How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

No doubt you’ve already heard that people often tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

If you are looking for ideas to sell more products or services online and get people to engage more with your site, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of employees to your site can help to let visitors learn more about the people behind the scenes in your business.

This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to create a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff members in your WordPress site.

Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff Directory To Your Site

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you staff members (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into the WordPress administration and from the admin menu, click on Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new entry will show up in the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could start adding new staff details at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by configuring your groups. From your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups panel opens up …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Configuring directory groups is very similar to creating categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Enter 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 – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in the category description in this field
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to create your new category …

(Groups section)

If you run a medium to large organization, being able to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, developers, faculties, etc.

Create as many groups and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

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

To edit or reassign Groups for individual items, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

The selected category details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click the Update Group button when done …

Continue adding group names in this section until you have created your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member section)

This screen 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: The staff member’s name
• Slug: Here you can change the slug associated with each employee if required (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type in the staff member’s position
• Email: Your staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Type in your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in your employee’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type 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 employee here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your employee to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).

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

(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 your employee’s details …

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up groups 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 enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

Your new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign a staff member to the group …

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a staff member’s details. 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 filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Using The WordPress Dashboard

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

(Page error? Check your permalinks)

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

• Setting Up Your WordPress Permalinks

Continue adding more details to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees into 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 displaying all your listing entries and their details …

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to edit an individual’s entry, simply hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.

Click on Edit if you need to make changes to their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate listing items if required …

(Search members)

You can 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 unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that entries appear on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which your employees show on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to customize the layout and style of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

To customize the style and layout of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above will display your listing as shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above example. To make these fields show in your directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown in the screenshot below …

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

Your staff listings will now display with Facebook and Twitter links as as the example below shows …

(Directory listings with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess around with code or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

In addition to allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Usage Shortcode section)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.

For example, a useful variation you can select to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])

Or, you can make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export menu …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need any help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the Simple Staff List website and request help from the plugin author.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are some other free plugins you can look at to create a directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

Modern Team Staff Directory 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:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

This plugin also lets you create custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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 a profile in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email address, 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 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 simple shortcodes.

Go here to learn more:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.

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

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

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

Learn more about the plugin here:

• 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
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

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

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

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