Category: Engagement Plugins

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

Are you searching for cost-effective ideas to sell more products online? Then help visitors get to know your organization better.

Adding a faculty directory to your website can generate more trust, increase your credibility online and get more prospects to buy from your site.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to add an easy-to-manage simple staff directory in your WordPress site using free WP plugins.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee Directory

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily staff members (you could also use it to display faculty, etc.).

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into your dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will show up in the WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just begin adding new staff member details at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your employees.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your groups. From your WordPress dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen …

(Groups screen)

Note: Adding directory groups is just like setting up categories in WordPress …

(Groups work just like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your 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 groups
4. Description – Enter a group description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new directory group …

(Groups settings)

If you work with a larger organization, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, developers, departments, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

To edit or reassign Groups for an individual entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update to save your changes …

To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …

Click the Update Group button when done …

Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested categories your staff directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

From your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit the slug for each employee if you want (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The staff member’s position
• Email: Type the person’s email address here
• Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type in the staff member’s Twitter username here (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. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign the individual to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …

(Staff directory settings)

Once you have finished entering each staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box located in your sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

A field for entering a new group name will appear, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

Your new category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign the person’s entry to the group …

(New group)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

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

Click View Post …

To edit the staff member’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

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

• Your WordPress Dashboard Explained

Note: If you see ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on setting up WP permalinks, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Continue adding more entries to your directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done adding employee details into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your staff members and their details …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to edit individual details, simply hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.

Click on Edit to edit their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Edit Staff Members profile information)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate entries if required …

(Search members)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …

(Screen Options tab)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added member details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which entries appear on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the new position …

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List allows you to customize the layout and style of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

To customize the style and layout of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Simple Staff List Templates screen)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Your employee profiles will now display as shown in the screenshot below …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcode variations)

This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])

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

Options Menu

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

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List site and contact the plugin developer.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for creating a directory of your employees. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can look at to add a staff directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

More info:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone number, photo and 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 employee in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin uses custom post types for employee 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 sourced from plugin website)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – WP 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 Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to create an easy-to-manage employee directory in your web site.

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

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