Niche Service Directory Website

I’m launching a niche-specific services directory and need a full website built from the ground up. The site’s sole purpose is to list and showcase providers in one vertical (think healthcare or legal), so every design and functional choice should support that clear focus.

The must-have feature is a dedicated profile page for each service provider. Each profile should pull from a central database, display core details (bio, contact, specialties, map, media gallery), and be easy for me to update through the back-end. Beyond that, I’d like clean search and filter tools and room to add user ratings later, so please structure the codebase and database relationships with that future expansion in mind.

I don’t have a CMS preference yet; feel free to recommend WordPress with a directory theme, Laravel, or another platform you believe will scale smoothly. Whichever stack you choose, it needs to support:
• Fast listing creation and bulk import
• Mobile-first responsive design
• SEO-ready URLs and schema for local services

Deliverables
• Fully functional website deployed to my hosting account
• Admin panel documentation and a brief hand-off call or video walkthrough
• Source code in a private repo and any design assets in editable formats

Please outline your proposed tech stack, estimated timeline, and any similar directory projects you’ve shipped. Looking forward to collaborating on this.