Many business experts have successfully shown over the years that people often tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for simple ideas to sell more products online, then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.
Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your website can help boost your credibility online and get more prospects to request quotes or more information.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we are going to show you how to easily create and add an easy-to-manage list directory of staff or faculty members to WordPress without coding skills.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you display information about your staff on your site.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the WP dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu entry will have been added to the main WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just begin adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory categories. From your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings …
(Groups screen)
Note: Adding directory groups is just like setting up categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group 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 to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in your group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new group name …
(Groups screen)
If you manage a medium to large organization, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected category open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group to save your changes …
Add as many group names as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Permalink: Modify your employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter your employee’s position
- Email: The staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the staff member’s Facebook URL (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 members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the person to a specific 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)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
After you are done inputting details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering a new group name will appear, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your employee’s details to the group …
(New group)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing a staff member’s details. To edit a group 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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can modify the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If errors shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get a ‘page not found’ error)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:
Continue adding new details to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employee or faculty members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory entries and details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify an individual’s details, simply hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile info)
If you have many employees, your table can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate entries if required …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields to 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)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings appear on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding all employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which your staff details show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to its desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added member details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the style and layout of your directory entries 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 your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. To make these fields display in the directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your staff details will now display as shown in the screenshot below …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of 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 allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add 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 trainers”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to the dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin author.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your staff. Here are a few other plugins you can use for creating an employee directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With Staff Directory, you can easily create a directory of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide 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.
Learn more about this plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors can 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just a 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 screen in the viewer’s device.
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)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
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 an onsite 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.
To learn more about the plugin 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 Directory Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of persons used in this tutorial to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group