How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

Many business experts have successfully shown over the years that people generally buy from businesses they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ideas to sell more products or services online? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff to your site can help increase your online credibility and get interested prospects to send you enquiries for quotes or more information.

This tutorial will show you how to create an easy-to-update directory of staff members in your website.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: 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 Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

Simple Staff List lets you employee.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into your WordPress administration and go to 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 plugin search results.

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can begin adding new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s set up your categories. From your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups section …

(Groups settings)

Note: Setting up directory groups works in the same way as configuring categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your group category name. 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 directory group …

(Groups settings)

If you manage a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, project teams, 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 the Add New Group button after creating new items …

To edit or reassign Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …

The selected item will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category 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 click on the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  when done …

Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested categories your directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your employee’s name
• Slug: Here you can modify the permalink URL for your staff member if required (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type the staff member’s position here
• Email: Enter the person’s email
• Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter your company’s Facebook URL (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: Enter a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(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 each of your staff member’s details …

(Add Staff Member fields)

Once you have entered your staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on Add New Group …

Your new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your list item to the group …

(New group added via Groups feature)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. 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 …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

If you need help using the WP admin toolbar , go here:

• An Overview Of Your WordPress Dashboard

Note: If you see ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your permalinks …

(Check your permalinks if you get an error)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using WP permalinks here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Continue adding new entries to your employee directory directory as described above.

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 your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table with all the listing entries and their details …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to make changes to individual entries, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members info)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate member details if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search feature)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …

(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 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 listings show on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list items)

After adding all staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order on your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

After adding all employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The This code will display your listing as shown below …

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields display 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 listings page)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Directory with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

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

In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode section)

This screen displays all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.

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

You can also display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

Click Staff Members >Options on the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

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

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin faq page and contact the plugin developer.

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your staff. For example, here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can use:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

The plugin also lets you set up custom fields …

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

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

This plugin 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.

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone number, image 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders 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.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Go here to learn more:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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 a staff directory on your site …

(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 – Plugin For WordPress

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

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

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

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