Hi AppSumo community,

If you’re familiar with WordPress directory plugins, you may have already heard of Directorist.

And if you haven’t, that’s perfectly fine too.

Directorist has been helping people build directory websites for more than 9 years. Today, it’s used on over 20,000 websites worldwide and has grown into one of the largest directory ecosystems in WordPress, with more than 30 extensions and 13 themes.

So the obvious question is:

Why launch on AppSumo now?

The simple answer is that we believe more entrepreneurs, agencies, and creators should have access to a mature directory platform without spending years piecing together different tools and plugins.

When I first got involved with directory websites, I noticed the same pattern over and over again.

There were plenty of tools that could handle a small part of the job, but very few could handle the entire business. To build a serious directory website, you often had to combine multiple plugins, purchase several add-ons, and spend countless hours making everything work together.

Listings came from one plugin. Memberships came from another. Payments, reviews, user dashboards, monetization, and other essential features often required even more tools and custom development.

The more pieces you added, the more complicated the project became.

At some point, we stopped asking, “Which plugins should we combine?” and started asking, “Why doesn’t a complete directory solution already exist?”

That question eventually became Directorist.

Our goal was simple: build a platform that could handle the core needs of a directory business in one place while still giving users the flexibility to customize and scale as their projects grew.

Over the years, we focused on solving those problems.

Instead of forcing users to depend on multiple third-party systems, we built many essential features directly into the platform. We created native integrations with popular WordPress tools, expanded our extension library, and developed a membership system that works independently without requiring WooCommerce.

Today, Directorist offers one of the largest extension libraries in the directory space, allowing users to add advanced functionality without relying on a patchwork of unrelated plugins.

The result is a platform that can be used to build much more than traditional business directories.

Our customers have created:

• Local business directories

• Classified listing websites

• Chamber of Commerce websites

• Real estate and property portals

• Staff and member directories

• Event directories

• Community platforms

• Niche industry directories

And many use cases we never imagined when we first launched.

What excites us about AppSumo is not just the opportunity to reach more users. It’s the type of people who are part of this community.

AppSumo is filled with builders.

Agency owners looking for new revenue streams.

Freelancers helping clients launch websites.

Entrepreneurs exploring niche business opportunities.

Creators building communities around specific industries or interests.

Those are exactly the kinds of people who can turn a directory website into a real business.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a growing trend. More businesses want to own their platforms instead of renting space on someone else’s marketplace. More creators want recurring revenue models. More agencies want products they can deploy repeatedly for clients.

Directory websites fit naturally into that shift.

Whether it’s local services, professional networks, classified listings, business communities, membership directories, or niche marketplaces, directories continue to solve real discovery problems online.

We believe the opportunity is bigger today than it was when we first started.

That is why we’re here.

Not because we’re a new product searching for validation.

Not because we’re testing an idea.

Not because we’re looking for a quick boost.

We’re here because after nearly a decade of building, improving, and supporting Directorist, we believe this is the right time to put it in the hands of more builders.

If you decide to join us through AppSumo, you’re not buying into an early-stage experiment.

You’re joining a product that has been refined through years of customer feedback, continuous development, and real-world use cases.

Our team is committed to continuing that journey.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Directorist. We’re excited to see what you build with it.

See you in the comments.

— Masud Rana
Founder & CEO, Directorist