How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

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

If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ideas to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site, then help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your website can generate increased trust, increase your credibility online and get interested prospects buying from you.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to create and add a simple and easily updatable list of employees in a WordPress site using a free WordPress plugin.

How To Add A Staff List Directory: WordPress Plugin Tutorial

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 create a basic staff directory for.

The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into your administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu will be added to the main WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can start to add new staff entries at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by configuring your directory groups. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups settings panel …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Setting up directory groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your category. 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 – Type in your group description here
5. Click Add New Group when finished to set up your new category …

(Groups area)

If you run a medium to large organization, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, developers, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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

Click the Update Group button to save your changes …

Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

Add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can begin to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your WP 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)

This page 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
• Slug: Change the slug for each employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type your staff member’s position here
• Email: The employee’s email address
• Phone Number: Type the employee’s phone number here
• Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook address here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type the person’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …

(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 your staff member’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

Once you are done entering each staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

The new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign your employee’s details to the group …

(New group added)

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

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After typing in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

You can edit the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• How To Navigate Around Your WordPress Administration Section

Note: If errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)

If you need help setting up permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Keep adding new members to your staff directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff or team members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a list with all your employees and their details …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to modify an individual’s entry, simply hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile details)

If you have many names to add, your table can get quite long.

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

(Search members)

You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order on the WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which entries display on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added member details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the style and layout of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

To customize the style and layout of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from your WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses 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 …

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your employee details will now display as as shown below …

(Directory listings with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with template tags or are unsure of 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 staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)

This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations you can use.

For example, a useful variation you can add to display only members belonging 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 main menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin

Finally, you can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export screen …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin support page.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can check out to create an employee directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin lets you easily create a directory of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.

This plugin also lets you add custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

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 installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

This plugin lets you add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone number, image 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 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 also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.

Detailed information about  each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory 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 sourced from plugin website)

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

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

If the above plugins aren’t what you’re looking for, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:

• Add Staff Directory To WordPress
• WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

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