Consumer buying habits have successfully shown that people will mostly buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ideas to sell more products online? Then make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.
If you are a WordPress user, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to add a directory plugin that will let you add a directory containing information about your key partners, your business team, or your employees.
This tutorial shows you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-manage staff directory to your site.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you staff (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into the WordPress admin and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, 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 – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu entry will display on your WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin adding new employee entries at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups section loads in your web browser …
(Groups area)
Note: Adding groups is very similar to working with WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your 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 group description (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new group …
(Groups section)
If you work with a larger organization, being able to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected item open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click Update Group after making changes …
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)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This area 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: Change your employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the employee’s role
- Email: Your staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter your staff member’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff member here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign your employee 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 can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you have entered details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up groups before adding 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 for creating your new group name will display, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new group will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an individual’s 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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that your site permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up WordPress permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Continue adding more members to your directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table of all the directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to edit an individual’s details, hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a listing from the staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
If you have added many individual listings to this section, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find entries …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that entries show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list items)
After adding your staff details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that your employees display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to a new position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you create the layout and style of your staff directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates page)
To customize your directory, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. 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 screenshot below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your staff list should now look like …
(Employee profiles 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 how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
A useful shortcode variation you can choose, 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=”sales reps”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to your menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin plugin website.
Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. Here are some other plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
This plugin lets you set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details go here:
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.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone, image and member 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 Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just a single member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
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 onsite employee 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.
Learn more 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 Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-update directory of employees in your WordPress site.
Images of models used to portray fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now