Many business experts often raise the point that people generally tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
Are you looking for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ways to sell more products online or get people to engage more with your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know you and your organization better.
If your web presence is built using the WordPress CMS, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to add a staff list plugin that lets you display information about your key people, your business team, or your staff.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to easily create and add a simple and easy-to-update simple employee directory to your web site using a free plugin.
Adding An Employee List Directory To Your Site: Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a free WordPress plugin that lets you display information to visitors about your employee on your site.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP admin and go to 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 – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu entry will display on your main WP menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just start to add new employee details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory groups go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups panel …
(Groups settings)
Note: Adding directory groups is just like setting up WordPress categories …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter 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 groups
- Description – Type in a category description
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up your new directory group …
(Groups area)
If you run a larger organization, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups 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 new items …
To change or reassign Groups for a specific entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected item open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click Update Group when done …
Continue adding group names to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your staff directory)
Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes 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 details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Slug: Edit the permalink URL associated with your employee if you want (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the staff member’s position
- Email: Type the employee’s email here
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter the person’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the individual to a group (see above 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 will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have entered details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown 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 directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign a list entry to the group …
(Groups section)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing a staff member’s details. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your employee directory …
Click View Post …
You can edit the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Continue adding more entries to your staff directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done entering employee details 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 list displaying all your directory items and any details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to change an individual’s entry, simply hover your mouse over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile info)
If you have many names to add, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find member details …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which your employees show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
After adding all member details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that your employees appear on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all members’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to customize the layout and style of your staff directory entries 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 menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields display in the directory, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee profiles will now display as as the example below shows …
(Employee profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members data by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the Simple Staff List support page.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. For example, here are other free plugins you can use to create a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
This plugin lets you create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
This 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.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, pic and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
For more details go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just a single person 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, 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)
The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an employee directory on your site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more about the plugin 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 Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of employees in your website.
Images used in this tutorial to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group