Many business experts often raise the point that people generally will buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for ways to sell more products online or get people to interact more on your site? Then something you can do, is help your visitors get to know you, your team and your business better.
If your site runs on the WordPress CMS platform, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a staff list plugin that will let you add information about your key partners, your business team, or your employees.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we are going to show you how to create and add an easy-to-maintain list of staff or faculty members to your website using free plugins.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff 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)
Simple Staff List lets you staff members.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into the admin and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu entry will appear on your main WP menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
Here is where you will configure and manage all of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could start to add new staff member details at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings up the Groups section …
(Groups section)
Note: Setting up groups is similar to creating categories …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in the group description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new group name …
(Groups settings area)
If you work with a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering each new item …
To edit Groups for an individual item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected item open in the Edit Group page. Select a new 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 your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group after making changes …
Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested groups to your staff directory)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Slug: Change the permalink URL associated with each employee if required (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the employee’s role into this field
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your staff member’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in your company’s Twitter username into this field (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. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
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)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
Once you are done inputting each staff member’s details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add new staff members, 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 for entering a group name will display, 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 group will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …
(Groups feature)
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).
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After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …
Click View Post …
To make changes to the employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If you get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
For a detailed tutorial about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:
Keep adding more members to your employee directory directory as shown above until done.
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 on the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your listing entries and their details …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify an individual’s entry, hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find items if required …
(Search members)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show 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 select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all member details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that entries show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its new location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list)
After adding all member details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your directory items 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 your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above example. 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 listings page)
Your staff profiles will now display with Facebook and Twitter addresses as shown in the example below …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as 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 menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can add, 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=”property managers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on your main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need specific help with this plugin, go to the plugin support page and contact the plugin developer.
Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your staff in WordPress. For example, here are some other plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
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 installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Company Directory lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone, photo and member 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 staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
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 selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
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)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staffer 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 a staff directory on your site …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
If the above plugins 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.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee directory to your WordPress site without messing around with code, so your site visitors can get to know you and your organization better.
Models used to portray fictitious staff members 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