Business experts often raise the point that people generally will buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for cost-effective ideas to sell more products online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know your business better.
Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your website can generate more trust, boost your credibility online and get more prospects to buy from your site.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create an easy-to-update staff directory in your web site.
Adding An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you staff members (you could also use it to display board of directors, etc.).
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into the dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu will appear on the WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could just start adding new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign youremployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings …
(Groups area)
Note: Setting up groups is very similar to working with WordPress categories …
(Groups work 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 category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter the group description
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group name …
(Groups area)
If you work with a larger organization, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected item will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group when done to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Slug: Change each staff members’ slug (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your employee’s position
- Email: Your employee’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type 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: Add a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign your employee to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you are done inputting details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …
Your new group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(Groups feature)
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 of the tutorial above for details).
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After typing in your team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to your staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
For a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If a page error shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks in WordPress here:
Repeat the above process to add more members to your staff or partner directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your staff profiles and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to make changes to individual details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate entries …
(Search Staff Members search field)
You can specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which your employees display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added all of your member details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which your employees display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your employee directory listings 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 menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The This code displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Here is what your staff list should now look like …
(Directory with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with code 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 listing 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 screen …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
A useful shortcode variation you can decide to use, 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=”technical engineers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options in the main menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List site.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a directory of your employees. Here are a few other plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This 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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
This plugin also lets you create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
This 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.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
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 position title, email, phone, image and staff 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 staff member 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 shortcodes.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just a single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory 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 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 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.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee or faculty directory to your WordPress site without messing with code, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images used to display fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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