Something often said in business and marketing, is that people often tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.
If you are searching for quicker and easier ways to grow your business online or get people to interact more with your site, then something you can do, is help visitors get to know your business better.
Adding a directory of staff to your website is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team working behind the scenes in your business.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to add a simple and easy-to-update directory of employees to your site without using code.
Adding A Staff List Directory: Step-By-Step Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin
(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you staff members.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(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 – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will have been added to the main WP admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings and options for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could begin adding new staff entries at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign youremployees into.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups section …
(Groups settings screen)
Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as configuring categories in WordPress …
(Groups work like categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- 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.
- Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter the category description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when finished to set up your new directory category …
(Groups settings area)
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 groups for partners, developers, 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 categories)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To edit Groups for an individual entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …
The group open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group settings)
Click the Update button when done …
To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click the Update Group button after making changes …
Continue adding groups to this section until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding your people to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …
(Add New Staff Member screen)
This area provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Slug: Here you can change the slug for your employee if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s position
- Email: Your staff member’s email address
- Phone Number: Add your employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Type in your staff member’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff members here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign the individual to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial 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 page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
Once you have finished entering details, assign your 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 new staff members, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field for entering a group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
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After entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can modify the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this tutorial:
Note: If you get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
We have written a detailed tutorial on using WordPress permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to add more details to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you are done entering staff details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table with all the listing entries and all details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to modify individual details, hover your mouse over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from your staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
If you have many employees, your table can become unwieldy.
Use the Search Staff Members search field to find items …
(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 tab)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on your WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your directory will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list entries)
Once you are done adding all of your member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which your staff profiles display on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order on the WP admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to a new position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered listings)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The plugin also lets you create the layout and style of your directory items 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, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Staff Loop Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The This code displays your directory listing as shown below …
(Default Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the example below …
(Use template tags to customize your directory page)
Your staff profiles will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …
(Staff profiles with social media URLs)
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 allowing you 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, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage screen …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.
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=”property managers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This brings up the Options page …
(Simple Staff List – customizable options)
Here you can modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List site and contact the plugin developer.
Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories
Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your faculty members. For example, here are some other plugins you can check out:
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)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
Staff Directory lets you easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
This plugin lets you set up custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
More info:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
Faculty And Staff Directory 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 profiles in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory)
Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, pic and staff 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 members in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer)
Staffer uses custom post types for staff/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: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more here:
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
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add a simple faculty directory to your site using free WP plugins.
Images of persons used to depict sample staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"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)