Using The Classified Program

You should read this help page carefully and make sure you understand what options the classified program offers and how to set it up properly.

Making changes during operation could confuse users and generate hate mail if you change or remove features they expected when they paid for the ads.

There are 4 primary items that must be configured before the program can be used.

1.) Main configuration - Set up colors, options, security and pricing.
2.) Add Main Categories - Add up to 25 main categories.
3.) Edit Main Categories - The main category is the main heading, but all ads will be placed in a subcategory. You can designate up to 15 subcategories for each main category. Define alternate pricing for the main category and a description of the category.
4.) Define Form Fields - You will need to set up form fields that will be used for the ads. For example, if you are selling cars, you might ask for the year, mileage and price etc.

Once the program is configured simply add the inclusion code to your page.
%%include-classified%%

Most of the configuration pages are detailed and explain what is what. But this page has additional information and explanations about the program and how it works. For general details about the program read the about the classified page.

1. Main Configuration

Main Page Layout- There are 2 options for the main page. A common internet style with 3 columns with each category and description or subcategory. The second option is a list where each category and subcategory take up a full line. The second option looks more like a printed classified in a newspaper or magazine. Both options are great and can be changed at any time if your preference changes.

Display a Navigation Menu - You can choose to allow the program to add a simple text navigation bar at the bottom of the pages. This list will only be for the main page, the pricing page and a link to place ads. If you don't add your own links, you definitely need to use this one. It is removable to allow you to build your own pages using the menu buttons rather than the text links. If you are not an advanced user, just use the navbar the program provides for you.

List all categories and subcategories regardless of the number of ads - You can list the main index with all categories and subcategories even if their are no ads in those categories. They will appear with a 0 to show they are empty. However, they still link to an empty page.

You can just list the categories that have at least 1 ad in them, but when you get started, the main index would be blank. So as a starting point, you should list all categories.

Show subcategories - In the main index you can list the subcategories under the main category or show a description of the entire category. Sample below:

Include Search option - Checking this will add a search form to each of the classified pages. If you only have a few ads its probably not necessary, but most people expect a way to search. The search will search all ads in the classified and return matches regardless of the category.

Allow an image upload - Allowing an image upload will enable advertisers to include a photo up to 1MB with their ad. You can also charge a premium for the photo option. The advertiser will have the option of adding the photo for the extra fee or placing a text only ad. You do not have to charge a premium, you can allow the photo upload at the same price or as part of a free listing.

Number of days to run ad before expiring - you will need to set the ad duration. There is no override, all ads will run for the set period of time. So configure your classified for the best value for your market. You can allow up to 90 days. If you only allow 7 days, consider what the value is to your advertiser in that time period. Will they get a response, do you have the traffic to justify the short run time.

Allow advertiser to specify ad duration - Since you may post an ad for 90 days before expiring, there may be instanced where that is too long for the advertiser. If they are having an open house in 2 weeks, there is no reason to run the ad past 14 days. You can allow each advertiser to specify a lesser time to run the ad if they choose. The pricing does not change, but the ad will expire at their set date.

Number to display per page - You can specify the number of ads to list on a page. Ten is usually a good number if you are using photos because of the thumbnail images. But you can list up to 50 per page.

if you click on a main category or subcategory it will only list the ads in that category or subcategory. So pages are only broken down when the total ads is greater than the number to list per page. 50 would insure that most ads would be listed on the same page unless you have a very busy classified.

Allow ad editing - This is not recommended, but you can allow users to edit the ads after they are posted. The danger is that you may have reviewed an ad and it was fine then they change it to something malicious, spam or links to porn sites. Its a nice feature, but like every good thing, people abuse it.

Maximum Number of words allowed in each ad - If you want to limit the ad description below the 500 word program imposed limit you can. There is really no point since you don't pay more for the space but depending on your market, smaller ads may work better or you may want to list the full description in the searches and index pages. In that case, keep the ads smaller.

Remove all HTML from ads - It is never recommended that you allow people to use HTML in ads. They can link from your Church website to porn or viagra sites or even worse. Or they can severely modify the way your pages displays and even make it disappear completely. By disabling the use of HTML all HTML coding will be removed from all the ad fields when the ad is placed and prevent these types of problems.

Automatically link URLs in descriptions - If you are disabling HTML any links that the user wanted to have will be removed. You can auto link urls in the description that use a complete url format https://something.com the link will open a new window and take the visitor to the advertisers website. Its nice to link to the advertsirs website without giving them full control of the link. It is also nice to automatically link the url since most users have no idea how to add the HTML code to do that.

Display Date each ad was placed - By selecting display date you can include the date the ad was placed. This shows users which ads are new and which have been around for 3 months. For products this is great, but for business services you don't need to show the date since the service is always available. So how it is displayed or if it is displayed is up to you. You can set a standard mm/dd/yy format or have it spelled out Monday January 1 1970.

Charging for each ad or allowing free ads

There are three items you can charge for.

1) The basic ad
2) Including a photo
3) Featuring the ad

Each item is priced separately and allows the advertiser to choose the additional options for the additional costs. Setting any field at 0 will make that option free. If you are not allowing the use of images, then the price does not have to be specified for that option. The basic ad price can be set in each category and can be unique for each category. If no price is specified, the price will be the price set in the main configuration.

Setting the feature ads price at 0 will eliminate the option from the website and will not display any featured ads. you can also select the option to use nonfeatured ads. In the event that no ads are featured random ads will be chosen to fill in the featured list. As soon as there is at least 1 featured ad to display, the nonfeatured ads will be eliminated and only paid ads will be displayed.

Security & Posting

Automatically post all ads - You can choose to automatically post all ads when they are placed. Review the ads manually before they are placed or post all paid ads automatically and only review the free ads. The last option allows paid advertisers instant gratification while giving you the security to review the ads that are not paid and are more likely spam.

Remove Words - If you are using the autoposting of ads you might want to filter out offensive words so they don't get posted.

If you specify to remove the word "shit", then the sentence "I shit my pants." would appear as "I [REMOVED] my pants."

You can specify as many words as you need separated by spaces. This is just a basic filter that prevents foul language in the ads. You can always edit the ads, but some automated intervention is always nice.

Maximum daily posts per visitor - In the case of paid ads you don't want to limit how any times a person can post ads on your website. However, if the ads are free it is necessary to limit the number of ads placed or spam will fill your pages. Generally you would not want to allow anyone to place more than 2 or 3 ads a day on your website in either case.

CAPTCHA verification code - This is the image verification system that forces people to type in the letter or numbers displayed into a form field. This is highly recommended but not required. If the ads are being paid for, then the verification is the hard cash, but with free ads you could be attacked by robots every day.

Image verification is the best protection you have against bots. But like all security it tends to make using the program that much harder and can irritate people. We recommend using it, but the final choice is up to you. We offer the best protection available to keep the program useful. If you disable it, you will need to monitor the ads constantly for spam.

The captcha wont prevet spam, but it will cut down and prevent automated spam attacks.

2. Add Main Categories

Add main categories by clicking on the "add categories link" in the classified management page. Categories will break up the display of ads into common themes. For example, Automotive, Employment, Services, Realestate etc.

Once you set up the main categories, each category will need to be edited by adding subcategories, description and pricing alternatives.

3. Editing Main Categories and adding Subcategories

Description - When the main category is listed on the main page, you may choose to list the subcategories or use the description specified. The example below shows the difference between the two listings.

Subcategories - Subcategories will be listed in the order they appear in the list. DO NOT CHANGE THE ORDER! Each name in the list will be assigned a number. Once an ad is placed in will match that number. If you mix up the order, the ads will still correspond the the number they were placed under which could get messy.

It will be important that you set the subcategories and stick with them. Adding a subcategory is not a problem but removing one or renaming one after ads are placed in that subcategory is a big problem. Ads will become orphans.

If you remove a subcategory, the ads in that subcategory will be moved to a Miscellaneous subcategory which is the final resting place for all ads placed in sub categories that no longer exist.

Alternate pricing - The main pricing is set in the main configuration. However, each main category will allow and override price. This enables you to charge a different price for each category. It also allows you to designate some categories as free by setting the price at 0.

The alternate pricing structure means you can charge $5 for a used car ad, $10 for a house for sale and allow anyone with a lost kitten to place a free ad. The pricing structure is totally up to you.

The program automatically generates a pricing page which outlines the price for each category. Any time you change a price, the page will automatically adjust.

4. Setting the Form Field Names

There are 15 main data fields for information like Name, Address, Phone Number, e-mail and so on. If you are running an automotive classified you may want to include Year of Vehicle and Model. If you are running a personals classified, you may want to include Sex, Hair Color and Height etc.

It is totally up to you what your classified will have. However, once you set the fields, you need to stick with them since the data is compiled based on the format you have specified. Making changes after ads are placed will make the pages appear mixed up or not working at all.

All information collected will be displayed. So do not ask for personal details that the advertiser does not want publicly posted on the internet.

Additional Notes

If you are confused about the setup of the program, you can use the default setup for a general classified and then change the settings to fit your needs.

The setup and configuration is easy, but you need to know what your classified is going to do and what information you want to display. You will need to know what categories and subcategories and descriptions you will use. Essentially, you need to know the market your classified will target.

The setup is lengthy and there is little help when building your own unique business model. If you don't know what your classified should have, you will need to research running your own classified and come up with a business plan.

This program is not for everyone to just hack up and add to their website. It is an extremely powerful e-commerce tool and requires a serious effort to set up and run.