How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

No doubt you already know that people generally tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you searching for quicker, easier and cheaper ways to sell more products online? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff or team members to your site can generate increased trust, increase your credibility online and get more prospects contacting you.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to create and add an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your website without messing with code.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost 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 WordPress plugin that lets you staff members (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into the WordPress admin and go 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 Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will appear in your main WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

Here is where you will configure and manage all of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed from this menu.

Plugin Configuration

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin to add new entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups settings panel …

(Groups screen)

Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as adding WordPress categories …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested groups
4. Description – Enter your category description here
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create your new directory category …

(Groups settings)

If you manage a larger organization, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, project teams, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering each item …

To change or reassign Groups for a particular entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The item will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

To change your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  after making changes …

Continue adding groups in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings opens on your browser …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add the staff member’s name
• Slug: Edit each staff members’ slug (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The staff member’s position
• Email: Add the person’s email
• Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type in your company’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 staff member here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your staff member to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

Once you have finished inputting details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

A field for entering your group name will display, with a drop-down 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 group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to new employee 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 entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

You can update your staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• The WordPress Dashboard Explained

Note: If ’not found’ page errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that your site permalinks have been set up correctly …

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

If you need help setting up WP permalinks, go here:

• Setting Up Your WordPress Permalinks

Continue adding new details to your employee directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your directory items and their details …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to change individual details, simply hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from your employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Editing Staff Members profile info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate member details if required …

(Search Staff Members search field)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …

(Screen Options)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply 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 in which listings appear on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

After adding your member details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which listings show on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to edit the layout and style of your 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 dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

To customize your directory, insert any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Plugin 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 appear in your directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)

Your directory details will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …

(Directory listings with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add 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”])

You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

Here you can modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin plugin website and request help from the plugin developer.

Other Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a faculty directory in WordPress. For example, here are other plugins you can check out:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily create a directory of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.

The plugin also lets you use custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

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 profiles in a widget area.

Learn more here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Plugin)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, pic and member 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 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 uses simple shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just an individual member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes two sidebar widgets that let you 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

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 onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)

Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staffer – WordPress Plugin

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
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an updatable simple faculty directory to in WordPress.

Images of persons used to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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