You have no doubt heard that people often tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products or services online and get people to stay longer on your site, then make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your organization better.
Adding a directory of staff to your site can help to generate increased trust, increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to buy from you.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to add a list directory of staff or team members in your site using free plugins.
How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory: Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you easily staff (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WordPress admin 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 plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will display on your WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the options and 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 team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start to add new staff details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory categories. In your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups settings panel …
(Groups settings)
Note: Adding directory groups works just like WordPress categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter your group description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up your new category …
(Groups settings area)
If you are a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for a specific item, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The category will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button when done …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your staff directory)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This area 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: Modify your staff members’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the person’s role
- Email: Type in your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the person’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: Add a profile description for your employee or team member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you have finished entering details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to 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 category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an individual to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing a staff or faculty member’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 your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly configured your site permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using WordPress permalinks here:
Keep adding new details to your employee directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done entering staff details into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s entry, simply hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate a member …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that your staff details show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the new location …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to create the style and layout of your employee directory entries 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 main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens 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, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Template)
The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your staff list should now look like …
(Directory with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with code or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
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 menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
A useful 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=”senior staff”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings)
This section lets you modify 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 any help with the plugin, visit the plugin support page and request help from the plugin author.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can use for adding a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Modern Team Staff Directory 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)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
The plugin lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. 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)
This 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 a profile in a widget area.
Learn more here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
This plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone number, pic and bio, allowing you to present 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just an individual 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 selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
Staffer uses custom post types for employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage a staff directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
More info:
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 Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Models used to depict sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)