Consumer buying habits show that people often tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for simple ideas to grow your business online or increase user interaction on your site, then one of the things you can do, is help visitors get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
If you own a WordPress-driven website, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress directory plugin that lets you display information about your partners, your business team, or your employees.
In this tutorial, we show you how to add a simple faculty members directory in your site using free WordPress plugins.
Adding A Staff List Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you display basic information about your staff on your site.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP administration 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 …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will appear on the WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualemployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings opens on your web browser …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up directory groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in 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 drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter a category description
- Click Add New Group when done to create your new directory group …
(Groups section)
If you work with a medium to large organization, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for a particular item, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected category will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group after making changes …
Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you are done setting up your groups, you can begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type the staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify each staff members’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: The employee’s email address
- Phone Number: Enter the person’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter 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 employee or team member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign an employee or faculty member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options tab)
You can 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 New Staff Member settings)
After you are done entering your staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature located in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group feature)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …
Your new category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups section)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff member’s details. 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 typing in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
To edit your staff member’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
For a detailed tutorial on using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you see ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that your site permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up permalinks, go here:
Repeat the above process to add more details to your staff directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or faculty members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the staff members and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to change individual details, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member from the staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile information)
If you have many employees, your list can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that listings appear on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to a new position …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List also lets you customize the layout and style of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Simple Staff List Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop 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 URLs showing in the above example. To make these fields show in your directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Your directory entries will now display with Facebook and Twitter links as shown in the screenshot below …
(Employee profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able 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 brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
For example, a useful variation you can add to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])
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 brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, visit the plugin website and request help from the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build an employee directory in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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 – WordPress Plugin)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
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, school or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone, image and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
The Staffer 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 online employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all 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
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory in your site.
Models used to portray fictitious staff members 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)