How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

You have no doubt heard that people will buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ideas to grow your business online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know your organization better.

Adding a directory of staff to your website can generate greater trust, increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to contact you.

In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to easily add an easy-to-manage simple employee directory to your WordPress site with no coding skills required.

Adding An Employee 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 free and lets you easily staff (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

Log into your administration and in your admin menu section, select Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new entry will have been added to the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

The Staff Members menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just start adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

The Groups screen …

(Groups area)

Note: Adding groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups are like categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. 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.
3. Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter your category description here (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up a new directory group …

(Groups area)

If you manage a larger organization, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, developers, faculties, etc.

Create as many categories 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 categories)

Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering new items …

To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  when done to save your changes …

Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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: Add the staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit the permalink URL associated with your employee if required (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type the person’s role
• Email: Enter the person’s email here
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username here (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 or team member here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your 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 New Staff Member fields)

After you have entered each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on 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 Add New Group …

Your new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(Groups feature)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).

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After typing in your staff or team member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To edit the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

We have created a detailed tutorial on using the WP admin toolbar here:

• Using The WordPress Dashboard

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

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, see this tutorial:

• Setting Up Your WordPress Permalinks

Continue adding new members to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table of all your staff members and any details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to edit an individual’s details, hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members details)

If you have added many items to this section, your table can grow quite large.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate items if necessary …

(Search members)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which listings display on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the new position …

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list)

After adding your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that entries show on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its new position …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding 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 staff 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 Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(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 Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above will display your directory listing as 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 add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the screenshot below …

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your directory details will now appear with Facebook and Twitter links as shown in the screenshot below …

(Directory with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

As well as being able to customize your listing 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 opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations that you can use with the plugin.

For example, a useful variation you can insert in your page 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 adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

In the WP admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)

Here you can modify some of the labels used in the plugin

You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export menu …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to display a directory of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are other free plugins you can use:

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, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.

You can also set up custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin provides 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.

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

This plugin lets you add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, photo 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 members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual person in a 4-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 selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

Detailed information about  each faculty 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:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Plugin)

This 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 employee directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)

Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

For more details go here:

• Staffer

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
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory to your web site.

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

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