Category: Management Plugins

It’s often said in business and marketing that people will mostly buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for inexpensive ways to sell more products or services online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know your organization better.

Adding a directory of employees to your website can help increase your online credibility and get more prospects to contact you.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily add a simple and easy-to-update list of staff members in WordPress using free plugins.

Adding An Employee Directory

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

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

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into your WordPress dashboard and from the admin menu, click on Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new entry will show up in the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can begin to add new staff member details at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your group members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your categories. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This opens up the Groups screen …

(Groups area)

Note: Setting up groups is just like configuring categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Type in 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 – Use this section if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter your group description here
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to create the new group name …

(Groups area)

If you run a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, developers, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To edit or reassign Groups for specific items, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …

The item open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose Quick Edit …

Click Update Group to save your changes …

Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested categories your staff directory)

Once you are done setting up your groups, you can start to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

This page provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member profile and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Permalink: Change your staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type the person’s position
• Email: Type in the person’s email address
• Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type your company’s Twitter username here (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).

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

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings)

After you have entered your staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups > + Add New Group link)

A field for creating a group name will display, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

The new category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign your employee’s details to the group …

(New group added)

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

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

Click View Post …

To modify the employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

We have written a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:

• An Overview Of The WordPress Dashboard

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

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

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, see this tutorial:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using Permalinks

Keep adding new members to your staff or partner directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your listing entries and their details …

(Staff Members details)

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

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

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate entries …

(Search members)

You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which listings display on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to a desired location …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

After adding all member details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site users.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List also lets you edit the style and layout of your directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The This code displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop 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, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Your directory entries will now display as shown in the example below …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your main admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.

A useful shortcode variation you can add to 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=”sales managers”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List faq page.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your employees. For example, here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can look at:

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)

Go here to learn more:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of team/staff/faculty 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 source: plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This 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 profiles in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

This plugin lets you easily add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to read more about each employee in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)

This plugin uses shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just a single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

Employee Spotlight comes with 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 staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Staffer 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 Staffer website)

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

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin

If the above plugins 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
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain employee directory to your website.

Images of models used to display sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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