Something that is generally well known in business, is that people generally buy from people they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker, easier and cost-effective ideas to sell more products online, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
Adding a directory of employees to your website can help humanize your business.
This tutorial shows you how to add an easy-to-maintain staff directory to your website.
Adding An Employee Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily staff.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP administration and navigate to 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 search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will appear on the main WP menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can begin to add new employee details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your categories go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings screen …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version 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 the category description in this field
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new group …
(Groups section)
If you manage a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The item open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group after making changes …
Continue adding groups to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested categories your directory)
Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can start to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Add the staff member’s name
- Permalink: Here you can edit your employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your employee’s position
- Email: Enter your staff member’s email address into this field
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- 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: Add 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: Type in a profile description for your staff members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign your employee to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Staff directory fields)
Once you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group feature)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
The new group will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee 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 the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
To make changes to the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed tutorial about using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you see ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:
Continue adding new details to your directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list with all the employees and any details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to edit an individual’s details, just hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to edit the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from the staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate member details if required …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which listings show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the new location …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding member details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which your employee listings appear on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to a desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin also lets you customize the layout and style of your directory entries 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 the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, we will need to include 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 added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to 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 admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations that you can use.
A useful shortcode variation you can select, for example, to display a list of individuals belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”partners”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List site and contact the plugin author.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a directory of your staff in WordPress. Here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can check out for creating a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)
Go here to learn more:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily create a directory of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
The plugin also lets you insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
This plugin was developed to provide 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.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, photo and staff 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 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 a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just a single member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
This 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 site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular 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 Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create an easy-to-manage directory of employees in your site.
Models used to display fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum