Many business and marketing experts have successfully shown that people generally buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products or services online? Then one of the things you can do, is help prospects get to know your organization better.
Adding a directory of staff to your site can help increase your credibility online and get more prospects to send you enquiries for quotes or more information.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add an easy-to-update employee directory to your web site.
Adding An Employee Directory: Step-By-Step Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a free plugin that lets you staff (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the WP dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, 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 – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu will appear in the main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members 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 staff details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory categories. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups panel …
(Groups settings area)
Note: Configuring groups works just like categories in WordPress …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group 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 – Use this section to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter the category description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new group …
(Groups area)
If you manage a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Continue adding group names in this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member section in your browser …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This screen provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Permalink: Here you can change your employees’ slug (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your staff member’s position
- Email: Add the staff member’s email address here
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type the staff member’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 employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
After you have finished inputting details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add 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 display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a list entry to the group …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update your staff member’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If you see a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your site’s permalinks …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table with all the staff profiles and details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to edit individual entries, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to make changes to the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
If you have many entries, your list can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find a member if necessary …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the new position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding members’ details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that entries display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to a new location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you customize 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 your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, insert 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 Template)
The This code will display your listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses 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)
Your staff profiles will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as the screenshot below shows …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful variation you can add to your page to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”customer representatives”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Options settings screen)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin site and request help from the plugin author.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use. Here are some other free plugins you can check out for creating an employee directory on your site:
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With Staff Directory, you can easily create a directory of staff/faculty/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With Company Directory, you can easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, image and staff 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 source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just a single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
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 employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer 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 Directory Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an updatable list directory of employees or faculty members to your web site using free WP plugins.
Images of persons used in this tutorial to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now