No doubt you already know that people generally buy from people they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker and easier ways to sell more products or services online, then make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
If your website uses the WordPress CMS platform, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your business team, or your staff using a staff list plugin.
In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to create and add a simple and easy-to-update list of staff members to a WordPress site using a free WP plugin.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List lets you easily create a simple staff directory list for.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will display on your main WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin to add new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups panel …
(Groups settings)
Note: Configuring directory groups is just like configuring WordPress categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Type in the slug 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter a group description here
- Click Add New Group when done to create a new group name …
(Groups screen)
If you manage 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, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To change Groups for specific items, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected item will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group when done …
Add as many group names as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you are done setting up your directory structure, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Permalink: Change the permalink URL for each staff member if required (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: Your staff member’s role
- Email: Add your employee’s email address
- Phone Number: Type your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in 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: Type in a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options tab)
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 employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
After you have entered details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups feature in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field for entering a new group name will display, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your entry to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an individual’s 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 your team 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 WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have set up your site permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)
If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this tutorial:
Keep adding more entries to your directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding employees into your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your staff profiles and details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to change an individual’s details, just hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to find items if required …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which entries show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to its desired location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your members’ details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory items 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 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 allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in your directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Here is what your staff list will now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations you can use.
For example, a useful variation you can select to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options in your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings)
Here you can change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need specific help with the plugin, visit the plugin faq page.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory 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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides 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.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, image and member 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 sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one single member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
With Employee Spotlight, you also get 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 circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
Staffer 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 onsite staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more about this plugin 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 Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple employee directory to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images used in this tutorial to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie