Something that is often quoted in business and marketing circles, is that people generally will buy from those they know, like and trust.
If you are looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ways to grow your business online, then help your prospects get to know, like and trust you and your business better.
If your website uses the WordPress CMS platform, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to use a WordPress directory plugin that will let you add information about your key people, your faculty, or your staff.
In this tutorial, we show you how to easily create and add an easy-to-maintain simple staff directory in your web site using free WP plugins.
How To Easily Add A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free 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 build a simple staff directory for.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WordPress administration 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 search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(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 show up in the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could start to add new entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s configure your directory groups. From your WordPress dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups screen …
(Groups area)
Note: Setting up groups is similar to creating categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Type in 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 – This section lets you set up nested categories
- Description – Type in a group description here (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new directory category …
(Groups settings area)
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 a category for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit or reassign Groups for individual items, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
Your selected item’s details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group when done to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings opens on your web browser …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Permalink: You can edit the slug associated with your employee if required (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: Enter the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in your company’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign a staff or team member to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
After you have finished entering each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
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 entering your new group name will display, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
Your new category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …
(New group added in Groups feature)
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 typing in your team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …
Click View Post …
You can edit your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial on using the WP admin toolbar here:
Note: If you get an error like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks in WordPress here:
Keep adding new details to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you have added employee details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the staff members and details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to modify individual entries, hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members info)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your members’ 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 that lets you specify the order in which listings display on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to a desired location …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding all of your staff details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to customize the layout and style of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Template …
(Default Template)
The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your employee details will now display as shown in the screenshot below …
(Employee profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options screen)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to your WordPress admin menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List website and request help from the plugin author.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. For example, here are some other free WordPress plugins you can look at for adding an employee directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP 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 – WordPress Plugin)
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.
The plugin also lets you add 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 – WordPress Staff Directory 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 profiles in a widget area.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you add your employees, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone, pic and bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 source: plugin website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just an individual member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP 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 a staff directory on your site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
More info:
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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to add an easy-to-manage employee directory to your web site.
Images used to display fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now