Many business and marketing experts often raise the point that people generally will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and simpler ways to grow your business online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your business better.
If your website is driven by the WordPress Content Management System, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress directory plugin that will let you display a directory containing information about your key partners, your business team, or your staff.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of employees to WordPress.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a free plugin that lets you employee.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WordPress administration and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will have been added to the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just begin adding new staff details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your directory groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings …
(Groups section)
Note: Adding groups is just like adding categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – This section lets you set up nested groups
- Description – Enter the category description (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create your new directory category …
(Groups settings)
If you run a medium to large organization, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups 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 categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To edit or reassign Groups for specific items, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected item’s details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group when done …
Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify each staff members’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter the person’s position
- Email: Enter the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in the employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in 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: Add a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
After you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
Your new directory category will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added in Groups box)
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 above for details).
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After entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this tutorial:
Note: If you get ’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)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks in WordPress here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding new members to your directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or team members to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list of all the directory items and details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to modify an individual’s details, hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find entries if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search field)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which listings appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to a desired position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
After adding all employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you create the layout and style of your staff 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 the 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, here is the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Your staff profiles will now appear with Facebook and Twitter addresses as shown in the screenshot below …
(Directory listings with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with editing code or are unsure of 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 lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can decide to use, for example, to display a list of individuals belonging only to 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 using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options in your main menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members data by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are other free plugins you can use to add a staff directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory 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)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
This plugin lets you set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)
Go here to learn more:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
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.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone number, pic and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders 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, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
This 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 online staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
For more details 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 Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-manage simple faculty members directory in in WordPress using a free WP plugin.
Models used to depict sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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