Business experts often raise the point that people generally tend to buy from those they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker and simpler ways to grow your business online or get people to interact more on your site? Then make it easier for your visitors to get to know your business better.
If your web presence is driven by WordPress, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your team, or your staff members using a directory plugin.
This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add an easy-to-update directory of staff to your WordPress site.
Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost plugin that lets you easily staff.
The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
Log into the administration and go to Plugins > Add New …
(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 …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will appear in your main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
Here is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Plugin
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can just start adding new employee details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place youremployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your directory categories. In your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups screen …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as adding categories …
(Groups work like WordPress categories)
Add new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter 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 – Use this section to set up nested groups
- Description – Type in your category description here (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new directory category …
(Groups settings area)
If you work with a medium to large organization, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a directory hierarchy …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …
To change Groups for individual entries, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …
The category will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button when done …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …
Click Update Group when done to save your changes …
Add as many categories as you need to 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 groups, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member settings)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your employee’s name
- Permalink: Here you can modify the slug associated with your staff member if required (this section appears after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Your staff member’s position
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add the person’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 members here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member settings)
Once you have entered each of you staff member’s details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you did not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups > + Add New Group link)
A field for entering a new group name will display, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …
The new category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(New group)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a staff or team member’s details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
***
After typing in your team member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
To edit the employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
If you need help using the WP admin toolbar, refer to 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 ’not found’ page errors)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on setting up permalinks, go here:
Keep adding more entries to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table displaying all your staff members and all details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to change individual entries, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to update their 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 Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members info)
If you have many employees, your list can get quite long.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find listing items …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide 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 the Apply button when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that entries appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the new position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added all of your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which listings show on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to a new position …
(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added staff details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you 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 Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …
(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 include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Your staff listings will now display as as shown below …
(Directory with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen lists all different 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=”sales trainers”])
Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This opens the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
Here you can edit some of the labels used in the plugin
You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export page …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List faq page.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your employees in WordPress. Here are other free plugins you can look at:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of team/faculty/staff 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 about the plugin:
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 includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone number, pic 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 sourced from Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.
Learn more here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one single member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
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 sourced from Employee Spotlight website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for employee 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 sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works immediately 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, just go online or visit the WordPress plugin directory and search for:
- Add Staff Directory To WordPress
- WordPress Staff Plugin
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add a list of employees to your website.
Images used in this tutorial to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)