It’s often said in business and marketing that people tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ideas to sell more products online and get people to stay longer on your site, then help your prospects get to know, like and trust you and your business better.
If you own a WordPress-driven website, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to add a directory plugin that will let you display a directory containing information about your key people, your team, or your staff members.
In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add an easy-to-manage simple faculty directory to your website without messing around with code.
Adding An Employee List Directory To Your WordPress Site: Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily create a simple staff directory for.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP administration and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, 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 the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new entry will be added to your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could start to add new employee details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings panel …
(Groups section)
Note: Setting up groups works just like categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your 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 group description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up your new directory category …
(Groups section)
If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To change Groups for specific items, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The category details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding groups to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member area)
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: Enter your employee’s name
- Slug: Edit your employees’ slug (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type your staff member’s role
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter your employee’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username (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. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can format content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
Once you are done inputting details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group feature)
A field for creating a new group name will display, 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 …
Your new category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups feature)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After filling in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly set up your site permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using WP permalinks here:
Keep adding more details to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding staff members into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the directory items and details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to change individual entries, hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find items if required …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that entries display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your visitors.
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.
Click Staff Members > Order on your WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your employee 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 the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The This code displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin 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, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your staff list will now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with editing 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 staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that you can use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can select to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List website and contact the plugin author.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are other plugins you can look at:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of staff/faculty/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides 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.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn 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 a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just one individual member of your team 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, and 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 Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
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 online staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more about the plugin here:
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
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to create and add a simple and 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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"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