Category: WordPress Plugins

Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people generally will buy from people they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust your organization better.

If you use WordPress, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to add a directory plugin that will let you add information about your key partners, your team, or your employees.

In this tutorial, we show you how to easily create and add a directory of staff members to your website with no coding skills required.

Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory To Your WordPress Site

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a free WordPress plugin that lets you staff.

The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into the admin and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu entry will be added to your main WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

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

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your directory groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Configuring groups works in the same way as adding categories …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested groups
4. Description – Enter the group description here (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to create a new directory group …

(Groups settings)

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

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

(Nested groups)

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

To edit Groups for an individual item, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …

Your selected group details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click Update Group when done …

Continue adding group names in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter your staff member’s name
• Slug: You can change each staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your staff members here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups box)

Note: If you have not set up categories before adding 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 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 group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing a staff or team member’s 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 entering the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• Using The WP Control Panel

Note: If ’not found’ page errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly configured your 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 SEO-Friendly URLs

Continue adding new members to your directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff or faculty members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members list)

If you need to modify individual details, just hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members profile)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate member details if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search feature)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings display on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to the new position …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding all staff details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its desired position …

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin also lets you 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 directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your dashboard 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 a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Plugin Template)

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

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your staff listings will now appear with Facebook and Twitter addresses as shown in the example below …

(Directory listings with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.

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

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on the WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the Simple Staff List plugin site.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are some other free plugins you can look at:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

The Staff Directory 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.

This plugin lets you insert custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

Learn more here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone number, photo and staff 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 sourced from plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon 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 faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

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

For more details go here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

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 onsite staff directory …

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

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

For more details go here:

• 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 Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

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