People

Overview

The People post type is where staff and team member content lives. Each person is a public post with featured image (headshot) support, sidebar contact fields, and a block-editor biography.

Create people under People → Add New in the WordPress admin.

Real-world example

UW–Madison DCS Directory entries typically include:

  • Featured image — professional headshot
  • Job title — sidebar field (e.g. "Associate Director of Digital Strategy")
  • Post excerpt — short bio line under the name in directory cards
  • People Categories — department or team (powers filter pills on the directory page)
  • Body content — full biography on the single person page

WordPress features

  • Supports: title, editor, thumbnail, excerpt, custom-fields
  • Archive: disabled — use the People block on a page instead
  • Permalink slug: Customizer Slug (default people)
  • Taxonomies: People Categories (hierarchical), People Tags

Person Info (sidebar)

  • Layout — Default, Minimal, Sidebar, or Placard single-person layout (overrides global Appearance default)
  • Job title — role or position line shown in listings
  • Website, Phone, Text Number, Fax, Email Address
  • Street Address, City, State, Zip
  • Social URLs — Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube

Tips

  • Use the excerpt for the one-line description shown in directory cards; put the full bio in the editor.
  • Assign People Categories early — they drive People block filters and organizational browsing.
  • Configure which contact fields appear on single pages under Appearance → Customize → Dirigible People → Appearance.