Business experts have successfully shown that people generally will buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for cost-effective ways to sell more products online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is help your prospects get to know your organization better.
If your online business is powered by the WordPress CMS, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to use a staff list plugin that lets you add a directory containing information about your partners, your team, or your staff members.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to create and add a simple and easily updatable list of employees or team members to your website using a free plugin.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory
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 is free and lets you easily display information to visitors about your staff members on your site.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your dashboard and from the admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will have been added to your WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just start adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place yourstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings panel …
(Groups section)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your 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 category description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create your new directory category …
(Groups screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for specific items, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected group details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group when done …
Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your staff directory)
After you are done setting up your groups, you can begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings opens up …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This section provides you with 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: Edit your employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the person’s position here
- Email: The staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type your company’s Twitter username (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 or faculty member here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign a staff or faculty member to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you have entered 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 your directory groups before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen 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 dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
A new category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. 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 filling in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
If you need help using the WP admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If you see a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)
To learn more about setting up permalinks, see this tutorial:
Repeat the above process to continue adding new details to your staff or faculty directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your staff members and their details …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to change individual entries, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find items …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings show on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the 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 staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you create the layout and style of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above will display your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To make these fields show in the directory, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your staff list should now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select 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 you can use with this plugin.
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=”Gold Level associates”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Options settings)
Here you can change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to your main admin menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, visit the plugin faq page.
Additional Staff 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 a few other free WordPress plugins you can check out to create a directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory 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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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 profiles in a widget area.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your employees, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone, image 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 learn more about each employee 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.
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders 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 on plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
Staffer uses custom post types for staff 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 website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
More info:
If the above plugins 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
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to add a simple and easy-to-update staff directory to your site.
Images of models used to portray staff members 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