BePro Listings is the perfect wordpress plugin to assist you with setting up a listings site. Its FREE base features can be combined to create, real estate, classifieds, directory, business listings and other listing related websites. This page will help you get started. We will explain the various features and provide a few examples on how to use them.
WHERE TO START
Did you download the plugin as a zip file from BeProSoftware.com or WordPress.org? Either way, this step is easy. Goto the following admin page and click upload plugin. Upload the zip file
- WordPress Admin -> Plugins -> Add New
If you installed the plugin from the WordPress admin console, or you completed the step above, the next step is the same. Activate the plugin. Since version 2.1.99, we offer an installation wizard for all new activation’s. That will help you to get up and running. For those interested in customizing that experience, this tutorial will point you in the right direction. If the installation wizard did not start automatically, simply start it manually by clicking the activation link on the following plugin settings page
- WordPress Admin -> BePro Listings -> Options -> (Support Tab)

If you prefer to configure the plugin manually without the installation wizard, the best place to start is by creating a wordpress page and using our shortcodes. They all have various options which you can read about on the BePro Listings Shortcodes page. Note that we offer several shortcodes allowing you to place features where needed on your website. The easiest one to use is our “all in one” shortcode:
[bl_all_in_one]
That one shortcode is really a group of shortcodes called together (behind the scenes). If you have ajax turned on in the admin, then you have all of the features setup already. Alternatively, if you would like to create your own combination of features, you can use any of the following shortcodes:
[generate_map] [search_form] [filter_form] [display_listings] [display_listing_categories]
The shortcodes above are not the only ones available. The basic features of the shortcodes are explained below. If you would like an explanation of what shortcodes are, read more about them in the wordpress documentation. Since this is a BePro Software product, we have simplified the shortcode experience by offering a GUI experience towards delivering the shortcodes. Ultimately, its important to note that this is a major feature of WordPress and an important aspect of how this plugin distributes its features thoughout your wordpress website.
STEP BY STEP
- Download and install the plugin via the wordpress admin. Go to the “plugins->Add New” menu, search for BePro Listings, and click install
- Immediately after installation, you will be asked if you want to activate. Click activate
- Consider altering the options located under the newly created admin menu for BePro Listings. Go to the “BePro Listings->options” menu
- It is strongly recommended that beginners keep the “Ajax on” option selected. Look under the “Search/listings” tab. This simplifies the use of widgets and shortcodes, since you won’t have to worry about url forwarding.
- Use shortcodes for user interaction. Create a wordpress page, name it “listings” and place this shortcode in the content area [bl_all_in_one]
- (optional) Use widgets for user interaction. Add the search filter widget to your sidebars. Go to “Appearance->widgets” and add the search filter to your sidebar.
- (optional) If interested in having user submit listings to your website, create another page an call it “submit a listing”. In the content of that page, place the following shortcode [create_listing_form]
- (optional) Install any needed add-ons. Visit our website to view addon options which expand functionality
- (optional) Consider creating a template file for the Listing Detail Pages. This requires php knowledge and documentation is available on our website
HOW TO USE
The shortcodes and widgets all work together. Thats right, if you use the basic search, on a page with the dynamic map, the map will show the processed requested results. The shortcodes come with lots of options. Click here to view the BePro Listings Shortcode documentation.
Note that since WordPress 5.5, the shortcode builder is accessible through the classic block option. So add a classic block, then you will see the BePro logo as a button just like the video below.
BEGINNER TO EXPERT
We recommend that beginners keep the ajax features turned on for, search, filter and paging functions. They should also utilize our “all in one” shortcode and its options. That way, you don’t need to understand the everything right away. Simple put the all in one shortcode on a page and done.
Once you are more comfortable with BePro Listings, you can be more adventurous. The typical user will want to advertise features throughout your site. That’s in comparison to keeping everything on one single page.The shortcodes can be setup to implement different layouts as well as communicate across pages.
CUSTOMIZING THE LAYOUT
Once you have figured out what each aspect does, you can figure out the best way to distribute these features. For example, you may want to have your filter search feature in the sidebar and we provide a widget for that. You may want the basic search bar to be right above the map. We recommend a dedicated page for the “submit a listing” form.
You can click here to view more shortcode details and options. With these you can take the layout customization to a different level. You can have BePro Listings components live on completely different pages, and still communicate.
For example, imagine having a search box on your home page. That search box would submit to your listings page where you have the map and listings shortcodes setup. The shortcode options will tell the search box where to submit the information. All components are created so that they listen to each other. The map and listings will show the criteria requested in the search box on the home page
INTEGRATION
BePro Listings integrates into your theme in the following ways:
- Shortcodes and Widgets – Several shortcodes and widgets to choose from. They are explained in this BePro Listings Shortcodes article
- Template files – For best result, create a header, sidebar, and footer template for BePro Listings. Details are explained in this article about listings templates
- Admin Options – Tweak the options in the wordpress admin menu as discussed in the admin options article
Depending on how you combine the options, BePro Listings can be integrated into your existing wordpress theme in various ways. You can setup BePro Listings to work in three major configurations
- One page – Keep ajax turn on in the admin. Also use the “ajax page” option for the “how links open” option. This allows your customers to do all search and filtering on one page.
- Partially Distributed – Keep ajax turn on in the admin. However, change the option for “how links open” to “New Tab” or “Go To Page”
- Distributed – Turn ajax off in the admin. Utilize the shortcode url options to have features spread across your website. For example, you can put the search feature on your home page, and have it forward the user’s input to a designated listings page
CONCLUSION
We are constantly developing new features for this plugin. The hope is to continue providing options for a) retrieving b) displaying and c) engaging your members with the Information like ($Cost, @Contact, °Lat/Lon). If you have any ideas. don’t hesitate to contact us or comment in our forums