Consumer behavior studies show that people tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online, then help visitors get to know you and your organization better.
If you are a WordPress user, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a directory plugin that will let you display a directory listing with information about your key partners, your business team, or your staff.
This tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory to WordPress.
Adding A Staff List Directory: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List lets you build a basic staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the WP administration and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, a new entry will be added to the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for your 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 begin adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups screen …
(Groups section)
Note: Setting up groups is just like configuring categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version 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 – Enter the group description in this field
- Click Add New Group when done to set up the new directory group …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, faculties, 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 new item …
To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click Update Group after making changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This opens up the Add New Staff Member screen …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Slug: Modify your employees’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the person’s role here
- Email: The staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number into this field
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the person’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff member here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to 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 section located in the 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 entering your new group name will display, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an employee 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).
***
After entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can update the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you see an error like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Continue adding new members to your employee directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding employee or team members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to edit individual entries, hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to modify the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate items …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. 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 fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that your staff profiles display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to its new position …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that your staff entries show on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to a new position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you customize the style and layout of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The This code displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Your staff entries will now display as as shown below …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as 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, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage Shortcode section)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that you can use with this plugin.
A useful variation you can decide to use, for example, to display a list of employees belonging only to 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 using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on the menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin website.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a directory of your team members in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can check out to create a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
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, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
The plugin also lets you insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory 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.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, photo and 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 staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just one single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets that let you 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
More info:
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 a staff directory on your site …
(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.
More info:
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.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of models used to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"Your training is the best in the world! It is simple, yet detailed, direct, understandable, memorable, and complete." Andrea Adams, FinancialJourney.org