Something that is often quoted in business circles, is that people will buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker and easier ideas to grow your business online, then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know, like and trust your business better.
Adding a staff directory to your website will help to humanize your organization.
This tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of employees in WordPress.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory To WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you create a basic staff directory list for.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into the admin and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will have been added to your main WP menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
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 business and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin to add new staff entries at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory groups go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups panel …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Adding groups is very similar to working with WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Enter the slug of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up nested categories
- Description – Enter the group description
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up your new group name …
(Groups settings)
If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit or reassign Groups for specific items, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected category open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group after making changes …
Continue adding group names in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
After you are done setting up your groups, you can start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This section provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Slug: Change your employees’ slug (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: Type in the staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type the person’s Twitter username (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 add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the individual 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 the screen …
(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 your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you have finished entering details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group)
A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new group will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group added in Groups box)
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 of the tutorial above for details).
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After filling in your staff or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can edit your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar, refer to this tutorial:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have correctly configured your site permalinks …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:
Continue adding more members to your staff or team directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list of all the directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to change an individual’s entry, hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit 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 a list item from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to find a member …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings show on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
Once you have added staff details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List also lets you create the layout and style of your staff 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 the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Template)
The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields display in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(Directory listings with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are unsure of what to do, 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 listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to 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=”Gold Level associates”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options in the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
You can also export your staff members info by going to your WP admin menu and clicking Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin support page and request help from the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to create a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. For example, here are some other plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides 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 profiles in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, pic 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 learn more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders 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 on plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin uses custom post types for employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an online staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Staffer works 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
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to add a simple and easy-to-update staff directory to your WordPress site.
Images used to portray staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)