No doubt you’ve heard that people will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for simple ways to sell more products online? Then one of the things you can do, is help visitors get to know, like and trust you and your business better.
Adding a directory to your site can help to generate greater trust, boost your credibility online and get more prospects getting in touch with you.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create an easy-to-manage employee directory in your site.
Adding An Employee List Directory To Your Site: Step-By-Step Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you staff (you could also use it to display faculty, etc.).
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP 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 the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new menu will appear in the WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can begin adding new staff details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your group members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your directory groups. In your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings screen …
(Groups screen)
Note: Adding directory groups is similar to working with WordPress categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your group 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 categories
- Description – Enter your category description here
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create your new category …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a medium to large organization, having the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change or reassign Groups for an item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown 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 select Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names in this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Slug: Edit the slug for your employee if required (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the person’s role
- Email: The employee’s email
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter the staff member’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the individual to a group (see above 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 each of your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you have entered details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group feature)
A field for entering your new group name will appear, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign the employee’s details to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
***
After entering your team member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding more entries to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employee details into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list displaying all your employees and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to make changes to an individual’s entry, hover over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile details)
If you have many names added to this section, your list can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that listings appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that your employees display on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your member details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to create the layout and style of your directory listings 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 your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory, 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 directory listings …
(Default Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in your directory, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee details will now appear with Facebook and Twitter addresses as shown in the example below …
(Directory listings with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations you can use.
A useful variation you can choose, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on your WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(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 info by going to the dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List site.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a staff directory in WordPress. For example, here are some other free plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP 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 here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone, pic and staff bio, allowing you to present 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 plugin website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one single member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
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: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
The Staffer 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 employee directory on your website …
(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.
Go here to learn more:
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
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple staff directory to your WordPress site without messing with code, so your web visitors can get to know your organization better.
Images of models used in this tutorial to display staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum