You have no doubt heard that people generally buy from those they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for simple ways to sell more products online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your business better.
Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your website is a great way to humanize your organization.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add a simple and easy-to-manage staff directory to WordPress.
How To Add An Employee List Directory: WordPress Plugin Tutorial
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 – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you easily staff (you could also use it to display faculty, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WordPress dashboard and in your admin menu section, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu entry will have been added to your main WP menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start to add new staff members at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups section …
(Groups screen)
Note: Setting up directory groups is just like configuring categories in WordPress …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your group. 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Enter your category description (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new directory category …
(Groups area)
If you are a medium to large organization, being able to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, developers, 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 assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for a particular item, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected category details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This area 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 staff member’s name
- Slug: Change your staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the staff member’s role
- Email: Type the person’s email
- Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter the staff member’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 employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign the person 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 the screen …
(Screen options tab)
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 …
(Staff directory fields)
Once you have entered details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for creating your group name will appear, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
The new group will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign the list entry to the group …
(New group)
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).
***
After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to the staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Page error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:
Repeat the above process to add new entries to your staff directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding staff details to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table with all your directory items and details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to make changes to individual entries, just hover over their name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
If you have many employees, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate a member if required …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which listings show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding member listing details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List allows you to customize the style and layout of your staff directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in your directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)
Your employee details will now display as as shown below …
(Employee profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your WP admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations you can use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose to display only members of 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
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Options settings)
This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List faq page and contact the plugin developer.
Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a directory of your staff in WordPress. For example, here are other plugins you can use:
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)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
This plugin lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
This plugin lets you add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone, 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
For more details go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, 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 on plugin activation.
With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin 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 employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
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 Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain employee directory to WordPress.
Images of persons used to depict sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"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)