Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people often tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for simple ways to sell more products online and get people to engage more with your site? Then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know, like and trust your business better.
Adding a directory to your website is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team working behind the scenes in your organization.
This tutorial will show you how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory to your WordPress site.
Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff Directory To Your WordPress Site
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 easily staff members.
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into the administration and in your admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring 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 installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new entry will show up in the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can just start to add new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups screen opens up …
(Groups settings area)
Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as adding categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Enter the slug of your group. 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 – Enter a category description
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create a new directory group …
(Groups settings area)
If you manage a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, developers, departments, 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 categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each item …
To change Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The category details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button when done …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group when done …
Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Edit the permalink URL for each employee if you want (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type in the person’s position here
- Email: Your employee’s email address
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff member here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(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 staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
Once you are done inputting details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for creating your new group name will display, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …
Your new group will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign a list entry to the group …
(Groups feature)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee 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 your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To make changes to the staff member’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
If you need help using the WordPress admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If you see a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that your site permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:
Continue adding more members to your employee or faculty directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or team members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the directory entries and any details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to change individual details, hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate listing items if required …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which your staff entries display on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
After adding all members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which entries appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to a desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding all of your members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to edit the layout and style of your staff directory entries 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 dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
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 …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The This code displays your directory 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, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Here is what your listings page should now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory 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
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 dashboard menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
A useful shortcode variation you can add, for example, to display a list of individuals belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Select Staff Members >Options on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings)
This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List support page and request help from the plugin author.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to create a faculty directory in WordPress. Here are some other free plugins you can use to create an employee directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With Staff Directory, 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 create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This 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.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, image and member 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 employee 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 shortcodes.
More info:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one individual person 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 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 employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for 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: plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more here:
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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff or faculty directory to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Models used to depict sample 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