Business experts have successfully demonstrated over the years that people often tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ways to sell more products online? Then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know your business better.
If you have a WordPress-driven site, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your faculty, or your staff members using a WordPress staff list plugin.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory to your website.
Tutorial: Adding A Staff Directory To Your WordPress Site
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a free plugin that lets you easily display basic information to visitors about your staff on your website.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, a new menu entry will be added to your main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could start to add new staff members at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your directory categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups screen …
(Groups section)
Note: Adding directory groups is just like setting up WordPress categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- 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 drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested categories
- Description – Enter the group description
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create your new group …
(Groups screen)
If you manage a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each item …
To edit or reassign Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected item 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 your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click Update Group when done …
Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, the next step is to begin to add your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This opens up the Add New Staff Member area in your browser …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type your staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify the permalink URL associated with each employee if you want (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the person’s position here
- Email: Enter your employee’s email here
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the staff member’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in your company’s Twitter username here (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 member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in 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 can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a new group 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 directory category and click on Add New Group …
A new category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group added in Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
To make changes to the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you get a page error like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using WP permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding more entries to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding employee details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list displaying all the staff profiles and details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify an individual’s details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to edit their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members profile info)
If you have many individual listings added to this section, your table can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find member details …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that your employees display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that your staff details appear on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding all employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to create the layout and style of your directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, we 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)
Your employee profiles will now display as as the example below shows …
(Directory listings with social media links)
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 how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen lists all the shortcode variations you can use with this plugin.
For example, a useful variation you can choose to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales managers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options in the menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin support, go to the plugin support page.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to build a directory of your staff in WordPress. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can check out to add a directory on your website:
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 companies, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
This 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.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone number, image and member 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 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: plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just a single member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets that let you 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)
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 an onsite staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more about this plugin 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
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple employee directory to your WordPress site, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Models used in this tutorial to display fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"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)