Category: Management Plugins

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

Are you looking for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products online? Then make it easier for visitors to get to know, like and trust your organization better.

If you own a WordPress-powered website, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your team, or your staff using a directory plugin.

In this tutorial, we show you how to easily add a simple and easily updatable simple team members directory to your WordPress site using a free plugin.

Adding An Employee Directory To WordPress

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you create a basic staff directory list for.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into your administration and navigate 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 Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu will appear in the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourstaff members into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This opens up the Groups screen in your web browser …

(Groups screen)

Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as configuring categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Type in 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 categories
4. Description – Type in your category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new group name …

(Groups settings screen)

If you manage a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, developers, faculties, 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 hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To change or reassign Groups for a specific item, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  after making changes …

Continue adding groups to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested categories your directory)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your WP admin menu, choose Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your employee’s name
• Permalink: Here you can change the permalink URL for each employee if required (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the individual to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Staff directory settings)

Once you have finished inputting your staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups > + Add New Group)

A field for entering a group name will display, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …

The new group will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an entry to the group …

(Groups box)

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

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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …

Click View Post …

You can make changes to the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the admin toolbar , go here:

• The WordPress Admin Area Explained

Note: If you see an error like the one shown below, check that you have correctly configured your site permalinks …

(Check your permalinks if you get an error)

To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this tutorial:

• Changing Your WordPress Permalinks

Continue adding more details to your employee or member directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the directory items and details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to edit individual entries, simply hover over their name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you want to update their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Edit Staff Members details)

If you have many entries, your list can get quite long.

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

(Search members)

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

(Screen Options)

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 the Apply button when finished to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which entries show on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

Once you are done adding all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which your employee listings show on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to its new location …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding staff details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to create the style and layout of your employee directory items 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 – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Plugin Template)

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

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Here is what your staff list will now look like …

(Directory with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)

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

A useful 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=”customer representatives”])

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

Options Menu

Click Staff Members >Options on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

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

You can also export your staff members details by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List plugin site.

Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can use:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)

For more details go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also add 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.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

Company Directory lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone number, image and staff 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 staff member 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 a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just an individual member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff/employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)

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

Go here to learn more:

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

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to add an easy-to-manage directory of staff members to your site.

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

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