Consumer behavior studies show that people will mostly buy from people they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products or services online? Then help your prospects get to know your business better.
Adding an employee directory to your site is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team behind the scenes in your organization.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of staff members in your web site.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory To WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you employee.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into the WordPress admin and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP 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 …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will display on the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just start adding new staff details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings screen …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up directory groups works in the same way as configuring WordPress categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter the category description here (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to create your new directory category …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done …
Continue adding categories in this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify your employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the person’s position here
- Email: Type the person’s email
- Phone Number: Type the employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter your company’s Twitter username into this field (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 or team member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
After you have entered your staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering your new group name will appear, 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 …
A new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign a staff member to the group …
(New group added in Groups box)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to new employee details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
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After typing in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …
Click View Post …
To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that your site permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:
Keep adding new members to your staff or member directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have finished adding employee details into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your staff profiles and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to make changes to individual entries, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate listing items if necessary …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which entries display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to its desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding your members’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that entries appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to a new position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding your members’ details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to customize the layout and style of your directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your staff directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(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 a screenshot of the Default Template …
(Default Template)
The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in the directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the example below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Your staff profiles will now appear with Facebook and Twitter links as as the screenshot below shows …
(Staff profiles 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 not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
A useful variation you can insert in your page, 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=”partners”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on the menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Options settings)
This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to the menu and clicking Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the Simple Staff List website.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your faculty. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can look at:
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)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
Faculty And Staff Directory provides 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 a profile in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With Company Directory, you can add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone number, photo and member bio, allowing you to present 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses shortcodes.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just an individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets which 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 source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
The Staffer 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 onsite staff directory …
(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 go here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to create and add a simple and easy-to-manage directory of employees in your website.
Images used to depict fictitious 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