Launch catalog / Playbook
Directory-Free
Conditional free route directory
Researched from public pages — no submission was run · sources read 2026-09-25. Rules change — recheck the platform's own pages before submitting.
What the free route requires
- Free 'Regular listing' exists but inclusion is NOT guaranteed and review happens 'as and when a reviewer has time'
- Free listings appear below all featured listings, get no thumbnail, and carry ads on the listing page
- Featured listing ($4.95 one-time) gets 24h approval, dofollow links on category and details pages, top-of-category placement, thumbnail, no ads, and 'Premium Sites' inclusion — refunded if not accepted
Requirements
- General web directory (not software-specific) — pick the most specific category/sub-category (e.g. Software, Computers/Developers, Internet/SEO Services)
- Regular listing: site must be in English; deep links are not allowed (homepage URL only)
- Featured listing: site NOT accepted if it is an Escorts, Tobacco, Nicotine, Health or Games site
- The featured-listing rules contain an apparent typo: 'The site should not be in English' — likely intended as a language requirement consistent with the regular rules; verify before relying on it
Prepare before opening the form
- Homepage URL (no deep links for free submissions)
- Title and description
- Best-fit category/sub-category
- $4.95 if choosing featured (payment mechanism shown on the submit page)
Workflow
- Go to https://www.directory-free.com/submit/submit.php ('SUBMIT SITE' in nav)
- Choose Regular (free) or Featured ($4.95 one-time) listing block
- Select the category/sub-category from the long list
- Enter site details and submit
- Free: wait for an editor to get to it (no SLA). Featured: approval within 24 hours, full refund if rejected
Watch for
- Inclusion is explicitly not guaranteed on the free tier — the listing may never be reviewed
- Ads appear on the listing page for free listings; featured pages are ad-free
- Deep links rejected on free tier — submit the homepage
- Contradictory language rule on the featured block ('should not be in English') — probably a copy error, but non-English sites should verify first
- Old-school directory UI (table layout, PHP pages) — functional but dated; link equity is modest despite the 'oldest directory' claim
What counts as live
The site appears in its category page listing and gets a view-<slug>-<id>.html details page
Not verified
- Whether free listings' links are dofollow (catalog note says follow; featured is confirmed dofollow, free unstated)
- Actual free-tier review latency
- Whether an account is needed (submit.php appears to be an open form)