No doubt you already know that people generally buy from people they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products online, then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know your organization better.
Adding a directory of staff to your website will help to let visitors learn more about the people behind the scenes in your organization.
This tutorial explains how to add an easy-to-manage employee directory to your web site.
Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you employee.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into the WP admin and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
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, you will see that a new menu will have been added to the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can begin adding new staff details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups section …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Configuring groups works in the same way as configuring WordPress categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group 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 – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter the category description (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to set up a new category …
(Groups settings screen)
If you work with a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you need 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 creating each new item …
To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected category will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group 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 the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you have finished setting up your groups, you can start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This section provides you with 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: Here you can edit each employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter the employee’s role here
- Email: The employee’s email
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type your company’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign an employee or faculty member 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 your 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 staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you have finished inputting your staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your listing 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 typing in your staff or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …
Click View Post …
To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the WP admin toolbar here:
Note: If you see an error like the one shown below, check that you have correctly set up your site’s permalinks …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using WP permalinks here:
Continue adding more members to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have finished entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the directory entries and any details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s details, just hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find member details if required …
(Search members)
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 …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added all of your member details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that entries appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its new position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding member details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you customize the layout and style of your staff directory entries 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 dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Your employee listings will now appear with Facebook and Twitter links as shown in the example below …
(Staff profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
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 menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful variation you can choose, 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=”technical engineers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
You can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and contact the plugin author.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to display a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can use for creating a directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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 Staff Directory, you can 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 website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This 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 profiles in a widget area.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, photo and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, 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.
Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
This 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 onsite employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
More info:
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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple employee or faculty directory to your WordPress site without using code, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of persons used to display staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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