No doubt you’ve heard that people generally will buy from people they already know, like and trust.
Are you looking for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then help your visitors get to know your organization better.
Adding a staff directory to your website can help boost your online credibility and get more prospects considering using your services.
In this tutorial, we show you how to add a simple team members directory in your site using a free plugin.
Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff Directory In WordPress
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 Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily staff.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your dashboard and from the admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will appear on the main WP menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just start to add new staff member details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your categories. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This opens up the Groups section …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as configuring categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Enter the slug of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in the group description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create a new category …
(Groups section)
If you run a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To change or reassign Groups for an item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The item’s details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group when done to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
After you are done setting up your directory structure, you can start adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Slug: Modify the permalink URL associated with each employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in your employee’s role into this field
- Email: The staff member’s email
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’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 add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial 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 of your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
Once you have finished entering details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …
Your new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a staff or team member’s details. To edit an 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 …
Click View Post …
To modify the employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly set up your site’s permalinks …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:
Keep adding new details to your directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your staff profiles and their details …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to edit individual entries, just hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from your staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members profile info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate entries if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that listings show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added members’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which your employee profiles appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added members’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to edit 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 the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Template)
The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee details will now display as shown in the example below …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory 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 – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”senior staff”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options screen)
This section lets you modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin developer.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can check out to create a staff directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
For more details go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
The plugin also lets you create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone number, image and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 uses a simple shortcode system.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight comes 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 staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin uses custom post types for staff 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 source: Staffer plugin 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.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of models used in this tutorial to depict staff members 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