Something that is generally well known in business, is that people will buy from people they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for quicker and easier ways to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust your organization better.
Adding a directory of employees or team members to your website is a great way to humanize your organization.
This tutorial shows you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to WordPress.
How To Add A Staff Directory
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List lets you easily staff members (you could also use it to display board of directors, etc.).
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into the WP administration and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on Activate Plugin …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating your plugin, a new entry will appear in your WordPress menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
Configuring The Plugin
Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin adding new staff member details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This takes you to the Groups settings …
(Groups settings)
Note: Setting up directory groups works just like categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Add a new group by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Type in your group category name
- Slug – Type in the slug of your category 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 a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in your group description here (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to set up the new directory category …
(Groups settings)
If you work with a medium to large organization, being able to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many groups and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …
(Nested categories)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To change Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …
The selected group details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category 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 choose Quick Edit …
Click the Update Group button when done …
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 categories)
Once you are done setting up your groups, you can start adding staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This brings you to the Add New Staff Member area …
(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: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: Change the slug associated with your staff member if you want (you will see this section after your first save).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Add the person’s role
- Email: Add the person’s email address
- Phone Number: Type your staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Type in your company’s Twitter username into this field (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 or faculty member here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: This section lets you assign the individual to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options tab)
You will see options to enable additional features …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …
(Staff directory fields)
Once you are done inputting details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in your sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Groups - + Add New Group)
A field for creating a new group name will appear, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on Add New Group …
A new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your listing to the group …
(New group added via Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to someone’s 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 to add them to your staff directory …
Click View Post …
You can modify the employee’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
To learn more about using the admin toolbar , go here:
Note: If ’page not found’ errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have correctly set up your site’s permalinks …
(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks here:
Repeat the above process to add more details to your staff directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
Once you are done adding staff or faculty members into 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 table displaying all the directory items and their details …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to edit an individual’s entry, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.
You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate member details if necessary …
(Search Staff Members search box)
The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to save your settings …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that your employees display on your directory page.
Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered listings)
Once you have added all of your members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings show on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list)
After adding your employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
Simple Staff List lets you create the style and layout of your staff directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the main menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates screen …
(Templates page)
To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is the Default Template …
(Default Staff Loop Template)
The This code will display your listing as shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To make these fields show in the directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown in the screenshot below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)
Your employee details will now display 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 editing code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.
Usage Menu
As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Usage shortcodes)
This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use.
A useful shortcode variation you can decide to use, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”property managers”])
You can also make your listings display in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options screen)
This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export menu …
(Export Staff Members info)
If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List support page.
Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your employees. Here are some other free plugins you can check out for adding a directory on your site:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)
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)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory)
With Staff Directory, you can easily create a directory of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
The plugin lets you create custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
The Faculty And Staff Directory 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 a profile in a widget area.
More info:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone number, photo and staff 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 learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
Learn more about the plugin here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.
This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer)
Staffer uses custom post types for employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage a staff directory on your website …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Go here to learn more about this 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 Plugin
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Simple Staff List Template WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site with no coding skills required, so your web visitors can get to know you and your organization better.
Images of persons used to display staff members 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)