The classified platform is built for published ads for various services and goods. Individuals have two options one is free and paid for accessing the promotional platforms. Classified ads marketplace is divided into two categories – horizontal and vertical. Horizontal provides a diverse range of goods and services such as craigslist. Whereas in vertical hand, specialized in a particular niche. Such as Glassdoor, indeed in job-related searches.
Before going to develop a classified website similar to Craigslist, you need to know what niche can help out. Here are a few ideas that can be a great help.
- Classified for automobiles such as cars.com, auto list and Autotrader.
- Classified for fashion services and products. Can find apparel and fashion accessories.
- Classified for job searches such as simply hired, indeed, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor and monster.com
- Classified for real estates such as Trulia, realtor.com, Zillow and Redfin
- Multiple classifieds – all in one.
Why Craigslist Website?
People can use the craigslist platform to post an unlimited number of ads for housing, job position, sales and purchase of immovable and movable properties, even personal matters dating. Users can participate in discussions on craigslist forums. Craigslist website contains various categories of dates, locations and topics. Website also supports 13 languages and can post in various languages. Craigslist manages to outflank other giants such as OLX, Oodle and GumTree. Following points will list out its oddity which stands of all other classifieds platforms.
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Newspaper and normal look:
the design hadn’t changed from when it launched. And it looks as if you’re seeing newspaper ads the same in the newspaper and understandable for everyone even for older people. The design is not much when compared to other websites. No themes, no images, no animations. Only a group of links in different categories. Allow customers to achieve their goal in less time or period.
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Ad diversity:
The website supports 12 languages and 70 countries. It has hundreds of categories of ads and forums where people can discuss and sort out topics from software development to veganism and parenting. Every month nearly 60 million ads have been posted on the craigslist website, including one million job postings.
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Free and cheap ads:
Majority of post ads are free, and users from outside the USA do not require any registration. Anyone can go with craigslist and create ads with few clicks. Apartments rental ads, therapeutic services, ads, job ads, cost money. The most expensive posting ads are much cheaper than the Job board websites. The pricing ranges from 15 dollars to 75 dollars
How can we develop a website like Craigslist?
We can have two ways to build a website like craigslist or a website like a GumTree.
- Open-source solution.
- Build from scratch.
Let’s see in-depth for both processes.
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Open Source solution:
create your classified website by using open source solutions such as WordPress this way is the easiest method. Doesn’t need any coding skills or any experience in building the site, just knowledge of HTML and CSS. The cost involved in creating a site with WordPress templates is less. Out there free templates are available for creating a website like Craigslist or Gumtree. Need just to pay for domain name and maintenance.
Contact us for developing a website like craigslist like website using open source such as WordPress -
Develop from scratch:
developing from scratch demands a lot of time and money, but it is worthwhile. Here are the benefits when developed from scratch.
- Scalable architecture.
- Fully customizable.
- High range of security.
Benefit when developing from scratch is you can start with MVP.
What is the MVP?
Minimal viable product is a minimal version of the product which is used for testing at minimum risk. If the MVP version is launched and gets accepted, then consider modifying the website with advanced features.
MVP Features list for Classified website:
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Registration:
Sign up is for the user to create a personal profile and can manage profiles, personal info, transactions, ads and relation with other people.
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Personal profile:
Not all users need to create profiles on craigslist, those who want to post the paid ads and the users from the US. But we recommend adding a personal profile allows you to know the user data – target audience better and helps to moderate ads.
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Search filters:
Users can find relevant info and ads by categories.
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Post an Advertisement:
Users can post ads.
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Calendar:
Calendar allows users to find a list of events.
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Communication channel:
Craigslist allows people to send emails without the recipient’s address. Also, other option is to add a built-in chat to help customers get in touch without revealing the contact information such as LinkedIn.
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Ads are moderate:
They are illegal when the user sees an offensive advertisement.
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Community Forum:
Forum is a typical feature for a classified website due to engagement and strengthening the community.
If a classified website is not similar like craigslist then you can include other features such as following,
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Geolocation:
Users tend to sell or buy products nearby rather than far. Product listing should be based on location.
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Integrate chat:
For instant communication between sellers and buyers, it is essential.
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Security:
IP blocking or email, limited login attempts and login history will help to protect the services.
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Multiple payments opt:
Able to choose preferred payment giving feeling more secure and easier.
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Responsiveness:
your website should work on multiple platforms. So it needs to be responsive.
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Rating and Review system:
Don’t lose the chance of credibility of your classified website. Helps customers make the right decision.
How does it make money?
- Paid promotion
- Ads on the website itself
- Pay per click – PPC advertising.
Which one is better?
The answer depends on your goal. If you are looking for attracting investors or trying to have an idea, then opting for an open-source is a good idea. Suppose you need a customized, scalable and secure website. We recommend investing in developing websites like Craigslist from scratch.
Need help with developing a Classified Website?
Developing a classified website is not that hard from development unless you would like to implement advanced features. You need to know the audience well and develop a strong business model. Krify is here at your service from start to finish. Krify is a classified website development company in India. We develop it from scratch. Share your project details with us. Our experts will guide you by analyzing and doing business research.
