No doubt you already know that people will buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and simpler ways to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site, then make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.
If you are a WordPress user, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress directory plugin that will let you display information about your partners, your team, or your staff members.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add an easy-to-update list of staff members to your site using free WordPress plugins.
Adding A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily display basic information about your staff on your website.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WordPress dashboard and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will display on your main WP menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could just begin adding new staff details at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by configuring your groups. In your WordPress dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups panel …
(Groups settings area)
Note: Configuring groups is just like configuring categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- 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 if you plan to set up nested categories
- Description – Type in the category description here
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up a new directory group …
(Groups settings screen)
If you manage a medium to large organization, being able to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, project teams, 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 assign these to a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit Groups for individual items, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
Once you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Edit the slug associated with your staff member if you want (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the person’s role
- Email: Add your staff member’s email here
- Phone Number: Add 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 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: Type a profile description for your staff members here. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional page settings …
(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)
Once you are done inputting each of you staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign the entry to the group …
(New group added)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new 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 …
Click View Post …
You can modify the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the admin toolbar, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
To learn more about setting up WP permalinks, refer to this tutorial:
Continue adding more details to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or faculty members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the directory items and all details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s details, hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate entries …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
After adding your member details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your staff list entries 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 menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee entries will now display with Facebook and Twitter links as as the example below shows …
(Directory listings with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.
A useful variation you can add, 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=”property managers”])
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 menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can change some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members details by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin support page and contact the plugin developer.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. For example, here are some other free plugins you can look at:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
This plugin also lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
This 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 profiles in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone number, photo and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just a single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
This plugin includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staffer 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 onsite employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
To learn more about the plugin go 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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain staff directory in WordPress.
Images of models used to depict sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)