Something that is generally well known in business, is that people generally tend to buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust your organization better.
Adding a faculty member directory to your website can help increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.
This tutorial shows you how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of employees in WordPress.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Add A Staff List Directory To Your WordPress Site
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you easily employee.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WordPress administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new entry will display on your main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this 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 just begin adding new employee details at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. In your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings panel …
(Groups settings area)
Note: Setting up directory groups is similar to creating WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group. 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 nested groups
- Description – Enter a group description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to set up your new group name …
(Groups section)
If you work with a larger organization, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, project teams, faculties, 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 the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To change Groups for a specific entry, 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 group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your directory)
Once you are done setting up your directory structure, the next step is to start adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member screen …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This screen provides you with 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
- Slug: Change the slug associated with each employee if you want (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter your staff member’s role
- Email: Type the person’s email
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter your company’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type the person’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 employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
If you 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 your staff member’s details …
(Staff directory fields)
After you have entered each of you staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up directory groups 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 enter a new group name, with a drop-down 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 …
Your new directory category will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After typing in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to the staff member’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 WP admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have correctly configured your site’s permalinks …
(Page error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:
Keep adding more members to your directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table of all the directory items and the details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to make changes to individual entries, hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile info)
If you have many employees, your list can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find entries …
(Search Staff Members search field)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which entries display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you customize 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 staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert 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 Simple Staff List Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields display 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 listings page will now look like …
(Directory listings with social media URLs)
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 being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”partners”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options in the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
Here you can modify some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to the main menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need help with this plugin, go to the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin developer.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your faculty members. For example, here are some other plugins you can use to add a staff directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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 – WP Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
The plugin also lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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 profiles in a widget area.
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone, pic and staff 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 staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just an individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer)
The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for employee 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.
Learn more about the plugin here:
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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your site.
Models used to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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