No doubt you already know that people generally will buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker and simpler ways to grow your business online? Then help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees to your website can help boost your credibility online and get more prospects contacting you.
This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of staff in WordPress.
How To Add A Staff List Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List lets you build a basic staff directory list for.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WordPress administration and from the admin menu section, select 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 – Add Plugins screen)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will be added to the main WP menu 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 from this menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just begin adding new staff member details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s configure your directory groups. From your WordPress dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as adding categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Enter 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 nested groups
- Description – Enter a category description
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create a new group …
(Groups section)
If you manage a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for a specific item, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done …
Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
Once you are done setting up your groups, you can begin to add your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This section provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Slug: Here you can change your employees’ slug (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the employee’s position
- Email: Enter the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in 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 members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or faculty member to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(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)
Once you are done inputting each staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
A new category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to someone’s details. 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 make changes to the person’s 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, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If you have set up groups and get errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, see this tutorial:
Continue adding new details to your directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table of all the staff members and details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to edit an individual’s entry, simply hover your mouse over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to edit their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from your employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members info)
If you have many names to add, your table can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find a member …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the new location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which your staff entries display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to a desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you are done adding all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to create the style and layout of your directory entries 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 main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default 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 addresses showing in the above example. 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 …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your staff entries will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Employee profiles with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations you can use.
For example, a useful variation you can select to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”customer representatives”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List site.
Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your employees in WordPress. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can use for creating a staff directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
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 profiles in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your employees, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like title, email, phone, pic and member 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 members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin uses shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With Employee Spotlight, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
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 – WordPress Plugin)
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 employee directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more here:
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 Directory Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an updatable directory of staff or faculty members in your web site using a free WP plugin.
Images of persons used in this tutorial to portray staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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