You have no doubt heard that people will mostly buy from those they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for ideas to sell more products online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know you and your business better.
Adding an employee directory to your website can help increase your online credibility and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to create and add an easy-to-update simple team members directory in your site using a free plugin.
How To Easily Add An Employee Directory To Your WordPress Site: WordPress Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you display information about your staff members on your website.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WP admin and in your admin menu section, choose Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu entry will appear on the main WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start adding new staff member details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups panel opens up …
(Groups screen)
Note: Adding groups is just like setting up categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Enter the slug of your group. 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 (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new directory group …
(Groups screen)
If you manage a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering each new item …
To change Groups for individual entries, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The category details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group after making changes …
Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
After you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: Change your staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the person’s role here
- Email: Your employee’s email address
- Phone Number: Add the staff member’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter your company’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Staff directory fields)
Once you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field will display allowing you to create 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 category and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign a person 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 above for details).
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After entering your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
You can edit your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the WP admin toolbar here:
Note: If an error like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
If you need help setting up permalinks, see this tutorial:
Repeat the above process to continue adding new members to your directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have added employees to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the listing entries and details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to edit individual entries, simply hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate member details …
(Search Staff Members search field)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you are done adding member details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which your staff details display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the new location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding member details to your 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 layout and style of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your main menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your staff listings will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …
(Employee profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with editing code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful variation you can decide to use to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can change some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members info by going to the menu and clicking Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need specific help with the plugin, go to the plugin plugin site and contact the plugin developer.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your staff in WordPress. For example, here are other free plugins you can look at:
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)
For more details go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily create a directory of staff/faculty/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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 a profile in a widget area.
Learn more about the plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone number, pic and 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 members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just an individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With Employee Spotlight, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
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 plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more 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
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-update list directory of staff members to in WordPress with no coding skills required.
Images of models used to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I was absolutely amazed at the scope and breadth of these tutorials! The most in-depth training I have ever received on any subject!" - Myke O'Neill, DailyGreenPost.com