How to Make a Website Like Craigslist: 6 Must-Have Features

18 de Abril de 2025, 9:49, por Primocys - IT Company - 0sem comentários ainda

Platforms such as Craigslist have greatly changed how people find and use classified ads, providing a digital alternative to conventional print methods. These websites simplify the process of looking for jobs, homes, cars, and other daily necessities. They’re also commonly used for buying or exchanging second-hand items. Craigslist is still considered one of the most popular and widely recognized platforms in the online classifieds space.

This article delves into how to build a classified website from the ground up. It covers the core functionality of these platforms, walks through the key development stages, discusses various ways to generate revenue, points out typical obstacles you may encounter, and shares useful tips for launching a successful classified site.

What is Craigslist?

Craigslist is a classified advertisement website operating in 70 countries and 700 cities. It was established in the 1990s during the early rise of the Internet.

How To Make a Website Like Craigslist

To create a website like Craigslist, identify your target groups and define categories or classes you want to include. Design a simple and comfortable user interface to surf and post ads. Develop strong advertising management, search functionality, and user communication. Test well before launching the site.

Tech Solutions

If you want to create a website similar to Craigslist, consider two main options:

Out-Of-Box Solution

Out-of-the-box software consists of pre-made libraries or plugins that can be installed on a website.

Most classified advertisement websites are developed using PHP, and many of them also utilize WordPress.

Building a classified advertisement website entirely on WordPress can be an effective strategy for quickly validating an idea and attracting investments; however, it may struggle to accommodate a large number of real users. It’s important to remember that all successful classified advertisement websites are built solely on WordPress.

Custom Development

If you’re considering how to create a Craigslist-like website, it’s important to first determine whether you have validated your idea and if you’re prepared to commit to a long-term project. If you are ready, opting for custom development would be a better choice. This approach allows you to start fresh and tailor the website to meet the specific needs of your users.

Given the large number of users that similar websites must accommodate, it’s wise to select a technology capable of handling significant traffic. Several programming languages can effectively manage high loads, including PHP, Java, and Ruby (specifically, Ruby on Rails).

Main Features of Craigslist

User-Friendly Design

Our Craigslist clone app will help you improve your existing classified ad app. This will make it easier for people to find you online, resulting in more frequent visits to your site.

• Easy access to the screens
• Provide navigational support to the users
• Decreases the overall loading time of the screens

Popular Stores

A store will be classified as a popular ad app when it has the most reviews. This ensures that the best stores come up first in any search list or site.

• Most reviewed store
• Having high reviews
• Popular among the business

Post Classified Ads

Classified ads are an excellent way for businesses to showcase their offerings and connect with potential buyers. Customers can browse through various listings, make purchases, and leave ratings and reviews for the products or services they encounter.

• Post classified ads
• In a specific category/country
• And sell your products

Dynamic Filters

One of the best features of our classified app script is that users can easily set their preferred categories and filters for ads. This will enhance their experience on mobile devices.

• Price-based search
• Category/Location search
• Review-based search

Chat/Call Feature

One of the best features of our Craigslist-like classified ads is the ease of communication between users. This option enables sellers and buyers to converse with minimal effort.

• Share Location and image
• Can call the seller for fast communication
• Block the user

Review/Rating Feature

Buyers have the ability to rate sellers on our app, making it easier to identify the best ones. Additionally, buyers can leave reviews for the products they’ve purchased. This not only assists other shoppers in making informed buying decisions but also helps them filter for the top sellers.

• Gives rating
• Gives review
• And the seller can reply to their comments

Choose the Right Technology Stack

The technology stack you select will significantly impact your app’s performance, scalability, and reliability. Below is a breakdown of the components:

Frontend: Utilize frameworks like React Native for cross-platform development or use Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android development.

Backend: Consider using strong backend frameworks like Node.js, Django, or Ruby on Rails to manage users, listings, and payment processing effectively.

Database: Choose strong backend frameworks like Node.js, Django, or Ruby on Rails for effective user management, listings, and payment processing.

Cloud Hosting: Utilize cloud hosting services like AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure for enhanced scalability and reliability.

A proper tech stack guarantees your app runs efficiently and scales with your growing user base.

Development Process

The development phase includes front-end and back-end work, which involves integrating required APIs for payment gateways, maps, and location services.

Frontend Development: Concentrate on developing the mobile interface with essential features like listing management, search functionality, and communication tools.

Backend Development: This involves setting up user authentication, managing listings, implementing payment systems, and developing backend APIs.

API Integration: Incorporate external services such as payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal, integrate location maps using Google Maps API, and enable push notifications.

Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) by starting with essential features, then develop additional functionalities based on user feedback.

How Does Craigslist Make Money: Monetization Models

While most startup founders were focused on the traditional approach of attracting major venture capital and investors in Silicon Valley to monetize their businesses, Craigslist took a different path. The founder, Craig Newmark, revealed in an interview with Inc. that his intention was never to generate billions from the platform. Instead, he aimed to create a free service, which is why he refused to allow banner ads.

Although Craigslist was the original platform and set the tone for the industry, subsequent classified advertisement websites sought to monetize their businesses.

This is why different revenue models for classified ad websites have emerged:

Posting Fees

Users are charged for each advertisement they post.

This monetization model has a significant drawback: customers may be reluctant to pay for ads that may not yield successful results.

A potential solution is to either charge a small fee for each ad posted or to allow users to post a limited number of ads for free each month, charging them for any additional postings. For instance, Oodle allows free postings, but there is a cap on the number of free ads based on the listing category. The same policy applies to OLX.

Transaction Fees

Customers are required to pay a fee for each transaction when making purchases on the platform. While this monetization model is not the most popular among classified advertisement websites, it has become more common over the past 20 years as the market has evolved.

One notable example of this shift is OfferUp, which charges buyers a percentage fee for using the platform and for payment transactions facilitated through its integrated payment provider, Stripe.

Premium Features

A website offers a range of additional features for a fee, such as traffic statistics, the ability to import all products via XML, and options to filter ads by category.

This revenue model is typically aimed at standalone businesses looking to sell on the platform under their own brand name. In this scenario, classified ads allow businesses to create a dedicated account where they can track their sales and manage their own business page on the website. For instance, OLX utilizes this approach to monetize its platform.

Featured Listings

A website can earn revenue by allowing Google Ads or AdSense to place their banner ads on it for a fee.

While this method can generate income, it is often perceived as spammy and intrusive, which customers can easily recognize. Consequently, it is best to combine this approach with another revenue method. One example of this is Quikr, which features listings prominently.

Market Analysis of Classified Advertisement Websites

The era of newspaper advertising is nearly over. Classified advertisement websites have taken the place of traditional newspaper ads. With these websites, individuals can post an ad in just a few clicks.

There are several reasons why people choose to switch to online advertisements: the ability to write lengthy ads for free, use images, sell internationally, and easily search and filter ads.

Craigslist is not the only classified advertisement website available. Many websites offer services similar to Craigslist, but it remains the most popular due to its low costs and presence in 70 countries.

Craigslist was the first successful website for classified ads, establishing a benchmark in the industry. However, this hasn’t deterred others from putting forth their best efforts. Many have succeeded as well, introducing unique features that you can discover later in this article.

Let’s begin with a list of the most popular and successful classified advertisement websites in history.

How did Craigslist start?

The story of building a classifieds website like Craigslist began with its launch in 1995. It all started with a single email sent about two upcoming events in San Francisco to around 12 people. To everyone’s surprise, that email was widely shared, and people began reaching out for more information about future events.

Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, continued to send emails on various topics, including events, buying, and selling. As time went on, the demand for subscriptions to these emails grew, making it increasingly difficult to manage the email distribution.

Recognizing the need for a more efficient solution, the idea for a website emerged. This led to the creation of Craigslist. Prior to its launch, there were only a few websites that allowed advertisements, but they charged fees. The goal of creating Craigslist was to provide people with free access to post ads online.

Final Words

Although the market for online classified ads began to emerge over 20 years ago, it continues to grow and evolve. Each Craigslist-like website aims to find its own niche in the classified advertising industry.

If you plan to be part of the increasingly competitive landscape of classified websites, it’s essential to create unique features that cater to your target audience. However, be careful not to overlook any important features that are crucial for a classified advertisement website.

For inquiries or more information, feel free to contact us.

Why should you use PeerJS Webrtc for a video calling app compared to Agora?

16 de Abril de 2025, 7:37, por Primocys - IT Company - 0sem comentários ainda

In today’s digital world, video calling applications have become essential for personal and business communication. Whether you’re creating an app for telemedicine, online education, or virtual meetings, choosing the right real-time communication (RTC) platform is crucial for success. Two popular choices for building video calling features are PeerJS WebRTC and Agora. While both platforms provide robust capabilities, there are distinct advantages to using PeerJS WebRTC over Agora for certain use cases. In this blog, we’ll explore why PeerJS WebRTC might be a better fit for your video calling app compared to Agora.

What is Agora?

Agora is a real-time engagement platform that provides APIs and SDKs to build interactive video, voice, and live-streaming applications. It allows developers to embed features like high-quality video calling, voice chat, live streaming, and instant messaging into their apps with minimal coding. Agora is known for its low-latency communication, global scalability, and ease of integration, making it a go-to solution for businesses and developers who want to create seamless real-time communication experiences.

Agora’s platform is cloud-based, and it handles all the infrastructure and backend services required to support real-time communication. This makes it a powerful solution for applications that demand high-performance video and audio quality, such as telemedicine, online education, customer support, and social networking.

What is PeerJS?

PeerJS is an open-source JavaScript library that simplifies the process of building peer-to-peer (P2P) applications using WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication). WebRTC is a technology that enables real-time communication such as audio, video, and data sharing directly between browsers without needing an intermediary server. PeerJS takes this complex technology and provides an easy-to-use API, making it accessible for developers to create peer-to-peer applications like video calling, file sharing, and real-time data streaming.

PeerJS essentially handles the intricacies of WebRTC by offering a higher-level abstraction, so developers don’t have to manually configure each aspect of the communication process. It streamlines the connection process, NAT traversal (network address translation), and signaling server management, allowing developers to focus on building their apps instead of worrying about low-level WebRTC complexities.

Why Choose PeerJS WebRTC Over Agora?

1. Full Customization and Control

PeerJS WebRTC is an open-source framework that gives developers complete control over their app’s architecture and communication flow. Unlike Agora, a fully managed service, PeerJS allows you to tweak every aspect of the communication protocol. This means you can build custom features, adjust the UI/UX according to your needs, and even host the WebRTC servers yourself.

With PeerJS, you’re not limited by the constraints or pricing models of a third-party service. You can scale your app as required without worrying about vendor lock-in or unexpected price hikes as your user base grows. This level of customization and control can be a significant advantage for developers looking to create highly personalized or unique video-calling experiences.

Let’s Explore our customizable video calling interface built using PeerJS WebRTC, illustrating the flexibility in design and user experience.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

When it comes to building and maintaining video calling features, costs can quickly spiral out of control, especially if your app gains traction and sees significant user activity. PeerJS WebRTC can be far more cost-effective than Agora in the long run, as it enables you to run your own WebRTC servers or use open-source signaling servers.

Comparing Agora and PeerJS in terms of cost involves analyzing their usage models since Agora operates on a service-based pricing structure as Recurring costs, while PeerJS is open-source and free to use.

With Agora, you’re billed based on usage, and the costs can quickly increase with a growing number of users or video call minutes. If you have a budget-conscious project, PeerJS WebRTC offers a more predictable and manageable cost structure, particularly if you choose to host your infrastructure and reduce reliance on third-party services.

Here’s a detailed cost breakdown:

Agora Pricing (as of 2025):

Audio Calling:

$0.99 per 1,000 minutes per user.

Video Calling:

Standard Definition (SD): $3.99 per 1,000 minutes per user.

High Definition (HD): $8.99 per 1,000 minutes per user.

PeerJS Costs

PeerJS itself is free and open-source, but there are some associated costs based on your infrastructure setup. The use of PeerJS with WebRTC on a self-hosted solution, including platforms like AWS or DigitalOcean, results in server costs that range from $5 to $10 per month. This setup permits the implementation of PeerJS WebRTC, which can help in avoiding recurring expenses and achieving significant cost savings.

Cost Example Scenarios

Small App (10 Users, 1 Hour/Day, SD Video):

Agora:

$3.99 per 1,000 minutes.

Usage: 10 users × 60 minutes × 30 days = 18,000 minutes.

Cost: 18 × $3.99 = $71.82/month.

PeerJS:

Hosting: ~$10/month.

TURN Server: ~$5–$15/month.

Cost: $15–$25/month.

Medium/Large App (100 Users, 1 Hour/Day, SD Video)

Agora:

$3.99 per 1,000 minutes.

Usage: 100 users × 60 minutes × 30 days = 1,80,000 minutes.

Cost: 180 × $3.99 = $718.2/month.

PeerJS:

Hosting: ~$20/month.

TURN Server: ~$15–$25/month.

Cost: $30–$45/month.

Image for show complete Free video call Peerjs related to (contact us)
Title of image: Let’s connect to build a free audio and video call for your business

3. Performance

PeerJS offers excellent performance for peer-to-peer communication by minimizing latency and utilizing direct connections between users. With WebRTC technology at its core, PeerJS reduces the need for intermediary servers, ensuring faster data transfer. Its efficient handling of NAT traversal and media streams further optimizes the connection process. By leveraging scalable server infrastructure, PeerJS ensures consistent performance even as your app grows. Whether you’re building a video call app or a data-sharing platform, PeerJS delivers reliable, low-latency communication with minimal resource usage.

4. No Vendor Lock-In

When using a third-party service like Agora, you depend on their infrastructure, pricing plans, and policies. Vendor lock-in is a common concern with proprietary solutions, as switching providers or transitioning to a different platform later on can be costly and time-consuming.

PeerJS WebRTC, on the other hand, avoids vendor lock-in because it is an open-source library. You have the flexibility to move your app to any infrastructure provider that suits your needs, whether it’s your own server or a cloud provider of your choice. This level of independence gives you more freedom and the ability to pivot without major disruptions down the road.

5. Scalability and Flexibility

PeerJS WebRTC offers flexibility when it comes to scalability. You can deploy WebRTC servers and signaling systems across multiple regions to optimize performance, reduce latency, and manage traffic efficiently. PeerJS also allows you to build a decentralized network of peers, which helps distribute the load and ensures a smooth experience for users.

While Agora offers scalability with its cloud-based infrastructure, it may not provide the same level of control over how resources are allocated or distributed. If you need a tailored solution for a large-scale application or specific geographic requirements, PeerJS offers more granular control to optimize scalability.

Subtitle: Engage our services today to initiate real-time communication for audio and video calls, allowing you to connect with your friends and family swiftly.

6. Open-source and Active Community Support

As an open-source project, PeerJS WebRTC benefits from an active and vibrant community. Developers can contribute, share their knowledge, and access a wealth of resources that are constantly evolving. PeerJS’s documentation and open-source nature make it a great choice for developers who are looking for a flexible, customizable solution with strong community backing.

Agora, being a proprietary service, has support channels but lacks the same level of openness and flexibility as PeerJS. If you want to benefit from open-source tools, peer support, and the freedom to tweak code, PeerJS is the clear winner.

7. Privacy and Security

With PeerJS, you have complete control over your app’s security protocols and user data. You can implement end-to-end encryption, customize authentication methods, and ensure compliance with relevant privacy regulations. PeerJS allows you to host your own signaling servers, so your data doesn’t have to go through third-party servers, adding an extra layer of privacy.

While Agora provides security features, such as end-to-end encryption and real-time monitoring, it requires you to trust the service with your users’ data. For apps that need stringent data security policies or have privacy concerns, PeerJS offers more direct control over data protection.

8. Hosting on Your Own Server

Agora restricts hosting its services on your own server because its SDK and APIs rely on Agora’s proprietary infrastructure to provide real-time audio, video, and messaging. This is a limitation if you’re looking for a fully self-hosted solution to avoid ongoing costs or maintain complete control.

PeerJS allows you to host WebRTC servers on your own infrastructure, meaning you are not dependent on an external provider’s network uptime or maintenance schedules. If you have a reliable hosting infrastructure, you can avoid any interruptions that might occur due to service outages on the Agora platform. This autonomy provides peace of mind for developers and users, especially in mission-critical applications where reliability is paramount.

Build a Real-Time Video Calling App with Primocys

Developing a real-time chat application or a video calling app can be quite costly with Agora’s pricing structure. However, we offer entirely free video call APIs through peerJS, enabling you to initiate your project with a reduced budget and eliminate monthly expenses. If you’re looking to develop your web or mobile app with the perfect technology, contact Primocys.

If you want to build a top-notch video-calling app, Primocys can help you make the right choice. We are a leading web and mobile app development Company with 7 years of Experience and expert developers at PRIMOCYS!

If you too want to build an app and are unsure of how to begin the process, schedule your appointment or book your consultation today with a primocys expert. Our email for all your queries to [email protected]. Or Let’s connect to chat.

Title: Be the one to use WebRTC to overcome the agora expense.

Conclusion

Both PeerJS WebRTC and Agora are excellent choices for integrating video calling functionality into your app. However, if you prioritize customization, cost-effectiveness, scalability, control over privacy and security, and the ability to avoid vendor lock-in, PeerJS WebRTC emerges as the superior choice.

For businesses looking for an open-source, highly customizable video calling solution, PeerJS offers a powerful, flexible framework that provides long-term value and scalability. While Agora is a great option for quick deployments and built-in infrastructure, PeerJS gives you the autonomy to build a truly tailored, cost-effective solution that aligns with your specific needs.

Ultimately, the choice between PeerJS and Agora will depend on the unique requirements of your project. But if you’re looking for a solution that gives you full control, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, PeerJS WebRTC is a solid choice that’s hard to beat.

Contact Details
Arpan Sagar
[email protected]
+91 9824614016