Something that is often quoted in business and marketing circles, is that people generally tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for quicker, easier and cost-effective ideas to sell more products or services online or increase user interaction with your site? Then help prospects get to know your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees to your site can lead to greater trust, boost your credibility online and get more prospects to buy from your site.
In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add a simple faculty members directory in your web site using free plugins.
Adding An Employee Directory: Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you staff members.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into the dashboard and from the admin menu section, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will show up in the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin to add new staff details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your directory groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This opens up the Groups settings screen …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Setting up groups works just like WordPress categories …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your category 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 – Enter a category description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to create the new directory category …
(Groups settings screen)
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 groups for partners, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change or reassign Groups for a particular entry, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down 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 …
Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you are done setting up your groups, you can begin adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This section 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: The employee’s name
- Permalink: Here you can edit the slug associated with your employee if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the employee’s role here
- Email: Type in the staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Type your staff member’s phone number into this field
- Facebook URL: Type your employee’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type your company’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff members here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or faculty member to a group (see above 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 will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Staff directory fields)
After you have finished entering your staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group feature)
A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
A new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …
(New group added in Groups section)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 your employee or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your 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 your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Continue adding more members to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done entering employee or team members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify individual entries, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to make changes to their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
If you have many employees, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find items …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that your staff details show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added members’ details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the new location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the style and layout of your directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your staff directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the main menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Staff Loop 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 in the example below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(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 help.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations you can use with this plugin.
A useful variation you can select, 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=”partners”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)
This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need any help with this plugin, go to the Simple Staff List support page and contact the plugin author.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your faculty. For example, here are other free plugins you can check out to create a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
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)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also use 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)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
Learn more about the plugin here:
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 customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to 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 source: plugin website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just an individual 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 includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory 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 online staff directory …
(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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of employees to your WordPress site.
Images of persons used in this tutorial to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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