People Posts
Intermediate Training Module 1: Content Types
People Profiles are used to showcase faculty, staff, researchers, students, and other members of your department or organization. They provide visitors with important information such as contact details, job titles, biographies, and areas of expertise.
Unlike a standard page, a People Profile stores information in a structured format that can be displayed automatically in staff directories, team listings, and profile cards throughout your website.
Examples include:
- Faculty profiles
- Staff directories
- Research team members
- Student ambassadors
- Advisory committee members
When to Use a People Profile
Use a People Profile when you want visitors to learn more about an individual and how to contact them.
A profile may include:
- Name
- Job title
- Department
- Biography
- Contact information
- Profile photo
- Social media links
- Personal or professional website
People Profiles can then be displayed individually or as part of a larger directory.
Creating a People Profile
To create a profile:
- From the Dashboard, select People > Add New.
- Enter the person’s name.
- Add a profile photo.
- Complete the profile details.
- Add a biography and any additional content.
- Publish the profile.
Adding a Profile Photo
A professional profile photo helps visitors identify the individual and adds visual consistency to staff and team directories.
To add a profile photo:
- Locate the Featured Image section.
- Select Set Featured Image.
- Upload a new image or choose one from the Media Library.
Recommended image size: 400 × 400 pixels
Choose a clear, professional-quality image whenever possible.
Profile Information
People Profiles contain several fields designed specifically for biographical and contact information.
Depending on your site’s configuration, available fields may include:
Professional Information
- Job title
- Designation
- Degree or credentials
- Department or unit
- Office location
Contact Information
- Email address
- Phone number
- Website
Additional Information
- Pronouns
- Social media links
- Professional profiles
- Research links
Providing complete information helps visitors connect with the right person quickly.
Writing a Biography
The main content area of the profile can be used to create a biography.
Common content includes:
- Professional background
- Areas of expertise
- Research interests
- Teaching areas
- Publications
- Awards and achievements
The biography section supports regular content blocks, including:
- Paragraphs
- Headings
- Lists
- Images
- Buttons
This allows you to build more detailed profiles when necessary.
Displaying People Profiles
People Profiles can be displayed throughout your website using listings and cards.
Common uses include:
- Staff directories
- Faculty listings
- Research teams
- Department contacts
- Featured experts
Because profile information is stored in a structured format, updates only need to be made once and will automatically appear wherever the profile is displayed.
You’ll learn more about listings and cards in Module 3: Listings & Cards.
Best Practices
Use Professional Photos
Choose clear, high-quality photos with consistent styling across your website.
Keep Contact Information Current
Review profiles regularly to ensure phone numbers, titles, and email addresses remain accurate.
Write Concise Biographies
Most visitors want a quick overview of who the person is and what they do. Focus on the most relevant information.
Use Consistent Formatting
Using a similar biography structure across profiles creates a more professional and cohesive directory.
Include Relevant Links
When appropriate, link to:
- Professional profiles
- Personal websites
- Research pages
- Publications
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In this video, we are going to explore using People Posts in your website.
A people post is basically a way to create a profile for someone to display it on your website.
These types of posts are often used for faculty, admin staff, or anyone that plays a role in the operations of your department.
Most often these profiles are created to display contact information in a place where it can be found easily.
To create a people post hover over People and then Add New. You will now be working on a people post.
Start by clicking in the banner to add first name and last name.
Add a profile picture by clicking on the main options on the page, then click on “set featured image” to set a profile picture”
Next, under professional info, you can add in a job title, degree, and office number. And you can also select a building from this drop-down menu.
Beneath that is a place for contact information. So you can add an email address, a telephone number, and an extension.
And finally, here at the bottom is a place to add links to any kind of social or a link to the person’s resume.
Once you have filled in all the people options, click on the settings icon up here at the top.
Under the person tab, choose options relevant to how that person is listed on your site. You can categorize them. For example – faculty, staff, students. And you do that right down here under categories, Add a new people category. We’ll categorize this person as faculty.
And you can also specify an area of expertise. So perhaps a research area. And this allows you to pull people listings onto a page by category. For example, you might pull in all admin staff, or all researchers in a specific area, onto a page.
Below the people info block is a block area just like any other page, where you can add any block such as a paragraph to add for example, a biographical information.
Once your done, we can take look at what a people post will look like on the front end. As you can see all the information that we just entered is visible.
And once all is good, we have successfully created a People Post.
Try it Out!
Practice creating a People Profile.
- Create a new profile.
- Enter a name and job title.
- Upload a profile photo.
- Add contact information.
- Write a short biography.
- Publish the profile.
- Review how the profile appears on the front end.