You have no doubt heard that people will mostly buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products online and increase user interaction on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know your organization better.
If your site is driven by the WordPress Content Management System, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your team, or your staff using a WordPress staff list plugin.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to easily add an updatable simple team members directory to WordPress without editing code.
Tutorial: How To Add An Employee List Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you staff.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP admin and navigate 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 the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu will have been added to your WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could start adding new staff entries at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups panel …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Setting up groups is very similar to working with categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in the group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new directory group …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To change Groups for an item, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group 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 select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Slug: Change the permalink URL for each employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s position
- Email: Add the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Add the staff member’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter 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: Add a profile description for your staff members here. Since this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign your employee to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you have entered details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for creating a new group name will display, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
Your new directory category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
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After entering your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed tutorial on using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding more details to your directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list displaying all the directory items and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to edit an individual’s details, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
If you have many employees, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate member details …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(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 specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which entries display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your members’ listing 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 set the order that your employee profiles show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its new position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to create the layout and style of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from your main menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens 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, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields display in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Your employee entries will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Directory with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with code or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as 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 WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Gold Level associates”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to the menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List faq page.
Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your staff. Here are a few other plugins you can use:
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)
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, schools, etc.
This plugin lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides 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 a profile in a widget area.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Company Directory 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, phone number, photo 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 members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
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 employee directory on your site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more here:
If the above plugins 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 Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create an easy-to-maintain staff directory in WordPress.
Images of persons used to portray staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)