Consumer behaviour studies show that people often tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for inexpensive ways to sell more products online, then one of the things you can do, is help visitors get to know, like and trust your business better.
Adding a staff directory to your website can help to let visitors learn more about the people working behind the scenes in your business.
This tutorial explains how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of employees to your WordPress site.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you display basic information about your employee on your website.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into the admin and from the admin menu, 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 search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will have been added to your WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could begin to add new staff details at this at this stage, or create various 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 – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings …
(Groups screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Type in the slug 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 if you plan to set up nested categories
- Description – Type in a group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create your new group …
(Groups screen)
If you run a larger organization, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, 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 organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To edit or reassign Groups for an entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group details will 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 the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group to save your changes …
Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This screen provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify each employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the person’s role into this field
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in your company’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 staff members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
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 each staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have entered details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section located in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up groups 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 will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your entry to the group …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. 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 to add them to the staff directory …
Click View Post …
To update the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get an error like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to add more details to your directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you have entered all staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the staff members and their details …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to change individual entries, hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit 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 your employee 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 names to add, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find listing items …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Selecting a check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which entries show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding all members’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display 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 listings appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your staff 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 Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(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 the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The The code shown above will display your listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields show in your directory, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Your employee details will now display Facebook and Twitter addresses as as shown below …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
For example, a useful variation you can insert in your page to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales managers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin plugin site and contact the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can look at:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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 go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory was developed to provide 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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin lets you add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone, image and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 also uses a simple shortcode system.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just a single member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer)
The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for 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: plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Go here to learn more:
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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain simple faculty directory in your web site with no coding skills required.
Images of persons used to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum