Directories Pro written by Sabai Apps is a premium WordPress plugin for creating directory-style websites and can be purchased on CodeCanyon for $39.
Who Is Sabai Apps?
There is not a ton of information available about the who behind Sabai Apps. Even whether it is a lone wolf developer or a team is unclear, for ease of reference we will refer to them in the plural throughout this article. One tidbit we do know is that they are based out of Japan.
Their username on CodeCanyon is onokazu and they have been on CodeCanyon since 2011 (7 years!). They sell three products:
- Directories Pro – The product we are evaluating here and their newest product.
- Sabai Directory – Originally released in 2013, this is the predecessor to Directories Pro. It was initially meant to be the 2.0 release of this product, but due to the extensive rewrite they decided to release it as a separate product.
- It has a 4.53 rating on CodeCanyon from 664 reviews as of Aug. 12th, 2018.
- It has been the most popular WordPress directories plugin on CodeCanyon for quite some time, though this is likely to move to Directories Pro as time progresses.
- It is possible to export Sabai Directory’s contents to Directories Pro.
- Sabai recommends purchasing Directories Pro instead of Sabai Directory if you aren’t already utilizing Safari Directory.
- Sabai Discuss – Originally released in Nov. 2012, this software is similar in functionality to StackOverflow.
- It has a 4.43 rating on CodeCanyon froom 274 reviews as of Aug. 12th, 2018.
Quick Links to Directories Pro Resources
Here are the resources you will most frequently utilize if you decide to purchase and install Directories Pro:
- Directories Pro Documentation – The documentation is fairly thorough and of good quality.
- Directories Pro Comments – Unfortunately, Sabai Apps has not created their own discussion forum for users of their product but instead use the quite limited commenting cabilities of CodeCanyon.
- Directories Pro Blog – They have been faithful in providing detailed release notes with each new version of the software.
- Directories Pro Demo – A live demo of the Directories Pro software, its major weakness is its lack of responsiveness on smaller devices.
- Directories Pro Support Page (on CodeCanyon) – Has answers to a very few questions as well as a means of contacting the author.
- I, personally, post (almost) everything in the comments thread despite its limitations. This is answered frequently and creates a public repository of knowledge.
- Directories Pro Support Page – This is the support page on Directory Pro’s own website, which is simply a form, and they prefer you use the CodeCanyon support page referenced above.
- Other links one might find useful are the CodeCanyon Directories’ Pro listing page and the main page of the Directories Pro website.
Current Observations on Directories Pro
Let me start by saying that overall I am impressed with the Directories Pro software. For the purpose of this section, however, I will focus on potential issues I have ovserved with the software as they are likely more useful to those considering its purchase.
- One of the largest weaknesses of Directories Pro is its lack of an official forum for discussing the software by its users.
- This discourages users from sharing code modifications they have made that may be helpful to others.
- It makes it difficult to find answers to questions even if they have been asked repeatedly.
- The support of users by their peers is not encouraged due to the lack of a forum.
- IMHO, one way that Sabai Apps could offload a lot of their support requests and focus more on development is by setting up a user forum.
Frequently Asked Questions
These FAQ’s are garnered primarily from the comments on CodeCanyon. I find the comments to be quite awkward and difficult to utilize well and have included these Q&A’s here to provide a hopefully more helpful experience.
Note: I’m currently working on moving these FAQs into an FAQ plugin to make them easier to use. As FAQs are added to this plugin they are removed from here.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions
- Frequently Asked Questions Parts 3 to 10 are available on a separate page.
- As are Frequently Asked Questions Parts 11 to 17.