You got here. You found us. Why? Because you’ve been struck with a new, cool idea for a platform that connects two parties—suppliers and buyers—for your specific niche industry. And now, you’re researching the best possible solution to start building it.
Not just you. Everyone here has been through this phase at some point in their business journey.
So, what is actually the best way to build a directory marketplace? Should you:
- Build from scratch?
- Learn to code and do it yourself?
- Hire local developers, or that friend-of-a-friend who “knows some coding”?
- How much will it cost?
- How long will it take?
- And most importantly—will it be as great as you envision? How can you guarantee quality?
Learning to Code? Don’t Even Think About It
Alright, let’s start with the idea of learning to code and building it yourself.
Nowadays, AI can supposedly build entire websites and applications with tools like ChatGPT, Lovable.ai, or some other trendy tool, right?
No.
You’ve already failed before you even started—you just don’t realize it yet. You’ll waste months, even years, before you figure it out.
Why? Because it’s just not possible.
Surely, you’re not dumb enough to think watching YouTube tutorials and buying Udemy courses will make you a marketplace builder, right? Believe me, I’ve seen plenty of people go down this path, and it never ends well.
But what if you actually are a web developer or software engineer? What if you have a strong tech background?
It’s not about whether you can build a functional site (that’s a topic for another day). It’s about the fact that you’re wasting your most valuable resource—time. You’ll be so consumed for months, even years, writing code that you’ll abandon everything else a real entrepreneur needs to handle:
- Marketing
- Outreach
- Networking with industry leaders
- Supplier acquisition and sales
- Content creation
- Hiring talent and building a reliable team
- And, most importantly, funding your business
And no, you won’t be able to build a marketplace in a week or a month. And you shouldn’t want it to be that easy. If it were, anyone could do it, and there would be no market gap for you to fill.
Believe me, don’t try it. If you’re even considering this, you’re just overconfident and sitting at the peak of Mount Stupid in the Dunning-Kruger effect. You haven’t actually built a business from scratch yet to understand how hard it really is.
But keep reading—because I have a much better solution for you, whether you’re a developer, a marketer, a salesperson, or whatever your background may be, tech-savvy or not.
Why WordPress and Themes Are By Far Your Best Chance
I remember the first time I discovered ThemeForest. It was the moment. The “epiphany of life” feeling. I was ecstatic for days, thinking I had found the key to success.
A ride-sharing app, a Flutter food delivery clone, an OpenTable replica, a Booking.com alternative—everything was there.
I was so excited that I bought $600 worth of themes, apps, and visual templates, convinced that I had everything I needed to become a millionaire.
Why isn’t everyone a tech millionaire?! I can buy an Airbnb clone for 70 bucks! It’s only a matter of time before I launch my marketplace for ALL kinds of businesses!
I set a two-month timeline:
- Build my pharmacy delivery app
- Finish my university thesis
- Handle multiple subjects and side projects
If only I could go back in time and slap my past self as hard as possible.
The Reality of Pre-Built Themes
I was deep in the Mount Stupid curve, multiplied by my natural overconfidence. As a software engineer, I assumed that if I just put in a little effort, it would be easy.
Of course, it wasn’t. Like everyone who’s ever built a business, I got slapped in the face. Repeatedly.
Sooner or later, everyone gets humbled by the market.
The $80 Theme Trap
Now, after a few years, I’d be disgusted to work with my past self. But here’s the thing—I wasn’t the only one. Almost everyone falls into this trap.
And it’s expected.
An $80 theme is so incredibly cheap that it attracts all kinds of people—especially people like me, who were absolutely sure that everything was simple and that they could do it all themselves.
Here’s the harsh truth:
- Buying a theme doesn’t mean you have a business.
- A theme is just a tool, not a fully functional product.
- You still need marketing, supplier onboarding, sales, and a solid growth plan.
The Purpose of This Guide
I’m not just sharing my experiences to entertain you.
The whole point of this is to give you valuable guidance, a blueprint to follow, and, most importantly—to reduce your time spent on Mount Stupid and accelerate your path through the Valley of Despair toward actual success.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is very real, and it applies to everything—not just confidence and skill.
If we changed the graph axes to “business success likelihood” vs. “experience”, we’d see the same curve.
Everyone thinks their idea is amazing and easy to execute—until reality smacks them in the face.
This isn’t just about marketplaces. It applies everywhere.
If this is your first business, get ready for a serious reality check.
But don’t get discouraged. This is your chance to avoid the biggest mistakes and focus on what actually matters—building your marketplace the right way, without wasting months (or years) going in circles.
And that, my friend, is how you actually build a directory marketplace
