Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people often tend to buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for inexpensive ideas to grow your business online, then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust your business better.
Adding a directory of employees or team members to your website can help to generate increased trust, increase your online credibility and get interested prospects to buy from your site.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to create and add a simple team members directory in WordPress using a free plugin.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory To Your Site
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily employee (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the admin and in your admin menu section, select Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, 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 your plugin, a new entry will be added to the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can just start adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings …
(Groups screen)
Note: Adding groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group. 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
- Click Add New Group when done to set up your new category …
(Groups settings)
If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups 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 entering each new item …
To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The item will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested groups to your directory)
After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type the staff member’s name
- Slug: You can edit each staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The staff member’s role
- Email: Type the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Add the employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter the person’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the person to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for creating your new group name will appear, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign an entry to the group …
(New group)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
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After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial on using the admin toolbar here:
Note: If an error shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that your site permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Page error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Continue adding more entries to your employee directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to modify individual details, hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to modify the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find entries if required …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that entries appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order that your employee profiles display on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you create 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 main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The The code shown above 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 listing. To display these fields, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your directory entries will now display with Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …
(Directory with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your WP admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)
This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful 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=”partners”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using 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 – Options screen)
This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members info by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin support, go to the plugin support page.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to display a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. For example, here are other free plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
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.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone number, pic and 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 sourced from plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With Employee Spotlight, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
More info:
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 employee directory on your site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular 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
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of employees to your website.
Images of models used in this tutorial to display staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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