No doubt you’ve heard that people generally tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ways to sell more products online, then make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust your organization better.
If your site uses the WordPress Content Management System, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your team, or your employees using a WordPress staff list plugin.
This tutorial shows you how to create a simple and easy-to-update employee directory in your web site.
Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you build a basic staff directory for.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WP admin and from the admin menu section, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu entry will appear on your main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just start to add new entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. In your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This opens up the Groups settings …
(Groups settings)
Note: Setting up directory groups is similar to creating WordPress categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter the category description in this field
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up a new directory group …
(Groups settings area)
If you work with a medium to large organization, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories 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 on the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To change or reassign Groups for a particular entry, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected group details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new 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 Update Group when done 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 …
(Nested categories)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Add your staff member’s name
- Permalink: Edit the permalink URL associated with your employee if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The staff member’s position
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the employee’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
Once you are done entering details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
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 directory category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign the person’s listing to the group …
(New group added via Groups feature)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing 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 the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your staff directory …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the admin toolbar, refer to 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 set up your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Continue adding more entries to your employee directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done entering employee details into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the staff members and details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to make changes to individual entries, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to find items if required …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select 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 lets you set the order that entries show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to its new location …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
After adding all staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that entries show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added all of your staff details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you create the layout and style of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
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 template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Template)
The The code shown above will display your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in the 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 can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Your staff details will now display as as shown below …
(Directory listings with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with CSS styles and template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to 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 …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations you can use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”partners”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Options settings screen)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List website.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your faculty in WordPress. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can use for adding an employee directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
This plugin lets you set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
Learn more here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just an 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 pluginincludes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, 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 source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin uses custom post types for staff 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 source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
More info:
If the above plugins 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
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-maintain list directory of staff members to your site.
Images of persons used to display 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