No doubt you already know that people generally buy from those they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and easier ways to grow your business online and increase user interaction with your site, then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know you and your business better.
If you are a WordPress user, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to add a WordPress directory plugin that lets you display information about your partners, your team, or your employees.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create a simple and easy-to-manage directory of staff in WordPress.
Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory In WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you easily staff members.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WordPress admin 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 plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, a new menu entry will appear on the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can begin to add new staff details at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s set up your directory groups. From your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This brings up the Groups screen …
(Groups area)
Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like categories)
Create a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter 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 – This section lets you set up nested groups
- Description – Type in your category description here
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new group name …
(Groups area)
If you work with a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To edit Groups for an entry, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The category details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update when done …
To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click Update Group when done …
Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member area)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Slug: You can edit your employees’ slug (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s position
- Email: The staff member’s email
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type your company’s Facebook address (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 staff members here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered into 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 at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
After you are done entering details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group link)
A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you 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 category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign the employee’s details to the group …
(New group)
Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit a group 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 typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit the person’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 tutorial:
Note: If you get a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been configured correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)
If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:
Keep adding new details to your staff or team directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your staff members and their details …
(Staff Members list)
If you need to make changes to individual details, hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a member from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members profile information)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find entries if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can 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 …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also specify 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 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 rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you have added member details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that your employees display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order on the main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your staff directory listings 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 main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates page …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Simple Staff List 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 example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Your staff details will now display with Facebook and Twitter addresses as as shown below …
(Employee profiles with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your listing 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 page …
(Simple Staff List shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
A useful shortcode variation you can add, 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”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In the main menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles
Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the plugin support page.
Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your staff in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can use to add an employee directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
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)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Staff Directory lets you easily create a directory of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
Faculty And Staff Directory 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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone, 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 read more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
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 on plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get 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 sourced from plugin website)
Go here to learn more:
Staffer
(Staffer)
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 an employee directory on your site …
(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.
For more details 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 Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your website.
Models used to portray sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)