You can’t deny Airbnb’s incredible popularity spurt. Since its launch in 2008, it grew to a $1 Billion company in merely three years. Today it contains over 800,000 listings in around 192 countries.
That’s phenomenal!
Airbnb has taken advantage of “sharing economy” – a trending business concept – and one which certainly holds space for more players.
“The next wave of opportunities in businesses will be companies that look at how we support the development of the sharing economy,” says Sundararajan a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
– According to Entrepreneur.
If you’re thinking of setting up a local Airbnb type of business, it is – without a doubt – a great idea!
So, what does it take to convert that idea into a living breathing website like Airbnb? Could it be as simple as using WordPress and a directory theme?
Well, I don’t know about using just any directory theme, but a theme I can vouch for is- Listify.
(No I’m not an affiliate. And Astoundify hasn’t paid me to promote the theme. My evaluation is purely based on my own research and discussions with my WisdmLabs workmates who have first-hand experience working with the theme).
WordPress Directory Theme – Listify
If the long list of features does not convince you, the 4.5 rating, 3,000 purchases in less than 6 months, and 5-star reviews by WordPress community experts will surely catch your eye.
Listify is a top rated and popular directory theme. It’s compatible with several WordPress plugins (the WP Job Manager and WooCommerce plugins are required with the theme) and booking services as well. To add to this, Astoundify provides detailed documentation, and several hooks and settings to customize the look of the theme.
(You make like to read this detailed guide on how to set up the Listify theme)
The list can go on. But what makes the Listify theme a suitable fit to build a WordPress website like Airbnb are the basic features it provides. My top 5 are as follows:
#1 Paid Listings Support
It’s obvious, isn’t it? When you think of Airbnb, you think of bookings and listings. Listify, like any directory theme, allows you to create and add listings and listing types (to categorize listings). But, having the advantage of features provided by WP Job Manager and WooCommerce, you can also:
- Create and monetize ‘Featured Listing’
- Sell products through listings
- Create Bookable listings
- Create Listing Packages… and so on.
For every listing you create, you can add details about the location, add images and reviews, just like you would see on Airbnb.
#2 WooCommerce Integration
If you’re one of those who is thinking the plugin dependency is an overhead, it’s quite the contrary! WooCommerce provides you with numerous benefits. To begin with, you have a plethora of payment gateways at your disposal. You have the WooCommerce Bookings add-on which can be used to set up your bookable products (rooms, rentals are bookable products).
Another advantage is the WooCommerce Social Login add-on which similar to Airbnb, allows users to use social login during checkout or for the account creation process.
#3 Advanced Search Options
As you know, Airbnb offers a killer search option. Listify comes awfully close providing zip code-based searching and several filters based on tags. With the WooCommerce Bookings plugin, you can offer a calendar search option as well.
(If you’re hoping Listify provides the interactive map like Airbnb, it, unfortunately, does not. But with some custom development you can include that feature too).
#4 Bookmark Support
The wishlist feature in Airbnb is a lure for interested travelers. It provides them with an option to mark a listing they would want to book.
The bookmarking feature in Listify theme is similar to the wishlist feature. You can spot it easily on a Listify website, because it employs a similar heart-shaped icon to bookmark listings.
#5 Responsive Design
Airbnb’s exceptionally user-friendly interface displays seamlessly on mobile devices as well. And you would have the same experience if you used the Listify theme. No worries there.
The Listify theme provides you with an added bonus as well. The theme’s code is search engine optimized to make sure you’re website fares well in search results.
If there are any shortcomings, I’d say it was the Listify Theme’s tagline- “The last WordPress directory theme you will ever buy”. The theme is great. I love it. But that tagline is lame needs improvement. But in fact, there’s genuinely no reason to keep looking for a different theme. The theme is cleanly coded, provides adequate hooks and filters (explained with code snippets in its documentation) to customize the theme. And with the latest update (v1.0.3) you now have color schemes for maps!
What more can you ask for?! :D
If you need help with the Listify theme, you can contact our awesome team of Listify developers for any assistance.
