Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people will mostly buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for simple ways to sell more products online and get people to engage more on your site, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.
If your website is powered by the WordPress Content Management System, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a staff list plugin that lets you add information about your key people, your faculty, or your employees.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-manage staff directory to WordPress.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To Your Site
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you display information to visitors about your staff members on your site.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(WP 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 …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will appear on your WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
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 this menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just start to add new staff details at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place yourstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your categories. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings screen …
(Groups section)
Note: Adding groups is just like setting up categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Enter the slug of your group. 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 – Type in your group description in this field
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create a new category …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, being able to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, 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 build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The category open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button after making changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you are done setting up your directory structure, the next step is to begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This screen provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can edit the slug associated with your staff member if required (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in your staff member’s position here
- Email: Type your staff member’s email here
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type your staff member’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. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you are done inputting details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group feature)
A field for creating a group name will display, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …
A new category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to your member profile by clicking 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 errors shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have correctly set up your permalinks …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
For a detailed tutorial on setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:
Repeat the above process to add new members to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding employee details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table of all the employees and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to change an individual’s details, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
If you have many names to add, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find member details …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which entries show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the new location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added all of your members’ 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 that allows you to set the order that your staff profiles show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your staff directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
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 …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your listings page should now look like …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with code or are unsure of 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 staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.
A useful variation you can add to your page, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”senior staff”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to the main admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin support, visit the plugin plugin website and contact the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to build a staff directory in WordPress. Here are a few other free plugins you can check out to create an employee directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP 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)
For more details go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
Learn more here:
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 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 – WordPress Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone number, photo and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 source: Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
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 a staff directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so your web visitors can get to know you and your organization better.
Images of persons used to depict staff members in this tutorial 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