We have found a solution for our member directory that works well, but it's complicated. It was set up by an external contractor (Brad at https://tekha.us) on our behalf:
- Using the Helium Customer Fields app (not free), we have a form that our members can fill out with their desired directory information/settings
- The Shopify Flow app (free) has a trigger when a Customer Fields form is submitted to check if the directory form was the one submitted, and if so, to send an HTTP request to Pipedream with the customer's Helium Customer Fields metafields (we also have a couple of Shopify Flow automations that run when customer tags are modified, in case a customer ceases to be a member so they can be removed from the directory)
- Pipedream (separate service, paid tier due to volume) has a workflow that extracts the Directory related information from the customer metafields and determines whether and what information to post, then sends the relevant information to Algolia.
- Algolia (separate service, free tier) stores the directory data
- A custom page and related JS in our Shopify theme retrieves the Algolia information and presents it to users, which we can customize however we want.
The search and filters on the directory page work instantaneously, which is worlds above our old directory.
While it's complicated, ultimately it's better than any would-be out-of-the-box solution which would have probably required compromises. I like the granularity that Helium Customer Fields' form gives us, and how we can customize in Pipedream exactly how we want the data to be parsed (for example, for each membership category, the HCF form has a checkbox that only appears if the customer is in that category which asks whether to display that membership category in their directory profile. Pipedream then checks to make sure that a customer has at least one checkbox checked for which they have the relevant member tags in their profile. So their profile gets taken down if they no longer are a member in a category they selected or if they deselect the option for that category to appear).
The only downside is that the information is public, so spammers have scraped the directory info and send out spam to all members whose email address is publicly visible in the directory (including spam advertising sale of a list of our organization's members!). But that's unavoidable if you put your email address in a public directory (which is completely optional for the members).
