Business experts have successfully proven over time that people will mostly buy from people they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for inexpensive ways to grow your business online? Then help visitors get to know you, your team and your business better.
Adding a directory of employees to your website can help to generate greater trust, increase your online credibility and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.
This tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of employees to your site.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory To Your Site
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you create a simple staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the WP admin and from the admin menu section, select 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 the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
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 WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
Here is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can just begin adding new staff details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualemployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory groups go to your WordPress dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This loads the Groups settings panel in your browser …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as adding WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter the slug of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter a category description in this field
- Click Add New Group when done to create your new category …
(Groups settings)
If you manage a medium to large organization, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, project teams, 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 on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit Groups for an individual item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected item’s details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you are done setting up your directory structure, you can start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member section opens up …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This section provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Add your employee’s name
- Permalink: You can modify each staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter your staff member’s position here
- Email: Type your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Add your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your staff member’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
After you have finished inputting details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, 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 the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …
(New group)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff member’s details. To edit a group 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 …
You can edit the staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have set up your site permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using WP permalinks here:
Continue adding new members to your staff directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the staff members and the details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to change individual details, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find a member if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search field)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which listings display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your member details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which listings show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to edit the style and layout of your staff directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. To make these fields display in the directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Your directory entries will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Directory listings with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page to display a list of individuals belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”technical engineers”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to the main admin menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin faq page.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are other free plugins you can look at:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides 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 a profile in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone number, pic and staff bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each employee 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.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
More info:
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 onsite employee directory …
(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:
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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-manage simple staff directory to in WordPress using a free WordPress plugin.
Images used to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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