Has anyone come across a niche directory doing something novel with their data? Are you able to share? I'm looking for inspiration so I won't be copying anything out there, just tweaking my own ideas to create more value for real visitors.
Really its fantastic idea for real visitors. I will suggest well known site which having great features of Novels and books. archive.org/details/texts
Yes the site structure is normal, also user friendly navigation and site interface. people can easily find and search their required material. as well.
Right, so, I'm looking for a twist, something unusual but still easy to use but adds a bit more value to the listings.
I mean, Paid Novels sites having bulk of material which visitor can buy and read their favorite book online.
What is the latest and greatest directory software available? I have a project in mind that will include a business directory. I want to pick one software and stick to it. Page speed and utility will matter most to me. I am curious to know also the new best practices/novel approaches in forming an online directory. Please share what you know and/or what you are doing with yours. Thanks!
@davilama2682 there's lots out there, nothing impressed me much - all very "traditional" in approach. The best seemed to be the HIVE plugins for WordPress but I wanted to avoid WP. I'm building my own with firebase & nextjs but that will only work because my listing count will be low - it'd probably be better to have MySQL as the backend of a larger directory.
Thanks, I am searching for some novels with subjects like from "Tristram Shandy" and I bet I'll find smth here.
Okay, half the people commenting in this thread, mistook the word "novel" in the post. They are assuming you are talking about "books". Clarification to them, the post starter meant "innovative / new ideas", like "doing something new or innovative with their data"... She is not asking for advice about including books in a web directory. To answer your question @sarahk A lot will depend on the data you have, the type of directory you have. For example, like Alibaba connects whole sellers to retailers. A simple "send an email to wholeseller" form can do wonders there. Some time ago, generating a short URL for the submitted URL could have done wonders for your directory, when twitter was fairly new, and accepted only 144 char tweets. So, every URL submitted to your directory, gets an automatic short URL, which people could have used in their tweets. But this is of no use anymore, for twitter itself generates a short URL now. A local area listing directory was also good some time ago, but now google captured that space. Now, I think what can work for you is, an add-on service. Instead of thinking about rearranging web layout for people who are browsing, think of what additional service can be provided to those who are submitting websites/listings to your directory. For example, allow them to upload a video, or allow them to add a youtube video URL along with their listing. So, people browsing get to watch the video, and listing submitters get to link their videos and gain subscribers or likes etc. What is the directory about?