No doubt you already know that people will mostly buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for ideas to sell more products online? Then one of the things you can do, is help visitors get to know your business better.
If you run a WordPress-powered website, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to add a directory plugin that lets you add information about your key people, your team, or your staff members.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to easily create and add a simple and easily updatable list of employees to your website without using code.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you build a simple staff directory list for.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your dashboard and in your admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will appear in your WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
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.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could just start adding new staff entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualemployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This loads the Groups screen …
(Groups section)
Note: Setting up groups is just like adding WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your 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 the category description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to set up your new group name …
(Groups area)
If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit Groups for specific items, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected group details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group when done …
Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type the staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify the permalink URL for each staff member if you want (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the staff member’s role
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employee here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign an employee or team member to a 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 can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
Once you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …
Your new category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a list 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 above for details).
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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your employee directory …
Click View Post …
To edit your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using the WordPress admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have set up your site permalinks correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
For a detailed tutorial about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:
Continue adding more details to your directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employee details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the directory items and their details …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to edit individual details, simply hover over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to update their 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 the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members details)
If you have many names to add, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate listing items …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which entries show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its new location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
After adding your members’ details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that listings appear on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding all staff details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List also lets you create 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 directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(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 Staff Loop Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The This code displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To make these fields display in your directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Here is what your listings page will now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the plugin lets you 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=”customer representatives”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
You can also export your staff members details by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List website and request help from the plugin developer.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your staff 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 – WP Plugin)
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, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
This plugin lets you easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone, photo and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more about the plugin here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just a single member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer)
This plugin uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage a staff directory on your site …
(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 directory plugins listed above 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
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee or team member directory to your WordPress site without using code, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of models used to depict fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie