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Web directory


A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web. A collection of data organized into categories It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links.

A web directory is not a search engine and does not display lists of web pages based on keywords ; instead, it lists web sites by category and subcategory. Most web directory entries are also not found by web crawlers but by humans. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only a few categories. Web directories often allow site owners to submit their site for inclusion, and have editors review submissions for fitness.

RSS directories are similar to web directories, but contain collections of RSS feeds, instead of links to web sites.

During the early development of the web, there was a list of webservers edited by Tim Berners-Lee and hosted on the CERN webserver. One historical snapshot from 1992 remains.

Most of the directories are general in scope and list websites across a wide range of categories, regions and languages. But some niche directories focus on restricted regions, single languages, or specialist sectors. One type of niche directory with a large number of sites in existence is the shopping directory. Shopping directories specialize in the listing of retail e-commerce sites.

Examples of well-known general web directories are Yahoo! Directory (shut down at the end of 2014) and DMOZ. DMOZ is significant due to its extensive categorization and large number of listings and its free availability for use by other directories and search engines.


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