No doubt you’ve heard that people often tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for inexpensive ideas to grow your business online and increase user interaction on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is help prospects get to know your business better.
Adding a directory of employees to your site can lead to more trust, increase your online credibility and get more prospects buying from you.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff members in your web site.
How To Add A Staff Directory To Your WordPress Site: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List lets you create a simple staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into the admin and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new entry will have been added to the main WP menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can start to add new staff details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory categories go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups section …
(Groups settings area)
Note: Configuring groups is very similar to working with categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- 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 – Use this section if you plan to set up nested categories
- Description – Type in a category description
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new category …
(Groups settings)
If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each item …
To change Groups for a specific entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button after making changes …
Add as many group names as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories 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 WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can edit each staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the employee’s position here
- Email: The employee’s email address
- Phone Number: Add the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the employee’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the person’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 use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
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 staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
Once you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering 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 category and click on Add New Group …
The new category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. 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 filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …
Click View Post …
To edit the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If you get a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that you have configured your permalinks correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using WP permalinks here:
Keep adding new details to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or team members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to make changes to individual entries, hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members profile details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find items if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also lets you 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)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that entries appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which listings show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the new position …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you are done adding all of your staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin also lets you create the layout and style of your 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 your WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields show in the directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee entries will now display Facebook and Twitter addresses as as shown below …
(Directory with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you 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 Shortcode section)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that you can use.
A useful shortcode variation you can decide to use, for example, to display a list of members belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”property managers”])
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 dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need help with the plugin, go to the plugin site and contact the plugin developer.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a directory of your team members in WordPress. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
For more details go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
More info:
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 or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
Learn more here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone, photo and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one individual person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
This plugin includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
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 a staff directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
For more details, visit the plugin site 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
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of employees in your WordPress site.
Models used to depict sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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