Changelog

Full version history for Local Directory, from initial release to current.

v1.5.0 Latest March 2026

  • Keyword autocomplete/typeahead in search form with listing and category suggestions
  • Favorites sync on login — merges guest localStorage favorites with server-side user favorites
  • Saved searches with weekly email alerts for new matching listings
  • Advanced search filters UI — collapsible "More Filters" panel with active filter count badge
  • User public profile pages with listing grid and stats
  • Private messaging system — threaded conversations between users with email notifications
  • Social login — Google and Facebook OAuth2 one-click login and registration
  • Listing packages/pricing tiers admin with unlimited package definitions
  • Stripe payment integration — Checkout Sessions for paid listing packages
  • Activity log/audit trail — automatic logging of listing changes, claims, reviews, payments
  • Role-based permissions — Listing Manager and Listing Owner custom WordPress roles
  • Duplicate listing detection — title, phone, and geo-proximity matching with merge tool
  • Scheduled publishing — auto-expire listings with warning emails at 7 and 1 day before
  • Custom map marker icons per category from taxonomy icon uploads
  • Get Directions link on single listing sidebar (Google Maps)
  • Custom field builder — admin UI to create/edit/reorder fields with 10 field types
  • REST API — 8 endpoints under local-directory/v1/
  • Webhook/Zapier integration — 9 event types with global/per-event URLs and HMAC signing
  • WPML and Polylang compatibility
  • Multi-directory support — ld_directory taxonomy for independent directory sections
  • Franchise/chain manager — ld_chain taxonomy with logo, chain landing pages
  • Video gallery — multiple video URLs per listing with YouTube/Vimeo/Dailymotion embed
  • PDF/menu upload — up to 5 PDF files per listing
  • Drag-and-drop listing reorder in admin

v1.4.0 February 2026

  • Frontend listing submission form with edit support ([ld-submit-listing] shortcode)
  • User dashboard for managing own listings ([ld-dashboard] shortcode)
  • Favorites page with grid display ([ld-favorites] shortcode)
  • Notification center — email alerts for reviews, enquiries, and claim status changes
  • Coupon/deals system with expiry and usage limits
  • Events/specials system with Event schema
  • Appointment/booking request form
  • Owner reply to reviews
  • Social sharing buttons (Facebook, X, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Email, Copy Link)
  • QR code generation for each listing
  • "Open Now" search filter based on opening hours
  • Nearby Places section on single listing pages (10 km radius)
  • Advanced SEO tools — per-listing meta title/description, breadcrumb schema, canonical URLs, meta robots
  • Open Graph and Twitter Card meta tags
  • reCAPTCHA v3 integration for contact, claim, report, and booking forms
  • Map marker clustering for Leaflet and Google Maps
  • Custom map styles — 5 presets
  • Address autocomplete powered by Google Places API
  • Price range filter ($–$$$$) in search and listing cards
  • CSV export with column selection and filtering
  • Bulk admin actions — feature, unfeature, approve listings
  • Newsletter opt-in integration with webhook support
  • Translation-ready with .pot file generation

v1.1.0 January 2026

  • Redesigned single listing page with two-column layout
  • Gallery grid hero with 3 layout variants and fullscreen lightbox
  • Sidebar info card with tags, social links, video embed, contact details
  • Enquiry/contact form modal with email notification
  • Share button with Web Share API and clipboard fallback
  • Similar Places section showing 3 related listings
  • Next/Previous listing navigation within category
  • Notification banners for closed businesses and pending listings
  • Admin fields for email, social links (6 platforms), video URL
  • Fixed search magnifier icon positioning

v1.0.5 December 2025

  • AI-powered description generation via OpenRouter during import
  • Configurable AI writing prompt and model selection in Settings > AI
  • SEO meta generation for Yoast SEO and Rank Math during import
  • Fixed shortcode name: [ld-listing-single] renamed to [ld-listing-page]
  • Plugin documentation in docs/ directory

v1.0.4 November 2025

  • Compare listings feature — side-by-side comparison of up to 4 listings
  • Recently viewed listings shortcode with client-side localStorage tracking
  • Elementor widgets for compare and recently viewed
  • Gutenberg blocks for compare and recently viewed

v1.0.3 October 2025

  • Claim listing feature with 6-digit email verification flow
  • Report system with honeypot spam protection and rate limiting
  • Analytics dashboard — track views, phone clicks, website clicks, directions, shares
  • Email notifications (9 types) with individually toggleable settings
  • Weekly digest email for administrators

v1.0.2 September 2025

  • Multi-criteria ratings system with configurable criteria per category
  • Favorites feature (server-side for logged-in users, localStorage for guests)
  • Badges system (Featured, New, Verified) with ld_badge_types filter
  • SVG icon support for categories with upload sanitization
  • Schema.org JSON-LD structured data output

v1.0.1 August 2025

  • Google Maps JSON import with PlaceID-based duplicate detection
  • Photo deduplication via _ld_source_url attachment meta
  • Dual map provider support (Leaflet/OpenStreetMap and Google Maps)
  • Viewport-based "Search this area" map interaction
  • Search form with keyword, category, location, and radius filters

v1.0.0 July 2025

  • Initial release