Author: WP Compendium

Many business experts often raise the point that people will mostly buy from people they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for visitors to get to know your business better.

Adding a directory of staff to your site can help to generate increased trust, increase your online credibility and get more prospects getting in touch with you.

This tutorial will show you how to add a simple and easy-to-update staff directory to your site.

Adding A Staff Directory To Your Site: Step-By-Step Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily employee.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

Log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new entry will be added to your main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed from this menu.

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can just start to add new staff member details at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by configuring your groups. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups settings …

(Groups screen)

Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories …

(Groups work just like categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this section if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in the group description in this field
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group name …

(Groups area)

If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, developers, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each item …

To change or reassign Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

Your selected group will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update when done …

To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click the Update Group button after making changes …

Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member section)

This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add your employee’s name
• Permalink: Change each employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type in the employee’s role into this field
• Email: The employee’s email
• Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type in the employee’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your staff member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

After you have entered details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before adding staff member details, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups > + Add New Group link)

A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

A new group will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a person to the group …

(New group)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

***

After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …

Click View Post …

You can make changes to your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• Your WP Control Panel – A Step-By-Step Tutorial

Note: If you get ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)

If you need help setting up permalinks, see this tutorial:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Repeat the above process to continue adding more entries to your staff directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table with all your staff members and their details …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to modify an individual’s details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a listing from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Editing Staff Members profile)

If you have many entries, your table can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate listing items if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search feature)

You can specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …

(Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which your employees display on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the new location …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you are done adding all of your members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which listings display on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to a desired position …

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

To customize the layout and style of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Templates screen)

To customize your directory, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, below is the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the screenshot below …

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)

Here is what your staff list will now look like …

(Directory with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen lists all different shortcode variations that you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can decide to use to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])

Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).

Options Menu

In the WP admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List plugin site and contact the plugin author.

Other Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can look at:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Modern Team Staff Directory helps you collect your team information and showcase it anywhere on your site in beautiful grids, columns and tables. This premium plugin features over a dozen presets and provides editors that make it easy to edit and update your directory.

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Responsive Templates)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

This plugin lets you easily create a directory of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.

This plugin also lets you create custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone, photo and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to read more about each staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

Employee Spotlight comes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.

Detailed information about  each faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff/employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an onsite employee directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer

If the above plugins aren’t what you’re looking for, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:

• Add Staff Directory To WordPress
• WordPress Staff List
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-manage list of employees to your web site with no coding skills required.

Models used to portray sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

***