Many business experts have successfully demonstrated that people often tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for cost-effective ideas to sell more products or services online, then make it easier for your prospects to get to know you, your team and your business better.
If you use WordPress, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to use a WordPress staff list plugin that will let you add a directory containing information about your key people, your business team, or your staff members.
This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-manage directory of staff to your website.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Add An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you easily staff members.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new entry will be added to the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just begin adding new employee entries at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your groups. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings panel …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring directory groups is just like setting up categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Add a new group by entering 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 – This section lets you set up nested groups
- Description – Type in your category description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create the new directory group …
(Groups settings)
If you are a medium to large organization, being able to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for a particular item, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click Update Group when done to save your changes …
Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, the next step is to begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This page provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type your employee’s name
- Slug: Modify your employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the staff member’s position
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the person’s Twitter username (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 format content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign your staff member to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
If you 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 each staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
After you have entered details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group feature)
A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
The new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After entering your staff or team member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To make changes to the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If you see ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks here:
Continue adding new members to your employee directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and the details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to modify an individual’s details, hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members profile details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate member details …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Selecting a checkbox 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 finished to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that your employee profiles show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added all of your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which your employee listings show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to a desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List 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 layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your main menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The This code displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in the directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Your directory listings will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Directory with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
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, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen lists all the shortcode variations that you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales managers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
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 section …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin faq page.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
The plugin lets you create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school 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)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like title, email, phone number, photo and 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 members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
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 online employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works 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, 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, now you know how to add an updatable simple faculty directory to in WordPress using free plugins.
Images used to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum