No doubt you already know that people generally will buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for inexpensive ways to grow your business online, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your organization better.
Adding a staff directory to your website can lead to greater trust, increase your online credibility and get interested prospects to contact you.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to create and add an easy-to-manage directory of employees or team members to your site without coding skills.
Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory To WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you build a simple staff directory for.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu entry will have been added to the main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin adding new employee entries at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings panel …
(Groups section)
Note: Configuring directory groups is similar to working with categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- 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 – This section lets you set up nested categories
- Description – Type in a group description here
- Click Add New Group when finished to create the new category …
(Groups settings screen)
If you manage a larger organization, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change or reassign Groups for individual items, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The item’s details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category 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 choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group to save your changes …
Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating 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 begin adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This screen provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Change the slug for each employee if you want (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your employee’s position
- Email: Enter the employee’s email address
- Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your staff member’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 a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign an employee 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 features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
After you have finished inputting your staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
A new group will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an employee’s details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After entering the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …
Click View Post …
You can update the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have correctly set up your site permalinks …
(Page error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your staff or team directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding employees into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to edit individual entries, hover your mouse over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find items …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options tab)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that your employee listings appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which your employee profiles show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the style and layout of your staff directory items 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 your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – 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, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields show in your directory, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your staff listings will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …
(Employee profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
A useful variation you can add, 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=”technical engineers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In the main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List website and contact the plugin developer.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your staff. For example, here are a few other plugins you can use:
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)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
The plugin lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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.
Learn more here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, plus as fields like job title, email address, 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 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 uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders 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.
This plugin comes 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 staff member 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, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Staff Directory 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 a staff directory on your site …
(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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of employees to your WordPress site.
Images of persons used to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I was absolutely amazed at the scope and breadth of these tutorials! The most in-depth training I have ever received on any subject!" - Myke O'Neill, DailyGreenPost.com