No doubt you already know that people generally will buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you looking for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products or services online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you, your team and your organization better.
Adding a directory of staff to your site can help boost your credibility online and get interested prospects considering using your services.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to easily create and add an updatable list directory of staff members to your site using a free WP plugin.
Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily build a simple staff directory list for.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP admin and in your admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will appear in the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could start adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your categories go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups screen …
(Groups section)
Note: Setting up directory groups is just like adding categories …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Create a new group 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 groups
- Description – Enter the group description
- Click Add New Group when done to set up the new directory category …
(Groups screen)
If you work with a larger organization, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups 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 each new item …
To edit Groups for a specific item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The category details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories your directory)
Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This page provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify the permalink URL for each staff member if required (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the employee’s role here
- Email: The staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Add your staff member’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: Add the person’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you are done entering details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section located in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
A new group will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your list item to the group …
(Groups feature)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to new employee details. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After typing in your employee’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 WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Continue adding new members to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done entering staff or team members into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list of all the staff members and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to edit an individual’s details, hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find member details …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(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 the Apply button when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which entries appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
After adding your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which entries display on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to a desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list)
After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin also lets you edit 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 staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Your directory entries will now display as as shown below …
(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with CSS code and template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to 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 menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations you can use.
A useful variation you can select, 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”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members info by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the Simple Staff List plugin website.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your faculty. For example, here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can look at to add a staff directory on your site:
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from 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 about the plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone number, image 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin uses shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes 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 team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Staffer 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 staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer plugin 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 Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to add an easy-to-manage staff directory to your website.
Images used in this tutorial to portray sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)