Smart Directory Pro sells paid listing upgrades through Easy Digital Downloads (EDD). Each listing is either Free or Pro, and business owners pay a monthly or annual price to move a listing to Pro.
You set the prices and choose the Pro perks on the Packages screen. EDD handles the checkout and payment gateways.
- Easy Digital Downloads must be active with at least one payment gateway enabled: without both, the Packages screen shows a warning and checkout cannot take payment.
- There is one paid tier, called Pro, sold as Monthly (30 days) or Annual (365 days): default prices are 9.99 and 79.99 in your EDD currency.
- A completed EDD payment switches the listing to Pro straight away: Featured, Dofollow and Verified are applied on activation when those perks are enabled.
- Owners get one renewal reminder email inside the final 7 days, then an expiry email when the listing drops back to Free: both are sent by daily WP-Cron jobs.
- Two shortcodes put the offer in front of owners: [sdp_pricing] for a full Free vs Pro page, [sdp_upgrade_card] for a single listing.
Contents
- Requirements
- How packages work
- Configuring the Pro package
- What Pro turns on on a listing
- What happens when an owner pays
- Expiry and renewal reminders
- Shortcodes
- What customers see
- Troubleshooting
- FAQ
Requirements
Paid packages need the Easy Digital Downloads plugin installed and active, plus one enabled payment gateway such as Stripe or PayPal.
Smart Directory Pro checks both conditions and reports one of three states on the Packages screen: EDD missing, EDD active with no gateway, or ready.
| State | Notice on the Packages screen | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| EDD not installed or inactive | Easy Digital Downloads is not active. Pro listings can’t take payment until EDD is installed and configured. | Install and activate Easy Digital Downloads from Plugins, Add New. |
| EDD active, no gateway | EDD is active but no payment gateway is configured. Visit EDD → Settings → Gateways. | Enable a gateway under Downloads, Settings, Payments (Gateways tab). |
| Ready | No notice | Nothing to do. |
When EDD is active, every price in the directory uses the EDD currency. The currency setting in Smart Directory Pro only applies if EDD is later removed.
How packages work
Smart Directory Pro has two listing tiers: Free and Pro. Every listing starts on Free, and a paid subscription moves one listing to Pro for a fixed period.
Behind the scenes the plugin creates one EDD download called Pro Listing Upgrade. It uses EDD variable pricing with two price options, Monthly and Annual, which mirror the prices you enter on the Packages screen.
This download is tagged with the sdp-internal download category and flagged as hidden, so it is meant to be bought through the directory’s upgrade links rather than your EDD shop pages.
Each paid upgrade is stored as a row in the wp_sdp_subscriptions database table (your table prefix may differ). The row records the listing, the owner, the EDD payment ID, the price paid, the billing cycle, the start date, the expiry date and whether a reminder has been sent.
Configuring the Pro package
Open the Smart Directory Pro admin menu and click Packages. The screen has two tabs, Settings and Subscriptions, and a counter in the header showing how many Pro subscriptions are active.
Settings tab fields
| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Pro package (paid tier) | On | Turns the paid tier on or off. When off, [sdp_pricing] shows “Premium listings are not currently available. Check back soon.” and the upgrade card shows a disabled “Pro not available” button. |
| Monthly Price | 9.99 | Price for 30 days of Pro. Synced to the Monthly price option on the EDD download. |
| Annual Price | 79.99 | Price for 365 days of Pro. Synced to the Annual price option. The screen shows the saving against 12 monthly payments. |
| Trial Days | 0 | 0 means no trial. Any number above 0 replaces the 30 or 365 day period, so the subscription created by the purchase lasts that many days instead. |
Below the pricing card sit Pro Perks, Content Features and a Tier Preview table that updates as you flip toggles. Click Save changes to store everything.
Creating the EDD product
The Pro Listing Upgrade download is created on demand. It is created the first time the plugin requests an upgrade checkout URL for a listing, or when an administrator calls the REST route POST /wp-json/sdp/v1/admin/packages/setup-edd.
Once the download exists, every Save on the Packages screen pushes your current Monthly and Annual prices to it. Until it exists, the Pro card on the pricing page shows a disabled Coming soon button, and administrators see a note asking them to connect an EDD product.
Subscriptions tab
In the current release the Subscriptions tab shows an information notice: the subscription list is planned as a separate screen. Subscription records still exist in the database and are available to administrators through the REST route /wp-json/sdp/v1/admin/subscriptions, which supports cancelling a subscription or extending it by 30 or 365 days.
What Pro turns on on a listing
Pro features are split into two groups. Pro Perks are gated to Pro listings. Content Features are site-wide switches that apply to every listing.
| Feature | Group | Effect on a Pro listing |
|---|---|---|
| Featured Placement | Pro Perk | Sets the listing’s featured flag on activation. |
| Dofollow Backlink | Pro Perk | Sets the dofollow flag, so the website link drops nofollow. |
| Verified Badge | Pro Perk | Sets the verified flag on activation. |
| Premium Listing Badge | Pro Perk | Pro listings get the sdt-listing-card--pro class on cards in the SDP theme. |
| Analytics Dashboard | Pro Perk | Listed as a Pro perk on the pricing page. |
| Review Response | Pro Perk | Owners of Free listings who try to reply see “Replying to reviews is a Pro feature. Upgrade this listing to respond.” Admins can always reply. |
| Video Embed | Content Feature | Site-wide switch. |
| Extended Gallery (20 photos) | Content Feature | Pro listings allow 20 gallery photos, Free listings allow 5. |
| Business FAQ Section | Content Feature | Site-wide switch. |
| Custom CTA Button | Content Feature | Site-wide switch. |
Only Featured, Dofollow and Verified are written to the listing at activation time. Turning one of those perks off later does not strip it from listings that are already Pro; it applies to the next activation.
What happens when an owner pays
When EDD marks a payment complete, Smart Directory Pro looks for the Pro Listing Upgrade download in the cart and activates Pro on the listing tied to that payment.
- The price option decides the cycle: Monthly gives 30 days, Annual gives 365 days (or the Trial Days value if above 0).
- Any existing active subscription for that listing is closed as expired, so a listing never holds two active rows.
- A new active subscription row is written with the price paid and the expiry date.
- The listing is switched to Pro and the enabled Featured, Dofollow and Verified flags are set.
- The listing ID and billing cycle are saved on the EDD payment as
_sdp_listing_idand_sdp_billing_cycle.
From version 1.9.8 the listing travels inside the order: the pricing and upgrade-card buttons add the listing ID and the chosen billing cycle to the Easy Digital Downloads cart item, so the payment always knows which listing it is for, including guest checkouts. If a payment still cannot be matched (for example, a purchase from a generic pricing page by a buyer who owns several listings), it is flagged on the payment and the site owner is emailed a link to a one-step Assign Pro upgrade screen, where entering the listing ID switches Pro on. A buyer who owns exactly one listing is matched to it automatically.
Refunds and failed payments
If a completed payment changes to refunded, revoked or failed in EDD, the linked listing drops back to Free and its subscription is marked expired.
Expiry and renewal reminders
Two WP-Cron jobs run once a day: sdp_check_subscription_expiry and sdp_send_renewal_reminders.
| Event | When | Email subject |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal reminder | First daily run after the subscription enters its final 7 days. Sent once per subscription. | [Site name] Your Pro subscription expires in N days |
| Expiry | First daily run after the expiry date passes. The listing is downgraded to Free. | [Site name] Your Pro subscription has expired |
The reminder goes to the user who bought the subscription. The expiry email goes to the listing’s author. Both link to the page set as your directory dashboard page, or to the home page if none is set.
Subscriptions do not charge automatically at the end of the period. To keep Pro, the owner buys a new Monthly or Annual upgrade for the listing, which starts a fresh period from the purchase date.
WP-Cron runs when your site receives traffic. On quiet sites, a real server cron hitting wp-cron.php keeps reminders and expiry on time.
Shortcodes
[sdp_pricing]
Renders the full Free vs Pro offer: a header, an Annual/Monthly toggle, two plan cards and a “Compare plans” table. All prices and rows come from the Packages settings.
| Attribute | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
show_header |
1 |
Set to 0 to hide the “Get more from your listing” heading and subtitle. |
show_features |
all |
Accepts all, perks or content. The value is output as a data-show attribute on the wrapper for theme styling. |
Example: [sdp_pricing show_header="0"]
The billing toggle only appears when both prices are above zero. It defaults to Annual and shows the saving, for example “save 33%”. The SDP theme ships a Pricing page template that wraps this shortcode in a branded layout.
The Pro card lists up to six enabled features, each with its label and a one-line benefit (shortened in the mockup). Switching the toggle to Monthly swaps the price to the monthly figure with “/mo”.
[sdp_upgrade_card]
Renders a compact upgrade card for one listing, intended for an owner dashboard.
| Attribute | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
listing_id |
0 |
Required. The shortcode outputs nothing without a listing ID. |
Example: [sdp_upgrade_card listing_id="123"]
A Free listing sees up to four enabled perks and two buttons: an annual upgrade and, when the monthly price is above zero, a monthly option. A Pro listing sees the confirmation state with its expiry date instead.
What customers see
Business owners see the pricing page or upgrade card, then land on your normal EDD checkout with Pro Listing Upgrade in the cart. After payment, EDD shows its usual purchase confirmation and receipt.
Directory visitors see the result on the listing itself: featured placement, the verified badge, a dofollow website link, and the larger gallery. Pro cards in the SDP theme carry a Pro style class for the premium badge.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Pro card button says “Coming soon” | The Pro Listing Upgrade download has not been created yet. | Call POST /wp-json/sdp/v1/admin/packages/setup-edd as an administrator, then reload the pricing page. |
| “Premium listings are not currently available” | Enable Pro package (paid tier) is off. | Turn it on under Packages, Settings and click Save changes. |
| Checkout loads but cannot take payment | No EDD gateway enabled. | Enable Stripe, PayPal or another gateway in EDD settings. |
| Payment completed, listing still Free | The payment could not be matched to a listing. | Open the link in the “Pro payment needs a listing” email and enter the listing ID. On versions before 1.9.8, update the plugin: purchases from the pricing buttons were not linked to listings. |
| EDD price differs from Packages price | Prices sync on Save. | Open Packages and click Save changes. |
| Reminders or expiries arrive late | WP-Cron only runs on page visits. | Add a server cron job for wp-cron.php. |
| No emails at all | Emails use wp_mail(). |
Install an SMTP plugin and send a test email. |
FAQ
Does Smart Directory Pro work with WooCommerce for paid listings?
Paid listings run on Easy Digital Downloads. The plugin detects EDD, creates the Pro Listing Upgrade download and listens for EDD payment events.
Can I create more than one paid package?
The current release has one paid tier, Pro, with Monthly and Annual billing. You choose which perks it includes.
Do Pro subscriptions renew automatically?
Each purchase covers a fixed 30 or 365 days. The owner gets a reminder in the final 7 days and renews by buying the upgrade again.
What happens to a listing when Pro expires?
It stays published and drops to the Free tier. Featured, Dofollow and Verified flags are cleared and the gallery limit returns to 5 photos.
What does Trial Days do?
When it is above 0, the subscription created by a purchase lasts that many days instead of 30 or 365. It does not change the price charged.
What happens if I refund an upgrade in EDD?
Changing a completed payment to refunded, revoked or failed downgrades the listing to Free straight away.
Which currency is used?
The EDD currency. The currency setting in Smart Directory Pro applies only when EDD is not active.
Will the Pro Listing Upgrade product show in my EDD shop?
It is assigned the sdp-internal download category and flagged as hidden. If your theme lists all downloads, exclude that category.