Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people generally will buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for simple ways to sell more products or services online or get people to engage more on your site? Then help visitors get to know your organization better.
If you run a WordPress site, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress directory plugin that lets you display information about your key partners, your faculty, or your staff members.
In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to easily add an updatable list of staff members in your site without messing around with code.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To WordPress
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List lets you staff members (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP administration and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, a new menu will have been added to the WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could begin adding new staff entries at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place youremployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s configure your categories. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups panel …
(Groups screen)
Note: Adding directory groups is just like configuring categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Enter 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 section if you plan to set up nested categories
- Description – Enter your group description (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to create the new category …
(Groups section)
If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, developers, 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 organize these into a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering each new item …
To change Groups for specific items, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected category open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done …
Continue adding groups to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Permalink: Edit your staff members’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the person’s role
- Email: Your staff member’s email
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in your company’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 members here. Since this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can format content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
Once you have entered details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by selecting 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 group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign the list item to the group …
(Groups section)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an individual’s details. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
***
After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can modify your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
If you need help using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Page error – Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Repeat the above process to continue adding new members to your directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory items and their details …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to make changes to individual details, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find listing items if necessary …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which entries display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding member details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which entries display on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to a new position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin lets you customize the layout and style of your staff list entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Template)
The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs 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 screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Here is what your staff list will now look like …
(Directory with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode section)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose 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=”partners”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options in the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List website and request help from the plugin author.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides 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.
Learn more about the plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
This plugin lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, photo and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 source: Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
For more details go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just an individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
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 sourced from plugin website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
This 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 employee 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.
To learn more about this plugin 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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff or team member directory to your WordPress site with no coding skills required, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images used in this tutorial to display staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"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