How to use Posts Table Pro: The best WordPress staff directory plugin

If your business is made up of more than a few individuals, you probably maintain a staff directory. This kind of listing is very useful internally, as it helps to keep everyone’s information in one place. It can also be beneficial to include it on your website, as long as you can find a way to organize it properly.

As with many tasks you’ll perform on your WordPress site, the best solution here is to install a dedicated WordPress staff directory plugin. With the right solution, such as Posts Table Pro, you can add a simple staff list to your site and customize it to suit your exact needs. You can even use custom fields and taxonomies to further refine and organize your directory.

In this post, we’ll talk about what to look for in a WordPress staff directory plugin. Then, we’ll introduce Posts Table Pro – a beginner-friendly yet powerful WordPress solution – and show you how to use it. Let's get started!

Why You Need a WordPress Staff Directory Plugin (And How to Choose One)

 

It's often smart to create a simple staff list of everyone who works for your company or organization. This directory generally contains names, contact information, profile pictures, and other pertinent details such as job titles. Having a hard copy of your staff directory handy is smart – and so is putting that information on your website.

An online staff directory is convenient, can’t be lost, and is easy to update. For WordPress users, the best way to create one is to use a WordPress staff directory plugin with the following features:

• A way to easily add individual staff members and list them in one place.
• Options for adding as many extra fields as you need.
• Searching and/or filtering functionality, so users can find what they want quickly.

As with any plugin, it’s important to make your choice carefully. That’s why you’ll also want to pay attention to ratings and reviews, how frequently the WordPress staff directory plugin is updated, and what kind of support options are available.

You may also like: How to create a WordPress member directory.

Posts Table Pro

Fortunately, finding the best WordPress staff directory plugin isn’t hard. Our own Posts Table Pro is a flexible tool that meets all the above criteria. It helps you create a searchable and sortable staff list that can be tweaked to fit your precise needs, then displayed on your WordPress site.

Using a customizable shortcode, you can include as much information as you want in your staff directory, organize it all clearly, and enable users to quickly find the staff member they're looking for. What's more, with the purchase of this plugin you'll get access to expert support in case you need a little help getting started.

See a Posts Table Pro staff directory in action!

Key Features:

• Supports custom post types, fields, and taxonomies - perfect for creating a staff custom post type with extra fields to record information about each person.
• Includes search and sort features that are easy to use - perfect for helping people to find a specific person in the simple staff list.
• Provides the option to embed media files - perfect for showing a profile photo or avatar of each staff member in the directory.
• Offers plenty of flexibility and customization options - perfect for customizing your WordPress staff directory in any way you want!

Download Posts Table Pro Now!

How to Create a Staff Directory in WordPress Using Posts Table Pro (In 4 steps)

Now, let’s walk through how to actually set up your WordPress staff list. First, make sure you have a recent backup of your site in place. Then, you’re ready to begin!

Step 1: Create a Custom Post Type for Your Staff Page

A 'post type' is a unique format for content – WordPress’ default pages and posts are two examples. In this initial step, you’ll need to create a custom post type for your staff information. To do that, you can install the free Easy Post Types and Fields plugin:

This free plugin enables you to create all kinds of custom content and data on your site. Once you’ve installed and activated it, there will be a new Post Types tab in your dashboard. Click on Add New at the top of the screen, and follow the steps in the setup wizard.

Firstly give your custom post type singular and plural names.

Then, select the type of information you wish to display and click Create.

You have successfully created a custom post type. You should see a new tab appear for your new custom post type in the left-hand menu of your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Add Custom Fields and Taxonomies for Staff Data

Next, it’s time to create the categories that will appear in your staff directory. Before moving on, list out all the information you’ll want to include, such as each person’s phone number, email address, department, job role, etc. Then, split your list into two categories. Some of the information will be static data that users will simply want to look up, such as contact details. Other information needs to be ‘filterable’. For example, users may want to sort the directory by department or job role.

First, let’s address static data, like phone numbers and email addresses. For these details, you’ll create custom fields. To add custom fields, go to Post Type → Manage in your WordPress dashboard. Click on the Custom Fields button for the post type you wish to update.

Click on Add New to add a new custom field to that post type and enter the Name, Slug and select the field type (text or visual editor).

Click Add custom field button when you're finished. You've successfully added a custom field. Repeat the steps above if you want to add more custom fields.

For data that needs to be filterable, you’ll use custom taxonomies instead. To create custom taxonomies, go to Post Type → Manage. Click on the taxonomies button for the respective post type you wish to customize. Click on the Add New button.

Enter the singular and plural names and the slug for your new taxonomy. When you are done, click on the Add taxonomy button.

If you want to add more filterable taxonomies, repeat the steps above.

Step 3: Enter the Data for Each Staff Member

At this point, it’s time to start entering data for your WordPress staff list. Go to the tab in your dashboard that’s named after the custom post type you created, and select Add New:

You’ll see the basic WordPress editor with a few new options. In the Title field, enter the name of the first individual in your directory. Then, add their contact details to the custom fields. On the right side of the screen, you can set a Department and Job Title for this individual (or use whatever custom taxonomies you created). Publish the entry when you’re done, and repeat this process for each team member.

Step 4: Use Posts Table Pro to Display Your Staff Directory

The final step is to actually display the directory on your site. To do this, you'll need to install the Posts Table Pro WordPress staff directory plugin. Don't forget to activate your license key too!

You can display your directory on any post or page, so open one up. Under the Text tab, you'll need to place a shortcode that will tell WordPress what to display in your staff directory table. Posts Table Pro comes with a number of handy shortcodes that can be customized to do exactly what you need. For this example, we'll use the following shortcode:

[posts_table columns="title,cf:phone_number,cf:email_address,tax:department,tax:job_title" post_type="staff_directory"]

This instructs WordPress to create a posts table using specific information. It will display the title (the team member's name), data from the custom fields (cf) we created, and our custom taxonomies (tax). You can add any number of fields and taxonomies. Finally, the post_type at the end tells WordPress what custom post type to pull information from.

After pasting in your shortcode, save the post or page you're working on. When you view the front end, you'll see your staff directory table:

Users can now sort the table by the various categories, filter it by department and job title, and look for specific information using the search bar.

Step 5: Customize Your Staff Directory

At this point, you have a fully working simple staff list. If you'd like, however, you can continue to tweak and customize your directory until it's just right.

How you do this will depend on your specific needs. To help you out, Posts Table Pro includes a number of handy features that can enhance your staff directory. These are added through a variety of shortcode commands, such as:

• filters: With this, you can add drop-down lists above the main table, which users can filter to find what they need.
• sort_by: Using this option, you can set how the directory will be sorted when it first loads on the page.
• paging_type: This enables you to choose between five different styles of pagination.
• priorities: If you want your directory to be easily viewable on smaller devices, this option can help you display only the most relevant information when everything won't fit.

You can check out the full list of available shortcode options in the Posts Table Pro documentation. With a little time and effort, you can create the perfect staff directory for your website!

Conclusion

Displaying your staff directory on your website is a smart way to make sure that information is available to anyone who needs it. Team members will be grateful for an easy way to get in touch with the right person. What’s more, creating a staff directory is simple with the right plugins.

If you’re looking for the best WordPress staff directory plugin, you’ll want to check out Posts Table Pro. This flexible solution enables you to display and customize your simple staff list, especially when used alongside the free Pods plugin. To get started, you’ll want to install both plugins and then:

1. Create a custom post type for your staff page.
2. Add custom fields and taxonomies for staff data.
3. Enter the data for each staff member.
4. Use Posts Table Pro to display your staff directory.
5. Customize your staff directory.

Do you have any questions about how to use Posts Table Pro on your WordPress site? Ask us anything in the comments section below!

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Image credit: Pixabay.