Something that is often quoted in business and marketing circles, is that people will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ways to grow your business online or increase user interaction with your site, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
If you use WordPress, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress staff list plugin that will let you add a directory containing information about your partners, your faculty, or your staff members.
In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add a directory of employees or faculty members to your web site without touching code.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you build a simple staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the WordPress administration and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will be added to your WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
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 organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could begin adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by configuring your directory groups. In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups panel …
(Groups section)
Note: Adding groups is similar to creating categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – This section lets you set up nested categories
- Description – Enter a category description (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up your new directory group …
(Groups settings)
If you work with a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, developers, 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 build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for an item, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The item’s details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group when done to save your changes …
Continue adding categories to this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can edit each employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your employee’s position
- Email: Add the person’s email
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type your staff member’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. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the individual to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(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 your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have finished inputting your staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group feature)
A field for creating a new group name will display, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an employee’s details to the group …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s 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 entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …
Click View Post …
To make changes to the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you see ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
For a detailed tutorial about setting up permalinks, go here:
Keep adding new members to your employee directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to edit an individual’s details, simply hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from your staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
If you have many entries, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate a member …
(Search Staff Members search field)
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)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which entries appear 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 the desired position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which your employee listings appear on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list)
After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you customize the style and layout of your employee directory items 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 – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(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 display these fields, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your staff list will now look like …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of 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 main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can add, for example, 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 adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options in your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Options settings screen)
Here you can edit some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List site and contact the plugin author.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can use to create a staff directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP 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 companies, teams, etc.
You can also create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This 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 a profile in a widget area.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone, pic and member 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 sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one single member of your team 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, 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: plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)
The Staffer 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 an employee directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer 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, 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 Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-maintain simple faculty directory in your site using free WP plugins.
Images used in this tutorial to portray sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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