It’s often said in business and marketing circles that people tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products online, then one of the things you can do, is help your prospects get to know you and your business better.
Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your site is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team behind the scenes in your organization.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain simple faculty directory to your web site using free plugins.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you display information about your staff on your website.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the dashboard and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on Install Now …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu entry will have been added to your main WP menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from this menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s configure your groups. From your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups settings opens up …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring groups works just like WordPress categories …
(Groups are like WordPress categories)
Create new groups 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 if you plan to set up nested groups
- Description – Type in your category description (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when done to set up your new group …
(Groups settings screen)
If you are a medium to large organization, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups 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 organize these into a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit Groups for an entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
Your selected item’s details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group when done …
Continue adding group names to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested groups as you like …
(Add nested groups to your directory)
After you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin to add your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
The Add New Staff Member settings screen …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Add the employee’s name
- Permalink: Edit each employees’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your staff member’s position
- Email: The employee’s email
- Phone Number: Type in your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type 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 in a profile description for your employee here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign a staff or faculty member to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen options)
You can enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you are done entering your staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field for entering a group name will appear, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign the employee’s details to the group …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 employee’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)
To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Note: If you see ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks in WordPress here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding new details to your staff or member directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list with all your directory entries and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to change 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 update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find a member if required …
(Search Staff Members search field)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Staff Members Screen Options tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that entries show on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to its new position …
(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added all of your staff details to your 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 lets you set the order in which your staff details display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
After adding all members’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields show in the directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(Directory listings with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.
For example, a useful variation you can add to your page to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Gold Level associates”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can modify some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need specific help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin developer.
Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. For example, here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can look at to create an employee directory on your website:
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)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin lets you easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.
This plugin also lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.
The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just an 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 this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each staff 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 – WP Plugin)
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 a staff directory on your website …
(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.
More info:
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
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory in your WordPress site.
Models used to portray fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I was absolutely amazed at the scope and breadth of these tutorials! The most in-depth training I have ever received on any subject!" - Myke O'Neill, DailyGreenPost.com