Consumer behavior research shows that people generally tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products online and get people to stay longer on your site, then make it easier for your prospects to get to know you, your team and your business better.
If you use WordPress, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your faculty, or your staff members using a WordPress directory plugin.
In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily add an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your website without coding skills.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List)
Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you employee.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into the administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will show up in your main WP menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Configuring Simple Staff List
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can just start adding new employee details at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Adding groups is similar to creating categories …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your category name
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in your group description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to create a new group name …
(Groups settings area)
If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each item …
To edit or reassign Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected item’s details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button when done …
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 categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested categories your directory)
Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify the permalink URL associated with your employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the person’s position
- Email: Type the person’s email here
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter 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: Enter a profile description for your staff member here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: Assign an employee or faculty member to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for creating a group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
A new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can modify your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If a page error like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have configured your permalinks correctly …
(Not found error? Check your permalinks)
To learn more about setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Repeat the above process to add new entries to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employee details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your employees and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to modify individual entries, hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate a member …
(Search members)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To show 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 choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that entries show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to the desired location …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
After adding your members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that listings display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list)
Once you are done adding staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List also lets you create the layout and style of your staff list items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your employee 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, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Plugin Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown in the example below …
(Use template tags to customize your listings page)
Your employee listings will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Employee profiles with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”senior staff”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – 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
Finally, you can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin developer.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to display a staff directory in WordPress. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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 – WP Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides 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 profiles in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
This plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, as well as fields like 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 read more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners 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.
The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
Detailed information about each faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
Staffer 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 source: plugin website)
Staffer works immediately with many popular 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, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:
- Add Staff Directory To WordPress
- WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-manage simple faculty members directory in your web site using a free WP plugin.
Images of models used in this tutorial to portray staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum