Many business and marketing experts often raise the point that people will mostly buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for ways to grow your business online, then make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.
If you use WordPress, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a WordPress staff list plugin that will let you display information about your partners, your faculty, or your employees.
In this tutorial, we explain how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain simple team members directory in your site with no coding skills required.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory To Your Site
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free WordPress 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 create a simple staff directory list for.
The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the WordPress administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
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 will appear in the main WordPress menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are in your team and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can start adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourstaff into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings up the Groups section in your browser …
(Groups section)
Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as configuring categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create 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 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 – Enter the group description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to create the new directory category …
(Groups screen)
If you are a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, developers, departments, etc.
Create as many categories and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change or reassign Groups for a particular item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected category details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse 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 …
(Nested categories)
Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member area …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The employee’s name
- Slug: You can edit each employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your staff member’s position
- Email: Enter the employee’s email address into this field
- Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your staff member’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type 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: Type in a profile description for your employee here. Since 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 person 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 tab)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you have entered details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, 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 …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a person to the group …
(Groups section)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit an 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 entering the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can make changes to your staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If you get errors like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get a ‘page not found’ error)
To learn more about setting up WP permalinks, see this tutorial:
Keep adding new members to your staff directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in your WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your staff members and all details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details table)
If you need to edit individual details, simply hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need 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 your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate items if necessary …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you 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)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the new location …
(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order in which entries show on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
After adding all member details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you 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 Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted 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 displays your listing as shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Your staff details will now display as as shown below …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page, 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=”Asia Pacific Region”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List support page.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a faculty directory in WordPress. For example, here are some other plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
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 – Plugin For WordPress)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory 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 profiles in a widget area.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone, photo and staff 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses shortcodes.
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual 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 Employee Spotlight, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staffer
(Staffer)
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 an online employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
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
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to create a simple and easy-to-manage directory of staff in WordPress.
Images of models used in this tutorial to portray sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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