You have no doubt heard that people will mostly buy from those they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products or services online and increase user interaction with your site, then something you can do, is help your visitors get to know, like and trust your organization better.
If your website uses the WordPress CMS platform, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a staff list plugin that will let you display information about your partners, your business team, or your staff members.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we are going to show you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain simple employee directory in WordPress.
How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory: Tutorial
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)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you display basic information about your staff on your site.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP admin and from the admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will appear on the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just begin to add new entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place youremployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This loads the Groups settings …
(Groups settings)
Note: Setting up groups is very similar to creating WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter the group description here
- Click Add New Group when done to create your new directory category …
(Groups settings area)
If you work with a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories 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 the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change Groups for an entry, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click Update Group after making changes …
Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Modify the slug for your employee if required (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the staff member’s position
- Email: Your staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type the 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 team member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the individual to a specific 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 features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
Once you have entered details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups 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 will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. To edit an 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 the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the WP admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If a page error shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:
Continue adding new members to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have added staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list displaying all your staff profiles and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to edit individual entries, hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from your staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
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 if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which entries appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order in which your employees show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the new location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding member details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your staff directory listings 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 dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted 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 Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your listings page should now look like …
(Directory with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page 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=”Asia Pacific Region”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)
This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and contact the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your faculty. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can check out to add a staff directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This 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)
Learn more here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
The plugin lets you insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With Company Directory, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone number, pic 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 staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one individual member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
The Staffer 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 onsite staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
For more details go 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 Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of employees in your site.
Images of persons used to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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