What Is A Web Directory?

Date First Published: 25th October 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Services

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 4/10

Learn more about what a web directory is in this article.

A web directory is an organised and categorised list of websites maintained by an individual or a group of individuals. In order for content to be added to the directory, the website owner has to manually include the link, name, and other information of the website. The website owner might also allow other people to request their site to be added to the directory. Requests may be free or people may have to pay a fee to have their website listed in the directory.

Web directories are used for different reasons, including increasing website traffic and the visibility of a website in the SERP since web directories can be used for the creation of backlinks to a website. However, nofollow backlinks will not pass any authority to the website.

Note:

Web directories are different from RSS directories which contain collections of RSS feeds instead of information about websites.

What Information Do Web Directories Contain?

Web directories may contain the following:

• The name
• The URL
• The website category
• Information about the domain name, such as the registration date, expiration date, DNS records, and WHOIS data.
• A business profile
• Information about the website posted by the individual or business that owns it, such as the purpose of it and what it does.
• Reviews, where users can post feedback about a website and rate it.

Difference Between A Web Directory and A Search Engine

A web directory is not the same thing as a search engine. Both are used to find content on the World Wide Web, but a search engines contain a massive database of search results that are automatically added by search engine bots and not organised into specific categories. The entries of web directories are manually created and organised into categories. Directories make it easy to find websites by subject whilst search engines make it easier to find websites by entering keywords. A website directory contains a much smaller database than a search engine.

Another difference between a web directory and a search engine is that entries in a web directory are moderated and have stricter guidelines than search engines. The entries of search engines are not moderated or reviewed as there are millions of new entries automatically added on a daily basis, such as in the Google search engine. This means that a search engine has a much higher risk of delivering irrelevant content and links to malicious sites than a web directory, which only has content that has been reviewed by an editor. Depending on the amount of submissions, it can take up to a few weeks for a website to get checked.

Examples Of Web Directories

Examples of web directories are:

• Best Of The Web - Launched in 1994, Best Of The Web has been a trusted directory used to find verified businesses. Website owners must pay a fee to have their website in the directory.
• The World Wide Web Virtual Library - One of the oldest online web directories that was launched in 1991. It was created by Tim-Berners Lee who invented HTML and the World Wide Web.
• Jasmine Directory - An SEO-friendly web directory that allows businesses to submit their website and write information about it for a fee.
• World Site Index - A searchable and human-edited web directory that contains a directory of websites, organised by categories. Website owners can include their sites in the directory for a fee.
• Submission Web Directory - A web directory where website owners can submit their website along with a description and title. It is free to add a website to the directory, but for adding an entry to the featured links which appear at the top, a yearly fee is required.
• Somuch.com - A web directory where website owners can submit a link to their website and after being approved, it will appear in the directory. It is free to add a website to the directory, but enhanced links require a yearly fee.

History

During the early development of the World Wide Web, there was a list of web servers edited by Tim Berners-Lee and hosted on the CERN webserver. One historical snapshot from 1992 remains. In addition, he created the World Wide Web Virtual Library, which is the oldest web directory.

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