A method and system for electronic classified advertising, including in a sophisticated edition, a seven-step installation wizard, portability to web servers, scalability, an intuitive and easy to use layout, customization features, fee-based options and features, ad display options and features, selected expiration of ads with optional notification, user set-up personal search agent which will automatically notify the user with new ads matching the database search criteria specified by the user, private messaging, a search engine for seven types of searches including browsing, keyword searches, retrieval of a specific ad by its database ID number, retrieval of all of a specific user's ads, retrieval of one specific ad for modification, and full database power searches, user registration, additional user posting and searching options, E-mail, Antispamming, detailed administrative controls, and security. Also available are banner ad modules, affiliate web sites, and internationalization features.