You have no doubt heard that people will buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker and easier ways to grow your business online? Then make it easier for visitors to get to know you, your team and your business better.
If your site uses the WordPress CMS, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your team, or your staff members using a directory plugin.
This tutorial shows you how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory to your web site.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee Directory To WordPress
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily employee.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into the WordPress administration and from the admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
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 display on the WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start to add new staff member details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your group members.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s start by setting up your categories. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups settings panel …
(Groups screen)
Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as adding WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Add a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category 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 nested groups
- Description – Enter a group description (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to create the new group …
(Groups screen)
If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, project teams, faculties, etc.
Create as many groups and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To change Groups for specific items, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected group details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update when done …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested categories)
After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings area …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This page 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: Type the staff member’s name
- Permalink: Edit each staff members’ permalink URL (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: Add the person’s email address
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your employee’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the person to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you are done inputting details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …
(Groups section)
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 will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a staff member to the group …
(Groups section)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).
***
After filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can modify your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the WP admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …
(Page error? Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:
Repeat the above process to continue adding new details to your staff or team directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done adding employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the dashboard menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all the employees and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to change individual details, hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find items if required …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options tab)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which your employees appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …
(Reordered listings)
After adding your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that your employees appear on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to a desired location …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your members’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to create the style and layout of your directory listings 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 brings up the Templates screen …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields display in your directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your directory profiles will now display as as the screenshot below shows …
(Directory with social media URLs added)
Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage screen …
(Usage Shortcode section)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.
A useful 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=”property managers”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Click Staff Members >Options in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(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 by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need specific help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin faq page.
Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your team members in WordPress. For example, here are some other free WordPress 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)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin provides 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.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin lets you easily add your employees, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and table 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just an 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 that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory 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 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.
To learn more about the 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
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create an easy-to-update employee directory in your website.
Models used to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
***
"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)