How to Create a WordPress Coupon Directory

Do you want to build a WordPress coupon directory? A listing site with discount codes can be a big hit. Find how to make one!

Everyone loves discounts. It’s no wonder that people go a long way to save some cash on their shopping. In this digital age, this “long way” can mean hours of web search.

Yes, it works. You can get coupon deals for various products and shops online. Sometimes, bloggers and affiliate marketers also share deal discounts of their affiliated stores.

But a dedicated coupon site for the deals is always preferred. This is where a WordPress coupon directory comes into play.

A discount code directory can be a blessing to your community with all the daily deals and savings. As the owner of the site, you’ll be benefitted too.

Why make a WordPress coupon directory

Probably you already have some points in your mind. But we would love to take the opportunity and stimulate your motivation. Here we go:

Business Directory is the best WordPress directory plugin. Get it for free!

You’re helping your community. It’s a great satisfaction.
A coupon directory can generate revenue from paid listings.
Selling featured positions is a good way to make money.
You can also offer different form fields at different pricing levels.
Displaying ads is another easy way to monetize your directory website.

As you can see, there are both mental and monetary benefits of having a WordPress coupon directory. We can’t wait to move forward with you!

Best tools to create a coupon directory

We'll use the following tools to make our discount code listing site:

A live WordPress website
Business Directory Plugin

The WordPress site is a prerequisite for this tutorial. It’s the web platform for our online directory. You can get a WordPress site from our shortlisted hosting providers.

To get a directory system in our web platform, we’ll use Business Directory Plugin, the best WordPress directory plugin.

A WordPress plugin is like an app that adds additional functionalities to a WordPress site. This is why we’re using Business Directory Plugin as our directory system.

Business Directory Plugin has a free version and several premium plans. We can create a coupon code directory using the free version. That will be a basic one without a dedicated directory template or advanced search. Also, the free version won’t have flexibility with monetization.

You can start with the free version, but if you want to make it stand out, a premium version is required. So, visit the Business Directory Plugin pricing page, and get a premium plan. Then, move forward.

What to expect from a WordPress coupon directory

A discount code directory is expected to provide the coupon code (or the affiliate coupon code), expiry date, additional conditions, affiliate link, etc. Here’s a shortlist for you:

Coupon title
Coupon description
Discount amount
Coupon code
Expiration date
Terms and conditions

We got everything we need to start the tutorial. Let’s do it!

How to build a WordPress coupon directory

We can create our discount code listing site in 7 easy steps. Just be with us, and your site will be ready to go.

Step 1: Install and activate Business Directory Plugin

Since our directory functionalities will be powered by Business Directory Plugin, so let's start with getting it on the site. Install and activate both the free version and the paid one. This part is pretty easy. If you're new to WordPress, please see our quick start guide.

Step 2: Create WordPress coupon directory pages

We’ll create a directory home page and a listing submission page. Both of them are general WordPress pages with our special shortcodes inside.

Main directory archive: This page will show all the directory categories so that visitors can explore our listings site. Go to WordPress Dashboard → Pages → Add New.

Create a page with the [businessdirectory] shortcode inside.

Listing submission page: This page will show a front-end form to add listing items to our coupon directory. Let’s add another WordPress page with the [businessdirectory-submit-listing] shortcode inside.

After publishing both pages, you can link them from wherever you want. Also, you can set the main directory archive as the homepage of your site.

Step 3: Get custom form fields

Business Directory Plugin provides a bunch of default form fields to collect listing item data. We need to customize these to match our coupon directory items.

Visit WordPress Dashboard → Directory → Form Fields. Edit and manage your form fields there.

For this tutorial, we’ll need the following form fields:

Coupon Title
Description
Discount Amount
Coupon Code
Expiration Date
Terms and Conditions

You can add more fields like contact information, web address, and so on.

Step 4: Add coupon categories

Business Directory Plugin keeps the listing items organized using its custom directory categories. Add them from Directory → Directory Categories.

If you want, you can use our Enhanced Categories module to add thumbnail images to your categories. This will make your main archive page more beautiful.

Step 5: Tweak the Business Directory Plugin settings

You’re lucky because Business Directory Plugin’s default settings are good enough for starting with any public directory site. To offer paid listings and accept payments, we need to take care of a few things.

Create pricing plans: To accept paid listings, you need to give some pricing plan options to the customers. Go to Directory → Plans to add and manage pricing plans.

You get a free plan built-in. Add paid ones with your desired pricing and perks. To learn more about plans, please see the documentation.

Add a payment method: A payment gateway is required to accept payments from the paid listing customers. In the plugin, Authorize.net is a built-in payment gateway that you can use right away. If you need more methods like PayPal or Stripe, just get our modules for them.

After adding a payment gateway, activate payments. See our payment docs for more information.

Step 6: Install a directory template

Business Directory Plugin offers a collection of beautiful directory templates. You can use them with any type of directory. For this tutorial, we’ll use the Business Card template.

Download the Business Card theme from your Business Directory Plugin site account. Then upload and install it from Directory → Themes.

Activate the theme. Want to learn more about how it works? Please find details in the theme docs.

Step 7: Add coupon listings items

At this point, your site is ready to add coupon listing items. So let’s open the listing form that we made in step 2.

Insert coupon information and publish the directory items. That’s it!

Final output

So, our coupon directory site is now ready. Let's see its front page.

Here's a directory archive page.

And check out the single item view.

It looks great, isn't it?

Business Directory Plugin is all in one. You don't need a third-party WordPress theme or a child theme with it. There's no need to think about theme options, a WP coupon plugin, or a page builder.

You can use any of our directory templates as a WordPress coupon theme. These are truly universal. Enjoy!

And this was how to make a WordPress coupon directory!

Learn More: How to Build a WordPress Vendor Directory

Wrapping up

Building a coupon directory may sound difficult. But when you follow the right steps with the right tools, it’s very easy. We hope this tutorial was helpful to you. Please share your thoughts and experience via comments.

Business Directory Plugin premium has a 14-day money-back guarantee. Your investment is 100% risk-free. Get Business Directory Plugin premium now and start your coupon directory with confidence!