We are excited to share a fantastic improvement in the newest eDirectory version 13.5.0: the "Products & Plans" area. This new section allows you to configure your products and plans for your clients, offering a streamlined and powerful way to manage your offerings. With "Products & Plans," you can create membership sites where you charge users to access content, develop plans with various packages, and bundle listings, articles, events, banners, classifieds, and articles into a single subscription.


Let's dive into the details of this new feature and explore how you can make the most of it.


Getting Started with "Products & Plans"


Here are the steps to access and utilize this feature


1. Access the "Settings" Tab: Begin by navigating to the "Settings" tab in your eDirectory admin area.



2. Select "Products & Plans": Click on the "Products & Plans" option to enter the configuration area.




3. Explore the Three Main Sections: On the next page, you will find three options: "Manage Products," "Plans," and "Additional Settings & Payment Gateways."




Breaking Down "Products & Plans"


1. Manage Products


When you click on "Manage Products," you will be taken to a page where you can configure the products of your site.


What is a Product?


A product refers to an individual ad, such as a listing, classified, event, banner, or article.


Upon accessing this page, you will see tabs for configuring your products, each tab corresponding to a different product type.



Product Levels Configuration


Levels: Each product (e.g., listings) comes with preset levels like "Diamond," "Gold," "Silver," and "Bronze." You can rename these levels and add up to 10 levels per product.


Product Features: This section allows you to determine which features each product level will include. Features may include a detail page, number of deals, email, URL, phone, imagery, and more. After configuring the features, click "Save changes" at the bottom of the page.




2. Plans


In the "Plans" section, you can create plans for your site users. Follow these steps to create a plan:



Create a Plan: Click the "Create plan" button.


Plan Name: Enter the name of your plan.

Pricing Model: Add details such as the free trial period (in days), the price, and the payment cycle. You can offer up to two payment cycles, allowing users to choose their preferred option. Available billing cycles include:

  • Weekly
  • Biweekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Semiannual
  • Annual
  • One-time payment




Note: The free trial option is available only if you have configured Stripe payment gateway on your site. For more information on setting this up, please refer to this article: How to activate Stripe on my eDirectory on version 13.5.0



Included Products Configuration


Add Products to Plan: In the "Included products" section, select the products to include in the plan (e.g., articles, listings, banners) and click the plus sign to add them.



After clicking on the plus sign and adding your products, you will see them listed on the right side box. 




Configure Product Limits: Define how many of each product type a user subscribed to this plan can add, or set it to be "unlimited", so that the subscriber can add unlimited items. 



Listing Template: When the product is a listing, you are able to select which listing template the listings can be added under by clicking on "Browse".




Paywall Configuration: Enable the paywall if you want users to pay to access the content in this plan.


3. Additional Settings & Payment Gateways


This section allows you to configure the billing structure of your site, including tax settings, currency, autobill options, and payment gateway integrations. 




The supported payment gateways are:





Note: For detailed instructions on configuring each payment gateway, please refer to the following articles: 

How to activate Stripe on my eDirectory on version 13.5.0
How to configure Paypal Standard on version 13.5.0
How to configure Authorize.Net on version 13.5.0
Integración Mercado Pago en la versión 13.5.0 (Latin America market)



Configuring the display of the plans


Once your plans have been configured, it is needed to ensure that they will display to the users of the site. In order to do this, please, follow the steps below:


  • Navigate to the Design tab.
  • Click on the "Page Editor" option
  • Click to edit the "Advertise with us" page. 
  • Find the widget "Pricing & Plans Cards" and click to edit it. 
  • Within the widget, click on "Add plan"
  • Next, select the plan you have previously created and click "Add". 
  • After these steps, the plan has been added to the widget. 
  • Click on "Save changes".
  • It is also important to click on "Save changes" in the top right corner of the page.
  • Now, upon accessing your site, the user will be able to see the plan you have added by clicking on "List with us"
  • The plan you have created will be visible to your customers, letting them know what the plan includes. The plan we have added as an example includes a listing Diamond, a Classified Diamond, and a Banner Leaderboard. Within each option, the user can click on the "+" sign to open a dropdown with more information on what each add features. 


Conclusion


The "Products & Plans" feature in eDirectory version 13.5.0 offers powerful tools to customize and enhance your site offerings. By following these steps, you can effectively manage your products, create attractive plans, and streamline your payment processes. We hope you find this new feature valuable and easy to use.


If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out to our support team.


Happy configuring!