Something that is generally well known in business and marketing circles, is that people generally buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker, easier and cheaper ways to sell more products online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
If you have a WordPress-powered site, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress directory plugin that will let you display information about your key people, your faculty, or your employees.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your WordPress site.
Adding An Employee Directory In WordPress: Plugin Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a 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 partners, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will have been added to the WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
Here is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just start adding new employee details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your members.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups section …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up directory groups is just like adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- 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 if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter the group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up a new group …
(Groups settings area)
If you run a larger organization, being able to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for individual items, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The item’s details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
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 the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names in this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you are done setting up your groups, you can start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify the slug associated with your employee if you want (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: The employee’s email
- Phone Number: Type your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username (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 formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering your group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added)
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).
***
After filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your staff directory …
Click View Post …
To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using WP permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to add new details to your employee or team directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have finished adding employee details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table of all the listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to change an individual’s details, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to edit the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member 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 information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find member details if necessary …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that your employee profiles appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your staff details to your 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 allowing you to arrange the order that listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to edit the style and layout of your staff directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowed 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 directory listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields show in your directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee listings will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Directory with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display a list of individuals belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options screen)
This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin support page and request help from the plugin developer.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to display a staff directory in WordPress. For example, here are some other free plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
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)
Learn more here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone, pic and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff 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.
With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
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.
Learn more about this plugin here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so your web visitors can get to know your company better.
Images of models used in this tutorial to portray staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum