No doubt you already know that people generally will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know you, your team and your organization better.
If you are a WordPress user, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your team, or your employees using a directory plugin.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to add an easy-to-update simple faculty members directory in a WordPress site using free plugins.
How To Add An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress 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 easily employee.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WordPress administration and from the admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(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 Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will appear in the WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just start adding new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place yourgroup members into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your categories. In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This brings you to the Groups settings panel …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as configuring categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your 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 if you plan to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter a category description in this field
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create your new group …
(Groups settings)
If you manage a larger organization, having the ability to create 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 need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for individual entries, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group when done to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested groups to your directory)
After you are done setting up your groups, you can begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Enter your staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify your employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: Enter the person’s email address
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the employee’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
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 fields)
Once you are done entering each of you staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering your group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
Your new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a list item to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing a person’s details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
***
After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If a ‘page not found’ error shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
For a detailed tutorial about setting up permalinks, go here:
Continue adding new details to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list of all your staff members and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to change an individual’s details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
If you have many names to add, your table can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find items if required …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Selecting a check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to its new position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that listings show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to create the layout and style of your employee directory listings 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 the menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, 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 above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. To make these fields display in the directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Here is what your staff list should now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with CSS styles and template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on your main menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin plugin site and contact the plugin developer.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. Here are some other plugins you can look at:
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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
This plugin also lets you create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
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 a profile in a widget area.
Learn more about the plugin here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, photo and staff 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 source: plugin website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
For more details go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just a 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.
Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
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 an employee 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.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
If the above plugins 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 Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of staff members to your WordPress site.
Models used in this tutorial to display fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum