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Business experts have successfully proven that people will mostly buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker, easier and cost-effective ideas to sell more products or services online and get people to stay longer on your site, then help your prospects get to know, like and trust your organization better.
Adding a directory of staff to your site can help boost your credibility online and get more prospects to send you enquiries for quotes or more information.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create an easy-to-maintain staff directory in WordPress.
How To Easily Add A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily create a simple staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new entry will appear on the main WP menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
Here is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place yourstaff members into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your directory categories go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This loads the Groups screen …
(Groups area)
Note: Adding directory 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 – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in the category description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new category …
(Groups area)
If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change or reassign Groups for an individual item, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group will 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 edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button after making changes …
Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
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 – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member screen …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type your staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify each employees’ slug (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the person’s role
- Email: Enter the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your employee’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(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 employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you are done inputting details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group feature)
A field will display allowing you to create 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 group and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group added)
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 entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about using the WP admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly set up your permalinks …
(Page error – Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding employee details into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the directory items and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to change an individual’s details, just hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to edit the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which entries appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that your employees show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its new location …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
After adding all staff details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin 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 layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields appear in your directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your staff list will now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings 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
As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
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=”customer representatives”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Options screen)
Here you can edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need help with the plugin, go to the Simple Staff List faq page.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your employees. Here are other plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Modern Team Staff Directory 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)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
This plugin lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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 profiles in a widget area.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like title, email, 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 staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just a single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each faculty member 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 – 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 site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
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 Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of persons used to portray fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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