Consumer buying habits show that people generally buy from those they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for simple ideas to sell more products or services online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know your business better.
If you use WordPress, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a directory plugin that will let you add information about your key people, your team, or your staff members.
This tutorial explains how to create and add a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff members to your WordPress site.
Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you employee.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new entry will show up in the main WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin adding new employee entries at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by configuring your groups. From your WordPress dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups section loads in your web browser …
(Groups settings)
Note: Adding groups is similar to creating categories in WordPress …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in a category description
- Click Add New Group when done to set up your new directory category …
(Groups screen)
If you manage a larger organization, being able to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, 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 build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The category details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group when done …
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 are done setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This page provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Enter the staff member’s name
- Slug: You can change the permalink URL associated with each staff member if you want (you will see this section 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: Your staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Type the employee’s phone number into this field
- Facebook URL: Type in your employee’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter the person’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 members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you 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 tab)
You can enable additional features …
(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 fields)
After you have entered details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding staff member details, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group link)
A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an entry to the group …
(New group)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to new employee details. To edit an 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 entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
To edit your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the admin toolbar here:
Note: If you get a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to add new entries to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list with all your listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to edit individual details, simply hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find a member if required …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
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 shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which your staff members appear on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to create the style and layout of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The This code will display your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields display in your directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your directory listings will now display as as the example below shows …
(Employee profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with 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 menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
For example, a useful shortcode 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 reps”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin author.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are a few other free plugins you can use:
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)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory was developed to provide 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.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone, photo and member 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 website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one individual person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you 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 sourced from plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
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 sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works with almost all 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, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:
- Add Staff Directory To WordPress
- WordPress Staff Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-update list of staff members in in WordPress using a free plugin.
Images of models used to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group