Author: WP Compendium

No doubt you’ve already heard that people will buy from those they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for cost-effective ideas to sell more products or services online and increase user interaction with your site? Then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your site is a great way to personalize your organization.

This tutorial shows you how to create a simple and easy-to-manage directory of staff in your WordPress site.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add An Employee Directory To WordPress

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you easily display information to visitors about your staff members on your site.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into the administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will display on the main WP admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

Here is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could just start to add new staff entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by setting up your groups. In your WordPress dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen …

(Groups settings)

Note: Configuring groups is similar to working with categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group. 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 – Enter a category description
5. Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new category …

(Groups settings screen)

If you run a business that employs many people, being able to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, departments, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

To edit Groups for a particular item, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The selected group details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update to save your changes …

To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on Quick Edit …

Click on Update Group  when done …

Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

This page 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: Edit each employees’ slug (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The staff member’s position
• Email: Enter the person’s email address here
• Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter your employee’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employee here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign your staff member to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

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 staff member’s details …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

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

The new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your staff member to the group …

(New group)

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

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After filling in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To update the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the WordPress admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• The WordPress Dashboard – A Step-By-Step Tutorial

Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly configured your site permalinks …

(Page error? Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using Permalinks

Keep adding new details to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employee or team members to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to edit individual details, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members profile)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find listing items …

(Search members)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …

(Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …

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.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the new location …

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added all of your member listing details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order in which entries show on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to a desired position …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your staff list 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 your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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 Plugin Template)

The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Directory listings with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, 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 listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can select to display a list of persons belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”senior staff”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options in the menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin

Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export menu …

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List support page.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. Here are some other plugins you can look at:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

The Modern Team Staff Directory plugin 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)

For more details go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of staff/faculty/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.

The plugin also lets you insert custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide 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.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone number, image and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors will be able to 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 sourced from Company Directory website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just one individual person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

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

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

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

For more details go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

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 employee directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)

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

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Staffer

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

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

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory in WordPress.

Images of persons used to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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