Many business experts have successfully demonstrated over the years that people tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.
Are you looking for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products or services online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then help your prospects get to know you, your team and your business better.
Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your site can help increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.
This tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-maintain staff directory to WordPress.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory To Your Site
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily employee.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP 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 Install Now …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new entry will have been added to your WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can start to add new staff member details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your groups go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This opens up the Groups settings panel in your browser …
(Groups section)
Note: Adding groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group category name. 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 categories
- Description – Type in the category description here
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new directory group …
(Groups settings screen)
If you work with a larger organization, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To change Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected item open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click Update Group when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you are done setting up your directory structure, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member screen …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type your employee’s name
- Permalink: Change each employees’ slug (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: Type in the person’s email here
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number into this field
- Facebook URL: Type the person’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter your staff member’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign your staff member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You can 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 …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you have finished inputting details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering your group name will appear, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your list entry to the group …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. To edit a group 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 employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
You can update your employee’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the admin toolbar here:
Note: If you see an error like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using WordPress permalinks here:
Continue adding new details to your directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done entering staff details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your staff profiles and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify individual details, simply hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to make changes to their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate entries if required …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(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 Apply when finished to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding all member details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that entries appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added all of your staff details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List 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 layout and style of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. To make these fields appear in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your staff entries will now display Facebook and Twitter addresses as as the example below shows …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
For example, a useful variation you can decide to use to display a list of employees belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales managers”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options in your WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members details by going to the main menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin support page and request help from the plugin author.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. For example, here are other free plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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 about this plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
The plugin lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin was developed to provide 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 a profile in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, pic and staff bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets that let you 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP 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 onsite staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from 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 above plugins 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
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-manage simple team members directory in your web site using a free WordPress plugin.
Images of persons used to portray sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)