dvduval - 4:52 am on Aug 8, 2010 (gmt 0)

There is a pretty big demand for category dumps for directory scripts. Anytime there is a conversation about this I try to point out that this is not the best strategy. Some of the issues would include:
1. Creation of stub pages with no content
2. Duplication of content (the structure)
3. Directory immediately looks empty

Instead I recommend directories start with a small list of top level categories and make sure each of those category pages are worth visiting. In modern directory scripts, there are varying methods for making a category interesting including:
1. Links
2. Articles
3. News feeds
4. Text on the category page itself
5. Location drill down
6. Sorting of content
7. Integration of widgets (there are tons from weather to video to adsense and clickbank products)

In short a directory in the last couple of years can be so much more than a place to submit a link and go, and there are lots of examples of this in recent years (and some old sites too).

The word "directory" denotes structure, organization, categorization. More recently, its not just about links. It is about structuring content. There are some large sites on the web that could learn a lot from directories, because they very much lack structure, and it makes it difficult for the user to find content or relationships within the content.