It’s often said in marketing circles that people often tend to buy from people they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for ideas to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees or team members to your website is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team working behind your organization.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to easily add a list directory of employees to a WordPress site.
How To Easily Add An Employee Directory: Step-By-Step Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will 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 easily build a simple staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP dashboard and in your admin menu section, select Plugins > Add New …
(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 …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu entry will show up in your WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just start adding new employee entries at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s configure your directory groups. From your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This loads the Groups settings screen …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring directory groups is very similar to creating categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- 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 – Use this section to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter the group description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to create your new group name …
(Groups settings screen)
If you work with a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for a specific entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The item’s details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group when done to save your changes …
Continue adding categories to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Modify each staff members’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s position
- Email: Type in the person’s email address
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter your company’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your employees 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 individual to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
After you are done inputting details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
The new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign a person to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing employee details. To edit an 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 typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If you see errors like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Repeat the above process to add new details to your directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding staff or team members to your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the staff members and details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to modify individual entries, simply hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate entries …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select 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 set the order that listings appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the new position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which entries appear on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
After adding all member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the style and layout of your employee directory listings 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 the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields display in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(Directory listings with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations you can use with this plugin.
A useful variation you can select, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to your dashboard menu and clicking Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List plugin website.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a directory of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can check out for creating a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory 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 a profile in a widget area.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With Company Directory, you can easily add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone number, photo and member 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
For more details go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just an individual member of your team 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 which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
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 Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Staffer 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 online staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all 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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to create a simple and easy-to-manage employee directory in your site.
Images of models used to portray 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