No doubt you’ve already heard that people generally tend to buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for simple ways to sell more products online or get people to engage more on your site, then something you can do, is help your prospects get to know you and your organization better.
If your website uses WordPress, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your business team, or your staff members using a WordPress directory plugin.
This tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-maintain employee directory to WordPress.
Adding An Employee List Directory
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 WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily staff (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the WP dashboard and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will appear on your WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start to add new staff member details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. In your WordPress dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings screen …
(Groups screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups is similar to creating categories in WordPress …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter your group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new directory group …
(Groups screen)
If you work with a medium to large organization, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, project teams, faculties, 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 directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for individual entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done …
Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Enter your staff member’s name
- Slug: Edit your staff members’ slug (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your staff member’s position
- Email: The employee’s email
- Phone Number: Add the person’s phone number into this field
- Facebook URL: Add your staff member’s Facebook address here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’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 in a profile description for your employee here. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person 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 features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you are done entering details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field for entering a new group name will display, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …
A new group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(Groups feature)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. 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 entering the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can update the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial on using the WP admin toolbar here:
Note: If you get an error like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
To learn more about setting up permalinks, go here:
Continue adding more entries to your employee directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the staff members and their details …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s entry, hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile details)
If you have many entries, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate a member if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search field)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown 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 specify the order that listings appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its new location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which entries display on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its desired location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to edit the style and layout of your staff directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the main menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your listings page will now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use with the plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])
Or, you can 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 in your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members details by going to your main admin menu and clicking Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page.
Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your team members. Here are a few other free plugins you can check out to create an employee directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
This plugin also lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, photo and 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 sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders 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.
This plugin includes 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 faculty 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)
Staffer uses custom post types for staff 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 source: plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
To learn more about the plugin go 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
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add a simple team members directory to your site without messing around with code.
Images used to depict sample 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