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It’s often said in marketing that people generally tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for cost-effective ways to sell more products online, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know your business better.
If your website runs on the WordPress Content Management System, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key people, your faculty, or your employees using a WordPress staff list plugin.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members in your site.
Adding A Staff List Directory To Your WordPress 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 a no cost plugin that lets you display basic information about your staff members on your site.
First, let’s install and activate this plugin.
Log into your WP dashboard and from the admin menu, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will be added to the WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
Here is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could begin adding new employee entries at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place yourmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your directory groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
This loads the Groups section …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring directory groups is similar to working with categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group name
- Slug – Type in 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in a group description in this field (optional)
- Click the Add New Group button when finished to create the new category …
(Groups settings area)
If you manage a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating each new item …
To edit Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The item open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select Quick Edit …
Click on Update Group when done to save your changes …
Continue adding categories in this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested groups as you like …
(Nested categories)
Once you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Type your employee’s name
- Permalink: Change the permalink URL for your staff member if required (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The staff member’s role
- Email: Your staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Type your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in the person’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your staff members here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign your employee to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
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 your employee’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
After you have entered each of you staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering your new group name will display, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your listing to the group …
(New group added via Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a person’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 typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …
Click View Post …
You can edit your employee’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on using the dashboard 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)
If you need help setting up permalinks, go here:
Keep adding new members to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff or faculty members into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all the directory entries and any details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details list)
If you need to change individual details, hover over their name, and a submenu 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 delete a list item from the staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile information)
If you have many employees, your table can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate member details if required …
(Search members)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that entries display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired position …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list items)
After adding your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings show on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to its new location …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list)
After adding your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin allows you to create the style and layout of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the layout and style of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Templates screen)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …
(Default 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] template tags, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory should now look like …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of 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 staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations that you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.
A useful shortcode variation you can decide to use, 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=”Gold Level associates”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin developer.
Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use. For example, here are some other free plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory 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)
For more details go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
This plugin also lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory 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.
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, pic and member 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just a single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.
Detailed information about each team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)
To learn more about the plugin go 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 onsite employee directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works with almost all 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, 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, now you know how to add an easy-to-update list directory of staff or faculty members in in WordPress using a free WordPress plugin.
Images used to display staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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