Online Classifieds
Description
Local classified ads are a cornerstone of the web portal StateCollege.com. In order to increase the value of these ads, the system was redesigned from the ground up. I redeveloped a fee-based upgrade system which allows users to select "upgrades" for their ads - for example, make your ad appear at the top of the search, highlight it in the listings, upload five or ten images (default is 1), and more. I restructured the category system, breaking it into a 2-level structure that supports fees. Jobs and apartments ads were notorious for spam, but now that a small fee has been added to those categories, virtually all spam has been eliminated.
To make the ads more search engine friendly, I implemented mod rewrite. Before: /classifieds/browse.php?cat=9 After: /classifieds/housing/apartments/
Payment methods accepted: PayPal, Credit Card, or "Site Credits", a feature provided to businesses that advertise on the portal.
- PayPal, Credit Card and Site Credit payments are accepted and processed
- Users can purchase upgrades for their ads, like having it displayed on the home page
- Dynamic RSS feeds
- Search Engine friendly URL rewriting
