No doubt you already know that people generally will buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for ways to sell more products or services online and increase user interaction on your site, then help your prospects get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your site is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team behind the scenes in your organization.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to add a list of employees to your website without messing with code.
How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory: Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost plugin that lets you easily employee (you could also use it to display board of directors, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the WP administration and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will display on the WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin to add new entries after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This brings up the Groups settings area …
(Groups section)
Note: Configuring directory 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 category name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – This section lets you set up nested categories
- Description – Type in the category description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to create a new directory category …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a medium to large organization, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, project teams, departments, 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 groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit Groups for a particular item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button when done …
To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group when done …
Continue adding group names in this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Enter your staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can change the permalink URL associated with your employee 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 staff member’s role
- Email: Type the person’s email
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
Once you are done entering details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group feature)
A field for entering a new group name will appear, with a drop-down 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 category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added via Groups section)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an employee or team member’s 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 filling in your staff or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update the staff member’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the admin toolbar here:
Note: If a page error like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:
Continue adding new members to your staff or team directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the directory entries and the details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to change an individual’s entry, hover your mouse over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find listing items …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to 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 tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that entries display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which your employees display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the new location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list)
Once you have added all of your members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your staff directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowed 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 Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in the directory, you will need to add 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 listings will now display Facebook and Twitter addresses as as the example below shows …
(Staff profiles with social media links)
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
As well as being able to customize your listing 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 Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use with the plugin.
A useful variation you can select, for example, to display a list of staff members belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Options settings screen)
This section lets you change 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 info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List site and contact the plugin author.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use. For example, here are a few other plugins you can use for creating an employee 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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
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 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 provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone number, image and staff 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 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 uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual person 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 that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin 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 online employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately 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 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 Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add a simple and easy-to-manage simple staff directory to your site.
Images of persons used to display fictitious 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