Consumer buying habits have successfully shown that people tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for ideas to sell more products online or increase user interaction on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees to your website will help to let visitors learn more about the people working behind your organization.
This tutorial shows you how to add a simple and easy-to-update directory of employees to your site.
Adding An Employee List Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List lets you staff.
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 panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will show up in the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just start to add new employee details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your categories. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups settings screen …
(Groups screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Enter 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 to set up nested categories
- Description – Enter a group description here
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up your new directory category …
(Groups settings)
If you manage a business that employs many people, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each item …
To change or reassign Groups for a particular entry, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected item will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To change the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button after making changes …
Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested categories your directory)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify your staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the person’s position here
- Email: Type the person’s email
- Phone Number: Enter the employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the person’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 in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(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 your employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you have finished inputting each of you staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group feature)
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 group and click on the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your list item to the group …
(New group added in Groups box)
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 typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can edit the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If a page error like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that your permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks here:
Continue adding new members to your staff or team directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or faculty members into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory items and any details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to edit an individual’s details, hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu 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 remove a list item from your employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile)
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 locate a member if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which entries appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you have added members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that listings show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to a new position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list)
After adding all members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to edit the layout and style of your staff directory items 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 the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory listings, insert 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 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 make these fields show up in your directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory will now look like …
(Employee profiles with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with editing code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use.
A useful shortcode variation you can add, 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=”sales reps”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings)
This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members data by going to your menu and clicking Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin plugin website and request help from the plugin developer.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to display a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can look at to create an employee directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school 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)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, photo and bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just an individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.
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 source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
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 online employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works immediately 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, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:
- Add Staff Directory To WordPress
- WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple employee directory to your WordPress site, so your web visitors can get to know you and your company better.
Models used to depict sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum