How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people generally buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are looking for quicker, easier and cost-effective ideas to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your organization better.

Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your website will help humanize your business.

In this tutorial, we explain how to easily create and add an easy-to-maintain simple team members directory to your web site with no coding skills required.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you employee.

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

Log into the WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(WP 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  – plugin search results)

Click on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will appear on your WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can start adding new entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualstaff members into.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups screen opens up …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Adding directory groups is similar to working with categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this section to set up nested categories
4. Description – Type in your group description in this field (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group …

(Groups settings)

If you work with a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, developers, 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 assign these to a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …

Your selected item’s details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click on Update Group  when done to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

After you are done setting up your directory structure, you can start adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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 employee’s name
• Slug: Change each employees’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …

(Add New Staff Member fields)

After you have finished inputting your staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section 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 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 dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …

A new category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or modified. 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 typing in your staff or team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

To update the employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• Your WordPress Control Area Explained

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

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to continue adding new entries to your directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done adding staff details to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the WP admin menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your directory items and their details …

(Staff Members details)

If you need to change an individual’s details, just hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you want to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

If you have many entries, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search box to find items if required …

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to update your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which entries appear on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

After adding your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order in which your employee listings display on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List allows you to customize the layout and style 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 main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up 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, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above example. To display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …

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

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Directory with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with code or are not sure what to do, 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 listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations that you can use with this plugin.

A useful 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=”sales reps”])

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

Here you can modify some of the labels used in the plugin

You can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export page …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need additional information about the plugin, visit the plugin support page.

Other Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are some other free plugins you can look at to add a staff directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory 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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

The Staff Directory 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.

The plugin lets you use custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

More info:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

Faculty And Staff Directory was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone, pic and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors can 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

Learn more here:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners 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 on plugin activation.

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

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

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

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 onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

For more details go here:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

If the directory plugins listed above 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 Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-update list of staff or faculty members in a WordPress site without coding skills.

Images used to portray staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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