Business Claims

Availability: Free + Pro. The claim workflow is Free; Pro adds the Verification Badge that displays once a claim is approved.

What it does

The claims system lets real business owners take ownership of a listing in your directory. Once a claim is approved, the owner can edit the listing, reply to reviews, and manage their services - all from their user dashboard.

Business Claims - screenshot from the modernized 1.0.5 site

Why you'd use it

  • Unclaimed listings get stale; claims give owners a reason to keep data accurate.
  • Transfers listing management to the owner - reducing your admin workload.
  • Creates trust signals: claimed listings can display a verification badge (Pro).
  • No code required - the entire flow is handled by the plugin.

Claims admin - pending claims with approve / reject / view-proof actions

How to use it

For site owners (admin steps)

  1. Go to Listora → Settings → Claims and toggle Enable claims on.
  2. Set Auto-approve to off (recommended) so you can review each claim before transferring ownership.
  3. Check Require login to ensure only registered users can submit claims.
  4. When a claim is submitted, go to Listora → Claims to review it:
  • Filter by status: Pending, Approved, Rejected.
  • Open a claim to see the business role, verification notes, and contact information provided by the claimant.
  • Click Approve to transfer the listing to the claimant, or Reject with an optional reason.

For end users (visitor/user-facing)

  1. Find an unclaimed listing (it shows a "Claim this listing" button on the detail page).
  2. Click the button and fill in the claim form:
  • Business role: Owner, Manager, or Authorized Representative.
  • Verification notes: How you can prove ownership (e.g., "I am listed on the company registration").
  • Contact information: Phone or email for verification follow-up.
  1. Submit the claim. A success message appears with a "View my claims" link pointing to the My Claims tab on your dashboard.
  2. You'll receive an email notification when the claim is approved. The email includes an Edit Listing button so you can start managing your listing immediately.

What happens on approval

  • The listing's author is changed to the claiming user.
  • The user gains edit access to that listing from their My Claims dashboard tab.
  • A verification badge can be added manually by the site owner (Pro - see Verification Badges).
  • An email confirmation is sent to the claimant with a direct link to edit the listing.

Tips

  • Require a phone number in the verification notes field - it makes it easier to contact claimants quickly.
  • Reject a claim with a clear reason (e.g., "Please contact support with proof of ownership") so claimants know what to provide.
  • Use Listora → Claims regularly - pending claims don't expire, so review them on a schedule.
  • If you auto-approve claims, be aware that anyone can claim any listing. Only enable auto-approve for directories where listings are pre-verified.
  • The My Claims tab on the user dashboard shows claim status in real time. Direct claimants there after submission.

Common issues

Symptom Fix
"Claim this listing" button not visible Verify claims are enabled under Listora → Settings → Claims
User doesn't receive approval email Check your WordPress mail configuration; test with a plugin like WP Mail SMTP
Approved claim user can't edit the listing Confirm the listing's author was transferred correctly in Posts → All Posts
Claim status not updating on dashboard Clear your site cache

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