How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

Something that is generally well known in marketing circles, is that people will mostly buy from people they already know, like and trust.

If you are looking for ways to sell more products online, then make it easier for visitors to get to know, like and trust your business better.

Adding a directory to your website can help boost your credibility online and get more prospects considering using your services.

This tutorial will show you how to add a simple and easy-to-manage directory of staff members to your WordPress site.

Adding An Employee Directory: WordPress Plugin Tutorial

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost plugin that lets you easily create a basic staff directory for.

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

Log into the dashboard and in your admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new entry will be added to your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin to add new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place yourstaff members into.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your directory groups go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups settings …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as adding 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 – Type in 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 – This section lets you set up nested categories
4. Description – Enter a group description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up a new group …

(Groups area)

If you manage a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, developers, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To change Groups for a particular entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The item will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click Update Group when done …

Continue adding group names in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member settings area …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member details and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Change the permalink URL for your employee if required (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: The employee’s position
• Email: Add the employee’s email address
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type your employee’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type in your company’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 in a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

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 staff member’s details …

(Staff directory settings)

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have 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 creating your new group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

Your new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign a person’s details to the group …

(New group)

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 typing in your employee or team member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Your WP Control Section Explained

Note: If you get a page error like the one shown below, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get ’page not found’ errors)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:

• Setting Up WordPress Permalinks

Keep adding more members to your employee directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done entering employee details to your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and the details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details list)

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

Click on Edit if you want to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit 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 clicking on View …

(Editing Staff Members profile information)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.

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

(Search Staff Members search field)

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 …

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to update your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that listings display on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to the desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you are done adding all of your members’ details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order on your main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your entries, click and drag the item to its desired position …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding staff details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to customize 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 staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from your 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, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Template)

The The code shown above displays your directory listing as 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 display in your directory, you will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the screenshot below …

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your directory should now look like …

(Directory listings with social media URLs)

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

Usage Menu

As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode section)

This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.

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

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

Options Menu

In the main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

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

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need plugin help or support, visit the plugin support page.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your team members in WordPress. Here are a few other free plugins you can use:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

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

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also add custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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 profiles in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone, image 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses shortcodes.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one individual person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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

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

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 a staff directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

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 directory of staff members to your WordPress site without editing code, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

Models used in this tutorial to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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