Many business and marketing experts often raise the point that people tend to buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products online or get people to interact more on your site? Then help your visitors get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.
Adding a faculty member directory to your site can generate more trust, boost your online credibility and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-update directory of staff members to your WordPress site.
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 Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you display information to visitors about your employee on your site.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into your administration and from the admin menu, click on 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 plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will appear on your WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new staff member details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualemployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your categories go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This loads the Groups settings …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Type in 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 a category description here
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create a new group name …
(Groups screen)
If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, 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 organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for an individual item, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected category will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings loads in your browser …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This screen provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Slug: Change each employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter the person’s position
- Email: Enter the person’s email
- Phone Number: Enter the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the staff member’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. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
Once you are done inputting each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up groups before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen 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 dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group added)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. 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 entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your employee directory …
Click View Post …
You can update the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar, refer to this tutorial:
Note: If a ‘page not found’ error shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:
Continue adding more members to your employee directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list of all the directory entries and details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s details, just hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
If you have added many names to this section, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate a member if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search field)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can 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)
Selecting a check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which entries show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to its new location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added staff details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order that entries display on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to a desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
After adding your member details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you customize the style and layout of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(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, below is the Default Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Staff Loop 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] template tags, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Your directory listings will now display as shown in the screenshot below …
(Directory with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page 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”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
Here you can edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need any help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin support page and request help from the plugin developer.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to display a faculty directory in WordPress. Here are a few other plugins you can use for creating an employee directory on your site:
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)
Go here to learn more:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
This plugin also lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory was developed to provide 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 a profile in a widget area.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone, image and 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 read 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 uses a simple shortcode system.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders 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 on plugin activation.
With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus 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)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
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 employee directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
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 Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an updatable directory of employees in your website using a free plugin.
Models used to depict fictitious 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