Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people generally tend to buy from people they know, like and trust.
If you are searching for inexpensive ideas to grow your business online, then help prospects get to know your organization better.
Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your website can help boost your online credibility and get interested prospects buying from you.
This tutorial will show you how to create an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members in WordPress.
Adding An Employee Directory: Tutorial
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)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you easily display basic information to visitors about your staff members on your site.
First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.
Log into the dashboard and in your admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …
(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(WordPress Plugins – Add Plugins screen)
Click on the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will appear on your main WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …
(Staff Members menu)
All of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.
How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could begin to add new staff details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your group members.
Staff Members – Groups
To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members – Groups)
This loads the Groups screen in your web browser …
(Groups area)
Note: Configuring groups is very similar to creating WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like WordPress categories)
Create a new group by typing in the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your category name here
- Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this section to set up nested groups
- Description – Enter a category description
- Click Add New Group when done to set up the new directory category …
(Groups settings area)
If you manage a medium to large organization, the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, departments, etc.
Create as many categories 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 the Add New Group button after entering each item …
To edit Groups for a particular item, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The item will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click Update to save your changes …
To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose Quick Edit …
Click Update Group to save your changes …
Continue adding group names to this section until you have created your directory structure …
You can add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin to add names to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
From your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …
(Add New Staff Member settings area)
This section provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member profile and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Your staff member’s name
- Permalink: Modify each staff members’ slug (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo of your staff member
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Enter the staff member’s position here
- Email: The employee’s email address
- Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add the employee’s Facebook address here (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 staff members here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign a staff or team member to a specific 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 tab)
You can enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)
Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …
(Add New Staff Member fields)
Once you have entered each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …
(Groups section)
Note: If you have not set up directory groups before adding staff member details, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on Add New Group …
The new group will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing a person’s details. To edit an item, 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 your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can edit the employee’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)
We have created a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have set up your site permalinks correctly …
(Check your permalinks if you get errors)
To learn more about setting up WP permalinks, refer to this tutorial:
Keep adding new entries to your employee directory directory until done.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a table listing all your directory items and all details you have added related to each entry …
(Staff Members details)
If you need to edit individual entries, simply hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.
Click on Edit if you need to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …
(Editing Staff Members details)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find a member …
(Search Staff Members search feature)
You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show 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 shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that listings appear on your directory pages.
Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …
(Reordered list items)
Once you are done adding all of your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that listings display on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the desired position …
(Reorder listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list items)
Once you have added all of your member listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site visitors.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your 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 the menu …
(Staff Members – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Template …
(Default Plugin Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Staff Loop 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 in the example below …
(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)
Here is what your directory will now look like …
(Directory listings with social media links added)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.
In your main admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This brings up the Usage page …
(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen displays all the shortcode variations that you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.
For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”technical engineers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …
(Staff Members – Options)
This opens the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)
Here you can modify some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export section …
(Export Staff Members information)
If you need plugin support, visit the plugin website and request help from the plugin author.
Other Staff Directory Plugins
Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your employees. For example, here are a few other plugins you can use:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
This 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)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)
This plugin lets you easily create a directory of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
The plugin lets you use custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)
Learn more here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory)
The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide 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.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)
Company Directory lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone, photo and staff 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: Company Directory website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
Go here to learn more:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)
Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just an individual person in a 4-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, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
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 source: Employee Spotlight website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)
The Staffer plugin 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 immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Go here to learn more:
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 List
- WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
- Employee Directory WordPress
- etc.
Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee directory to your WordPress site, so your site visitors can get to know you and the people in your organization better.
Images of persons used to depict staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I was absolutely amazed at the scope and breadth of these tutorials! The most in-depth training I have ever received on any subject!" - Myke O'Neill, DailyGreenPost.com