How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

Consumer buying habits show that people often tend to buy from those they already know, like and trust.

If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ideas to sell more products online, then something you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a directory of staff to your website is a great way to let visitors learn more about the people behind your business.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to easily add an updatable directory of employees in your WordPress site without coding skills.

Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you easily create a basic staff directory list for.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins screen, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new entry will have been added to the main WP admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your team and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just begin adding new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by setting up your groups. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups panel …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Setting up directory groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. 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.
3. Parent – Use this section if you plan to set up nested categories
4. Description – Type in the category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create a new directory category …

(Groups screen)

If you are a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, project teams, departments, 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 on the Add New Group button after creating each item …

To change Groups for an entry, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The category open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group category 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 click on the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  when done …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

After you have finished setting up your groups, you can begin adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member section …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Slug: Change your employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your employee’s position
• Email: The employee’s email
• Phone Number: Type your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add the staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter the staff member’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your staff or team member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can 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 at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Staff directory settings)

After you are done inputting each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …

(Groups feature)

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

(Groups > + Add New Group)

A field for entering a new group name will appear, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …

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

(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 of the tutorial above for details).

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After typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the employee directory …

Click View Post …

You can edit your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• Your WP Admin Screen Explained

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

(Check your permalinks if you get an error)

To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Keep adding new details to your staff directory directory as described above.

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 your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your staff profiles and their details …

(Staff Members list)

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

Click on Edit if you want to make changes to their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Edit Staff Members profile information)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search field to find a member if required …

(Search members)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that your staff members appear on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to its new location …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding all of your member details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

To customize the layout and style of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the 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, below is the Default Template …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

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

Your directory details will now display as shown in the example below …

(Staff profiles with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page 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=”Gold Level associates”])

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

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin

Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List plugin site and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your staff in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can look at for adding a directory on your site:

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)

Go here to learn more:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

The plugin also lets you create custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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 profiles in a widget area.

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With Company Directory, you can add your employees, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, image and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to read more about each staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just an individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

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

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

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight website)

For more details go here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer)

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 onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

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

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory in your WordPress site.

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

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