Consumer buying habits have successfully shown that people generally will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and simpler ideas to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees or team members to your website can help boost your credibility online and get interested prospects contacting you.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of staff members in your website.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you display information about your staff on your website.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(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 – plugin search results)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new entry will appear on your WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start adding new staff members after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign youremployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings up the Groups settings …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring groups works just like categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category. 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 groups
- Description – Enter the group description in this field
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up your new category …
(Groups screen)
If you manage a larger organization, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, 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 hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To edit Groups for individual items, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected item open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Continue adding groups in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your directory)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
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: Your employee’s name
- Slug: Modify the slug associated with your staff member if you want (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter the person’s role here
- Email: Add the employee’s email address
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter your company’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the individual to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have entered details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering your new group name will appear, 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. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups section)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to employee details. 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 typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To modify the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the admin toolbar here:
Note: If a page error like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly set up your permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
To learn more about setting up permalinks, refer to this tutorial:
Repeat the above process to add more entries to your staff directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done entering staff details into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory items and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s entry, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from your staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members details)
If you have many names to add, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate listing items if required …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields to 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 unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which your employee profiles appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that your employees show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to a desired position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added all of your members’ details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to edit the layout and style of your staff 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 opens the Templates screen …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default 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 example. To display these fields, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown in the example below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your staff details will now display as as shown below …
(Directory with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able 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 shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations you can use.
A useful shortcode variation you can choose, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options in the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to the dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List support page.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a faculty directory in WordPress. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can check out:
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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
This plugin lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide 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 profiles in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone, image 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 employee 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 simple shortcodes.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
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 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 in the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
For more details go 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 with almost all 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, 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, this tutorial has explained how to create a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff in your WordPress site.
Images used in this tutorial to display 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