Many business and marketing experts often raise the point that people will buy from those they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker, easier and cost-effective ideas to sell more products or services online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know you and your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees to your site can help increase your online credibility and get more prospects buying from you.
This tutorial shows you how to add an easy-to-manage employee directory to your WordPress site.
Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory To Your WordPress Site
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)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you staff members.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the dashboard and from the admin menu, click on Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu entry will appear in the WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just begin adding new entries at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your group members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings …
(Groups settings area)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like WordPress categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Enter 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 categories
- Description – Type in a group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up your new directory group …
(Groups settings area)
If you are a larger organization, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for an individual item, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested groups to your directory)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This opens up the Add New Staff Member screen …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify the permalink URL associated with your staff member if you want (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add your employee’s position
- Email: Type the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter 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 in a profile description for your employees here. Since this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your 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 each employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up directory groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field for creating a group name will display, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your employee’s details to the group …
(New group added in Groups section)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee 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 entering your employee or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can edit your staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
To learn more about setting up WP permalinks, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:
Continue adding more entries to your employee directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to modify individual entries, hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find listing items …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select 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 lets you specify the order that your employee profiles appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the new location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which entries appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you edit the style and layout of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The This code displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop 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 example below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Your staff details will now display with Facebook and Twitter links as as the example below shows …
(Employee profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of what to do, 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 main admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations you can use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”customer representatives”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(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 by going to your WordPress admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin faq page and contact the plugin developer.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your team members in WordPress. For example, here are some other free plugins you can use to add a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
For more details, visit the plugin site 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.
The plugin lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory 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.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone, image 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 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 website)
This plugin uses shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders 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.
Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
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: plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP 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 onsite employee directory …
(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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-manage list directory of staff members in your site using a free WordPress plugin.
Images of models used to display fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)