK website called FixMyStreet, which very few people seem to know about. It is run by a national charity and some local councils have it integrated into their own websites. It is not intended for reporting things such as poor behaviour, more physical problems such as broken street lights, graffitti, and dog fouling. (By the way, fly tipping is a phrase used over here for illegal dumping of rubbish).
        The police news just collates twitter feeds from local Police Community Support Officers. They do not give names, just brief information on things that are happening, and warnings if there have been incidents in particular areas. I understand why you could consider this section potentially a questionable one to include, but given the actual content I feel it is a useful addition with no downsides in practice.

        "IMHO I also think your biz model is a bit overwhelming...too many choices...

        I would keep it more simple...maybe 3 plans...

        make one plan the ability to add coupons - that is what people would come back for IMHO

        People like deals - look at Groupon and Living social

        Biz owners are often hurt by their model - half price and then Groupon gets 1/2 so they are doing deals for 1/4...ouch. You can offer them chance to offer deals for a yearly fee

        IMHO $2 or 2 pounds is not worth it , especially with processing costs....I would go for something like $10 ...basic ......$25....and $50....(do the currency conversion) with maybe your $85 as top /featured some times and all aspects"

        This is something that I gave a lot of thought to and will consider changing. Personally I prefer the granular rather than tiered model as it allows people to choose exactly what they want to pay for, but I do see the attraction of the simpler 'three choice' approach.
        In practice what would happen is that a business owner would flesh out their existing (very basic, pre-populated) entry via an online form. Certain fields on that form would clearly indicate their associated cost, and on completion of the form the owner would be given a single sum to pay.
        This is clearly another area that I will have to give continued thought to.

        The idea of adding the ability to offer coupons is an excellent one and something that I shall look into, thank you. At present any registered user can add events to the calendar, and there is a dedicated 'promotions' calendar that is intended for businesses to showcase any special offers they have. I feel that coupons would be a very useful complementary feature.

        It is hard to be all things to all people....I am not sure if you are going to be policing these blogs, forums...I think by putting in the "government" /council/etc aspect you open yourself up to potential problems and hard feelings.

        Instead of blogs you might have "guest" reviewers .....let them review a restaurant, etc...engage some local bloggers who want exposure and let them write some stuff for you.


        JMO"

        I really don't see the 'government' aspect as a problem for reasons given above, but I respect your thoughts on this and can see where they come from, they are certainly something to be taken into consideration when making a site with similar features.

        The blogs are not intended to be for everyone, users would have to apply to get one. They would be sort of along the lines you suggest, ideally with each blogger specialising in writing about one particular area of interest rather than just a general outlet.

        I think with any community site that invites user interaction there is a need to keep an eye on things that are posted. I also believe that it is really important to get users involved to keep up interest (and traffic). It follows that inevitably there will be a certain amount of 'policing' necessary. I have run a local football forum for over 15 years, and have found that in practice very little time is spent sorting out problems; anti-spam measures have worked well and posts containing unacceptable material are quickly reported by other users. Maybe I've been lucky with that site, time will tell. Obviously a site of this sort is not 'set and forget', anyone who thinks a useful local site can virtually run itself should reconsider.

        Freebiequeen, thanks once again for your input. Opinions from others are very welcome. I think the length of my initial post has put people off!

        Mike.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10008026].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          Mike,

          Your site is not WordPress based so a bit out of my norm. you can however benefit from the use of cloud flare.

          You are doing many things right. love that you use your name when posting.

          You need to start using the forum as a method to increase your sites content. you will want to write about something and then link that directly to a section or sections within your directory.

          Reading about the listing payment option it did sound all that good, would have agreed with the tiered payments. but looking at it, its not so bad really. I see over and over on the site that the listing are "free" you need to think "basic" listings are free with available upgrades.

          The site overall... its on the bland side. Makes me think of a rainy UK morning sort of. I seriously would try changing the blue to a light green perhaps? Kind a spring it up a bit? It just needs a bit of life. A spring in its step. A couple of pints in (h)er to loosen up a bit.

          In the footer section of EVERY page there is "Register for free to get access to many more features - use your Facebook, Twitter or other social media login details, or get a dedicated account. Once registered, you will no longer see this message, nor the list of site features on the home page." Might I suggest a CTA there.. "click here to sign-up / login" or the like!
          Signature
          Success is an ACT not an idea
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10008209].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Freebiequeen1999
            LOL.... learn something new every day...now I know what "fly tipping" is haha

            I see what you are doing with the "street repairs">> IMHO that might lead to logically offering listings to various businesses that cater to homeowners (as opposed to tourists)..

            roofers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, grass cutters, air cond, appliance repair, housecleaners, painters, carpet cleaners, remodelers etc

            I still think you should think strongly about removing the 2 pound deal....that is just not worth the trouble - from what I have experienced the cheapest customers are the worst LOL

            I think the calendar idea is good but that is something I would charge for or roll into a package

            I think it offers a real value and they should pay for that. Coupons and "offers" on the calendar is what IMHO will bring visitors to your site, keep them coming back

            Some graphics would spiff it up - some color as suggested. If I was you I would design a logo or get someone to do it. Now that is something you could get done on fiverr LOL

            Are you all sick of the grinning cat? Of course that is what I think of when I heard Cheshire ..or maybe cheese?

            since you are about keeping town nice, what about a sort of "tidy town" logo..(I know that is big in UK and Ireland)....

            like maybe a logo with one of those cute little hanging flower pots like I see hanging on pubs and shops pictures of towns there?
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10008661].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Mike T
              Savidge4 and Freebiequeen, thanks for your input, I've already acted on some of your ideas.

              I fully agree that the 'look' of the site needed something to boost it a bit. At the moment I've gone for a background image in the header section. Used an image from Wikipedia just to get something up there, I'll take some photos myself when I get the chance. This is set up behind the scenes so that the background image could auto change if I wanted. I'll also look at getting a proper logo, I just threw that one together in a graphics package.

              Can't believe I didn't have a sign up call to action, blindingly obvious, thanks for pointing it out savidge4.

              I've identified a couple of possible routes to adding a coupon facility, just need to look at these in a bit more detail to decide which to go with.

              The site is already using CloudFlare. When it is ready for launch I'll look into other ways of speeding it up as much as possible.

              Lots more stuff to think about and implement, I'm really grateful for the suggestions so far.

              Mike.
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10010132].message }}

Trending Topics