Something that is generally well known in marketing, is that people will mostly buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you looking for ways to grow your business online? Then something you can do, is help your visitors get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.
If you are a WordPress user, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress staff list plugin that lets you add information about your key people, your faculty, or your staff members.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add an updatable directory of employees to your WordPress site using free WordPress plugins.
How To Easily Add An Employee Directory: Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you employee.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your WP admin and go to Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, 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)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will show up in your main WP admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just start adding new staff member details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings …
(Groups area)
Note: Adding directory groups works just like WordPress categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Create new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Enter the slug of your category. 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 – Type in your group description here (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up a new group …
(Groups settings screen)
If you work with a business that employs many people, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, developers, 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 assign these to a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for a particular entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To change the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click Update Group to save your changes …
Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can start to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Staff Member settings in your browser …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This section provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Slug: Edit the permalink URL for your staff member if required (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: Add your staff member’s email here
- Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the employee’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter the staff member’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your employees here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
After you are done entering details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …
The new group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an employee’s details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the 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 you have set up groups and get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your permalinks correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to add more details to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding employees 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 your employees and details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to change an individual’s details, hover over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find listing items if required …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which your employee listings appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that your employees show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding staff details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List 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 layout and style of your staff directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Here is what your listings page should now look like …
(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with editing code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.
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 WP admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode section)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
A useful variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options in your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
Here you can edit some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin website.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can look at:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
This 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 a profile in a widget area.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone number, image and member 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners 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 upon plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)
This 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 a staff directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more about this plugin here:
If the directory plugins listed above 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 Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory to your web site.
Models used to portray sample 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