Something often said in business circles, is that people will buy from people they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for simple ways to sell more products or services online, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust you and your business better.
If your website is built using WordPress, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key people, your team, or your employees using a directory plugin.
This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to create an easy-to-maintain employee directory in WordPress.
Plugin Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory To Your Site
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)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily staff.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into your admin and in your admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, 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 installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new entry will be added to your main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start adding new staff details at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your categories go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings up the Groups screen in your web browser …
(Groups settings)
Note: Adding directory groups is just like adding WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by typing in 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 to set up nested groups
- Description – Type in the group description
- Click Add New Group when finished to create your new group …
(Groups screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, developers, 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 directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit Groups for an entry, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected item’s details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category 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 on Update Group to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can change the slug for each employee if required (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your staff member’s role
- Email: Your employee’s email
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the employee’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. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign your staff member to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You can 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 New Staff Member fields)
Once you have finished entering your staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group link)
A field for entering a new group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
The new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a person’s details. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After entering the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the employee directory …
Click View Post …
You can update 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 WordPress admin toolbar, see this tutorial:
Note: If you see ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly set up your site’s permalinks …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Continue adding new members to your directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory entries and any details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to modify individual entries, simply hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which your employee profiles appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the new position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding staff details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which entries appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to a new location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin also lets you create 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 directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields show in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
For example, a useful variation you can select to display a list of members belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In the dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(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 data from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need additional information about this plugin, visit the Simple Staff List support page and contact the plugin author.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your staff. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can check out for creating an employee directory on your site:
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)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin provides 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 profiles in a widget area.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone, 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 sourced from plugin website)
This plugin uses shortcodes.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory 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.
With Employee Spotlight, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
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 website …
(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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
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 a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site without messing around with code, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Models used to display sample staff members in this tutorial 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