Category: WordPress Customization

Many business experts often raise the point that people generally tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.

Are you searching for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products or services online and get people to engage more with your site? Then help your visitors get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.

If your website is powered by the WordPress CMS platform, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key people, your business team, or your staff using a directory plugin.

This tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-manage staff directory to your WordPress site.

How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory: Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a free plugin that lets you easily build a basic staff directory list for.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into the administration and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members)

All of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could start to add new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign youremployees into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

The Groups settings panel …

(Groups screen)

Note: Configuring directory groups is similar to working with categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this section to set up nested groups
4. Description – Enter a category description here
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create the new category …

(Groups settings)

If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

To change or reassign Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

Your selected item open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  to save your changes …

Continue adding categories to this section until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member screen …

(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: Your employee’s name
• Permalink: Here you can edit the permalink URL for your employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff or faculty member here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign a staff or faculty member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …

(Screen options)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

Once you have entered each of you staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …

A new category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(New group added)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).

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After entering the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

To update your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

If you need help using the admin toolbar, refer to this tutorial:

• Your WP Dashboard Explained

Note: If you get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your site permalinks …

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

If you need help setting up permalinks, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Continue adding new entries to your employee or partner directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details)

If you need to change an individual’s details, hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members details)

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

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

(Search Staff Members search field)

You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …

(Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings display on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the item to its desired location …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that your employee profiles appear on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to its desired location …

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added all of your members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List allows you to edit the layout and style of your employee 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 your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above listing. To make these fields show up in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown in the example below …

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your employee details will now display as as the example below shows …

(Directory with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with template tags 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 listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations you can use with the plugin.

A useful variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”partners”])

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

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

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

You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export screen …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin author.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for creating a directory of your staff. For example, here are some other free WordPress plugins you can check out:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Modern Team Staff Directory 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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily create a directory of faculty/staff/team members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, teams, etc.

The plugin lets you insert custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP 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 installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, photo and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors will be able to 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.

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

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

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

This 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 employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory 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 List
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your site.

Images of models used in this tutorial to depict staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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