Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people will mostly buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products or services online, then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your organization better.
Adding a directory to your website can help increase your online credibility and get interested prospects buying from your site.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to easily add an easy-to-update list of staff or faculty members in your site.
Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, we will 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 is a free plugin that lets you easily staff members.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WordPress dashboard and in your admin menu section, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu will appear in your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
Here is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can start to add new entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Setting up groups works just like categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter a category description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new directory group …
(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 partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each item …
To change or reassign Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The item’s details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you have finished setting up your groups, you can start to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member screen opens up …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Permalink: Edit the slug for each employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the staff member’s role here
- Email: The staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add your staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username here (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 members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign your employee to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you have finished entering details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown 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 category will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing employee details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
***
After entering the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can modify your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this tutorial:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Repeat the above process to add new entries to your directory directory.
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 menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table with all the directory entries and the details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify 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 the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
If you have many entries, your table can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find a member if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that entries display 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 item to its desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you have added all of your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which your staff entries show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the layout and style of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can add to your page, 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 managers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List plugin site and contact the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your staff. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can check out to add an employee directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone, 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just an individual person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight includes 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 faculty member 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 – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin uses custom post types for employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage a staff directory on your site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
For more details go here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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 Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add a list of staff members in a WordPress site with no coding skills required.
Images of persons used to display sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)