You have no doubt heard that people will mostly buy from people they already know, like and trust.
Are you looking for ideas to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then help your visitors get to know, like and trust your organization better.
Adding a faculty member directory to your site can help to generate more trust, boost your online credibility and get more prospects buying from your site.
In this tutorial, we explain how to easily create and add an easy-to-manage list directory of staff or faculty members in your website without messing with code.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you easily staff (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).
The first step is to install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WordPress administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(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 Install Now …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Activate the plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will have been added to the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for the Simple Staff List 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 staff directory, you can just begin adding new staff details after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your directory categories. In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings screen …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories …
(Groups work like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group 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 categories
- Description – Type in your group description here (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new group name …
(Groups area)
If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, 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 on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The group open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Add nested categories your staff directory)
After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This page provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Slug: Modify the permalink URL associated with each staff member if you want (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The staff member’s role
- Email: Enter the person’s email here
- Phone Number: Enter the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in 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 into this field (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 use HTML in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign an employee or team member to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
After you have finished entering each of you staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group feature)
A field for creating your new group name will appear, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign the list entry to the group …
(New group added in Groups feature)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff member’s details. To edit an item, 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 to add them to the directory …
Click View Post …
To edit the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:
Continue adding more details to your employee directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employee or faculty members into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your employees and details you have added for each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to modify individual details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search box)
You can specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
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 update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings show on your directory pages.
Choose Staff Members > Order on your main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
Once you are done adding all of your 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 arrange the order in which your employees display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all member details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List also lets you edit the layout and style of your directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the default template used for displaying listings …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Here is what your listings page will now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose 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 adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – Options screen)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List site.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your employees in WordPress. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can look at for creating a staff directory on your site:
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With Staff Directory, you can easily create a directory of staff/faculty/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
For more details go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
This plugin provides 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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
This plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone number, pic and 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: plugin website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just one 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.
Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight website)
For more details go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory 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 an online staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from 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:
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 Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.
Images of models used to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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