No doubt you’ve heard that people generally will buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know your business better.
Adding a directory of staff or faculty members to your site can help boost your online credibility and get interested prospects buying from you.
This tutorial explains how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain staff directory to your website.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you create a basic staff directory for.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into the administration and from the admin menu section, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu entry will be added to your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
Here is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could start adding new entries at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your directory categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This brings up the Groups screen in your web browser …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups is just like configuring categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in your group description
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new category …
(Groups screen)
If you work with a larger organization, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit Groups for an individual item, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected category details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Continue adding groups in this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member screen opens up …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This section 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: Your employee’s name
- Slug: Here you can modify each staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter the person’s position
- Email: Type the person’s email here
- Phone Number: Enter the person’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the staff member’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
Once you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for creating a group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
A new group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After filling in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
For a detailed tutorial on setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:
Keep adding more details to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to modify individual details, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find items …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that entries appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding members’ details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding all member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to create the layout and style of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Your staff profiles will now display as as shown below …
(Directory with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you 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 the shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.
A useful variation you can select, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List plugin website and contact the plugin author.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your team members in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can use for creating an employee directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP 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)
Learn more here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
With Company Directory, you can easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone number, photo and bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just a single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer)
Staffer 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 employee directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer 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:
If the directory plugins listed above 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 Directory Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of models used in this tutorial to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum