No doubt you’ve already heard that people often tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ideas to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
If your web presence is driven by the WordPress CMS platform, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress directory plugin that lets you display a directory listing with information about your key people, your faculty, or your staff members.
In this tutorial, we show you how to easily add an easy-to-maintain list directory of staff or faculty members to your web site without coding skills.
WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff Directory
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 – WordPress Plugin)
Simple Staff List is free and lets you employee.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into your admin and go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.
Click on Install Now …
(Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new menu will be added to your main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Plugin Configuration
Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could start to add new staff entries at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
To configure your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
The Groups screen …
(Groups settings)
Note: Configuring directory groups works just like WordPress categories …
(Groups are like categories)
Add new groups by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group category name here
- Slug – Enter the slug of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in a category description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to create the new group …
(Groups section)
If you manage a business that employs many people, being able to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit Groups for a particular entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected group details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click on Update Group to save your changes …
Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin adding names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members – Add New)
This takes you to the Add New Staff Member section …
(Add New Staff Member section)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member details and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: The staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can edit each employees’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Upload a photo in this section
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: The employee’s role
- Email: Type the employee’s email here
- Phone Number: Enter your staff member’s phone number here
- Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Enter your employee’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 employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML 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 your groups).
Click on the Screen Options tab …
(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 employee’s details …
(Staff directory settings)
Once you are done inputting details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …
(Groups feature)
Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a new group by selecting 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. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
A new directory category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. To edit a group item, 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 …
You can modify your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the WordPress admin toolbar here:
Note: If you have set up groups and get errors like the one shown below, check that your site permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
To learn more about setting up permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:
Keep adding more details to your staff directory directory as described above.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After you have finished adding staff members into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main menu …
(Staff Members – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table with all the staff members and their details …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to modify individual details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.
Use the Search Staff Members search box to find listing items if required …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …
(Screen Options)
Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your preferences …
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that entries display on your directory page.
Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to its desired location …
(Rearrange items using drag and drop)
Your list will automatically be reordered …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding your member listing details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that entries appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)
Your directory will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list entries)
After adding all member details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you customize the layout and style of your staff 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 the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This opens the Templates screen …
(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, below is the Default Template …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above example. To make these fields show in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Your directory profiles will now display Facebook and Twitter links as shown in the screenshot below …
(Employee profiles with social media URLs)
Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with CSS styles and template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members Menu – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)
This screen displays all different shortcode variations you can use with the Simple Staff List 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=”Asia Pacific Region”])
You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options screen)
Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title
Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to your main admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin info)
If you need plugin support, visit the plugin plugin website and contact the plugin author.
Other Employee Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your staff. Here are some other plugins you can check out:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
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)
More info:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.
You can also insert custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Faculty And Staff Directory 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.
For more details go here:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WP Plugin)
With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone, photo and member 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 employee in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)
This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders 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 upon plugin activation.
This plugin includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.
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 website)
Learn more here:
Staffer
(Staffer – WP Plugin)
This plugin uses custom post types for employee 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 sourced from Staffer website)
Staffer works with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
To learn more about this plugin go 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
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, now you know how to add an updatable list directory of employees or team members to your web site.
Images of persons used in this tutorial to display sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum