phpYellow Pages^TM Developer's Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Following are phpyellow^TM Pages frequently asked questions and answers. Click on a question to see the answer.

How does phpyellow^TM Pages work?
What does phpyellow^TM Pages need to run?
What is the maximum number of listings?
Can an advertiser list in multiple categories?
Is phpyellow^TM Pages available in a language other than English?
Can phpyellow^TM Pages run on a local machine?
Do you have documentation for installation and how to install?
How long does it take to install?
Can Dreamriver install phpyellow^TM Pages on my website, and if so what is the price and delivery?
Can I use my own categories?
Will phpyellow^TM Pages show subcategories?
How are the categories administered? Can I change the categories?
Can phpyellow^TM Pages be used commercially?
How can I make money with phpyellow^TM Pages?
Can I use images in my listing?
How do I customize phpyellow^TM Pages?
Can I use my own gateway payment processor with phpyellow^TM Pages?
What gateways has phpyellow^TM Pages been connected to?
How do I go about choosing a gateway payment processor?
Can a banner ad system be integrated?
What support is offered?
What is the software license?
Can I remove all trace of copyright and ownership from phpyellow^TM Pages?
Do you have example sites?
What is the purpose of the freely downloadable Standard edition?
What about upgrades? How are they installed?
Is it easy to upgrade to the Pro edition?
Where can I ask questions about phpyellow^TM Pages?

How does phpyellow^TM Pages work?
phpyellow^TM Pages displays yellow pages to visitors. The listings are added by visitors to YOUR website. The listings are unique for each website. The overall purpose of the yellow page directory may be customized by you. You may have just geographic data, or just industry specific listings, or a list of associations ... the variations are endless.

What does phpyellow^TM Pages need to run?
phpyellow^TM Pages requires any web server running php4 with a mysql database. Both php4 and mysql are free to download. The Lite edition of phpyellow^TM Pages is also free. Basically you can have an online customized database directory for free, complete with administration scripts.
Ask your internet service (ISP) provider for a mySQL database to be setup for you. The price is small - about $25 one time labor setup fee. You also need to have php4.1.2 or higher.

http://www.mysql.com
http://www.php.net

When you have php4 and mySQL available on your internet account then you may install phpyellow^TM Pages. The installation file guides you through this process:

Quickstart

What is the maximum number of listings?
You may have an unlimited number of listings. The largest number of records observed by the author was over 100,000 listings on a European site. phpyellow^TM Pages in theory should scale well with mysql to several hundred thousand ( 300,000+ ) records. Some developers run in excess of a million rows on mysql. This seems to require hardware and software optimization. It is possible, and has been done.

Can an advertiser list in multiple categories?
Yes. The Lite edition does not support multiple categories. The Pro Edition easily accepts many category listings from one visitor.

Is phpyellow^TM Pages available in a language other than English?
No. Support for multiple languages is on the wish list. Having said that, please refer to http://phpyellow.com/download.php for information about a multilingual script.

Can phpyellow^TM Pages run on a local machine?
Yes. The author runs phpYellow development locally. Set the INSTALLPATH in util.php.

Do you have documentation for installation and how to install?
Yes. Documentation for installation is found in two places: the installation script called "install.html" and in the phpyellow^TM Pages Developer's Guide. The Guide is included in the Lite and Pro distribution files and contains the most information about this topic.

How long does it take to install?
An "average" php programmer can install phpyellow^TM Pages in less than 20 minutes. An amateur should be able to install in about 40 minutes total. An installation file makes this quite easy. Essentially all you need to do is to configure your util.php file, upload all files to your web server and run the install program from your web server.

Can Dreamriver install phpyellow^TM Pages on my website, and if so what is the price and delivery?
Yes, phpyellow^TM Pages can be installed on your website for you. The flat rate is $49.95 additional for either a free or a Pro Edition. [A Pro edition MUST be purchased prior to installing it.] Here's how to take advantage of a Dreamriver install on your website:

Just send an email to phpYellow@dreamriver.com with:

ftp domain name -> example: domain.com
ftp temporary username -> example: richard
ftp temporary password -> example: dreamriver
mySQL database name -> example: mydatabasename
mySQL database username -> example: uniquename
mySQL database password -> example: password
mySQL database host server -> example: sql.domain.com
location to place the install -> example: /htdocs/

If you have purchased a Pro copy indicate how you want to configure Insta-Pay^TM: 'off', 'elective' or 'required'. Most installs can be performed within three (3) business days, not including weekends or statutory holidays.

Can I use my own categories?
Yes! phpyellow^TM Pages is designed to be customized - especially the categories. Refer to the phpyellow^TM Pages Developer's Guide customization section for more info.

Will phpyellow^TM Pages show subcategories?
No. Subcategories are not supported. Sub-categories remove your visitor one step further away from results, and slow down the process of finding useful information.

Listings are easily found with the included search tools.

Can phpyellow^TM Pages be used commercially?
Yes. The Lite and Pro Editions may be used commercially. See the license.

How can I make money with phpyellow^TM Pages?
Optionally charge your customers for enhancing their listing. Give the listing a higher page position for a fixed amount of time. Show more information with a paid listing. These features are included with the Pro edition, along with the administration tools needed to manage these features. An included "Improve My Listing" page describes enhanced listings. You can also try out the online sample site, register, add a category and upgrade your listing for free.

Can I use my own gateway payment processor with phpyellow^TM Pages?
Yes. Dreamriver is currently offering integration with your gateway payment processor for a flat rate of USD $99 per processor. Here's how to take advantage of this time limited opportunity:

To get started you will need to have:

a paid Pro edition of phpyellow^TM Pages installed on your web server
information about your processor and implementation
backup any phpYellow files you have changed to a safe location NOT in the /phpYellow folder. For example you could backup these files: util.php, header.php, footer.php, yellow.css

Just send an email to phpYellow@dreamriver.com with:

ftp domain name -> example: domain.com
ftp temporary username -> example: richard
ftp temporary password -> example: dreamriver
gateway processor temporary login username
gateway processor temporary login password
gateway processor login URL

DELIVERY
Installation of the gateway for phpyellow^TM Pages may take up to 3 weeks, depending on DreamRiver availability and the complexity of your processing interface.

What gateways has phpyellow^TM Pages been connected to?
Paypal, Authorize.net, Worldpay, mals-e, 2checkout, Clickbank and others...

How do I go about choosing a gateway payment processor?
Here is some frank information about choosing payment gateway processors.

Can I use images in my listing?
Yes, in the Pro edition only. Images are only shown for 'First Page' or 'Preferred' [paid] listings. Images are NOT shown for basic listings. Try out the online sample site to add your listing and images. You can choose and preview an image for a basic listing. You can also upgrade for free using the sample site.

How do I customize phpyellow^TM Pages?
Go to the Customize page in the phpyellow^TM Pages Developer's Guide.

Can a banner ad system be integrated?
Yes, banner systems like phpAds can be used with phpyellow^TM Pages. In general, use a banner system written in php because it may be easier to make it work with phpyellow^TM Pages.

What support is offered?
Take a look at our support page which lists various resources. Support via email is offered free of charge.

What is the software license?
You may find the phpyellow^TM Pages software license here.

Can I remove all trace of copyright and ownership from phpyellow^TM Pages?
If you have a good reason send your request to phpYellow@dreamriver.com. There is a fee for the privilege of waiving this mandatory license agreement requirement.

Do you have example sites?
Yes. Hundreds and perhaps thousands all over the globe. Use your favorite search engine and enter the search words "phpYellow Pages" and chances are you will see hundreds of different phpyellow^TM Pages driven websites. You may also view the sample site on phpyellow.com. Here are some of the countries where phpyellow^TM Pages Pro is used:

Australia	Brazil	Canada	Costa Rica	Germany	India
New Zealand	United Kingdom	U.S.A.

What is the purpose of the freely downloadable Lite edition?
The Lite edition provides you with a solid and useful Yellow Page internet application. This is a good way to test phpyellow^TM Pages before you purchase the more powerful and professional Pro edition.

What about upgrades? How are they installed?
DOCSinstallNotes.php#quickstart

Is it easy to upgrade to the Pro edition?
Yes. One install file walks you through any installation - new, upgrade or Lite to Pro. The Pro Edition is similar to the Lite edition. Additional files are included with the Pro Edition which are not found in the Lite edition.

Where can I ask questions about phpyellow^TM Pages?
Send your question to DreamRiver

phpYellow PagesTM Developer's Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

phpYellow Pages^TM Developer's Guide