Something that is generally well known in business and marketing circles, is that people will buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for inexpensive ideas to grow your business online and get people to engage more with your site? Then help your visitors get to know, like and trust your business better.
If you own a WordPress-powered website, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress staff list plugin that lets you display information about your key partners, your team, or your employees.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to create an easy-to-update staff directory in your web site.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory To Your Site
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily build a simple staff directory list for.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will have been added to the main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just begin adding new staff details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This brings up the Groups settings panel in your browser …
(Groups screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – This section lets you set up nested groups
- Description – Type in the category description (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group name …
(Groups screen)
If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups 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 on the Add New Group button after entering each new item …
To edit or reassign Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The category open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent dropdown 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 choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your staff directory)
After you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This screen provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Change each employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the staff member’s position here
- Email: The staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Add your employee’s phone number into this field
- Facebook URL: Type the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the employee’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 in a profile description for your employee here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign your employee to a group (see above 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 page settings …
(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 have entered your staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group link)
A field for creating your 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 category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new group will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your listing to the group …
(New group added)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to new employee details. 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 the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:
Keep adding more entries to your directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have finished adding staff details 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 listing all the directory items and any details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to change an individual’s entry, hover your mouse over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need 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 delete a list item from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members details)
If you have many names to add, your list can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate member details if required …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which listings display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to the new position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
After adding your member details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which entries show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to a desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the layout and style of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The This code displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your listings page should now look like …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations that you can use with this plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can choose, for example, to display a list of persons belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Gold Level associates”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Options settings)
Here you can change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export screen …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need additional information about the plugin, go to the plugin support page and request help from the plugin author.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for creating a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory 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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
The plugin also lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
This plugin was developed to provide 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 a profile in a widget area.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone, image and staff 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 sourced from plugin website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
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 installs with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
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 a staff directory on your site …
(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.
For more details go 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 List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images used in this tutorial to display sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum