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Getting started

Most shops can publish a store directory in a few minutes: install Locator, add your stores, then drop the shortcode on a page.

  • WordPress 6.5 or newer
  • WooCommerce active (Locator registers under the WooCommerce menu and lists it as a required plugin)
  • PHP 8.1 or newer
  1. Install WooCommerce and make sure it is active.
  2. Install Locator from the plugin directory (when live on WordPress.org), or upload the locator folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
  3. Activate the plugin.

Go to WooCommerce → Store Locations and choose Add Location. Each location is a post; its details live in the Location details box below the editor:

  • Street address, City, Postcode / ZIP, Country
  • Phone and Email
  • Latitude and Longitude, optional (see below)
  • Opening hours, free text, one line per day, e.g. Mon-Fri: 9:00-18:00

The post title is the store name shown on the card; the editor body is an optional description. Set a featured image if you want a photo with the store (it is stored, ready for a future layout). Then Publish, only published locations appear in the directory, so you can draft a store now and publish it when it opens.

The Store Locations list shows a City and Phone column so you can scan your shops at a glance. Locations are ordered on the storefront by page-attributes Order (the Order box), then alphabetically by name, set the Order field to control the sequence.

These are optional and accept decimal degrees, e.g. 52.2297 and 21.0122. The free storefront does not render a map or a directions link, so leaving them blank changes nothing today; they exist for a future map add-on. Out-of-range or non-numeric values are discarded on save.

Open WooCommerce → Store Locator:

  • Search box, show or hide the filter field above the results.
  • Visible fields, tick Address, Opening hours and Phone. The store name is always shown; each ticked field only appears on a card when that store actually has a value.

The settings screen shows a live Example card that updates as you tick fields.

Add the shortcode to any page or post:

[locator]

That is the whole shortcode, it takes no attributes. Settings control the directory, not shortcode parameters.

  1. Open the page with the shortcode, your locations should render as cards.
  2. Type a city, postcode or store name, cards filter instantly and the result count updates and is announced.
  3. Disable JavaScript and reload, the full list should still render server-side.

The free edition covers managed locations, the searchable list, instant filtering and the accessible cards. Locator Pro (planned) adds an interactive map driven by the coordinates you store here, not basic directory access.