Tag: Company Directory

Many business and marketing experts have successfully proven over time that people will mostly buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you searching for inexpensive ways to sell more products or services online or increase user interaction with your site? Then something you can do, is help visitors get to know, like and trust your business better.

Adding a directory of staff to your website is a great way to let visitors learn more about the people behind your business.

This tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-update directory of staff members to your site.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding A Staff List 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)

Simple Staff List lets you employee.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into your WordPress administration and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu entry will be added to the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring Simple Staff List

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just start to add new staff details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s set up your groups. In your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups settings panel …

(Groups settings)

Note: Adding directory groups is similar to creating categories in WordPress …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your category 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 – Type in the category description in this field (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, being able to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category 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 hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each item …

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

The selected category details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category from the Parent dropdown 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 select Quick Edit …

Click on Update Group  when done …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested groups)

After you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can start adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member screen …

(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: The employee’s name
• Slug: Change your employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign your employee to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You can 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 Staff Member fields)

Once you are done inputting details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have 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 feature)

A field for creating your new group name will appear, with a drop-down 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 directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(New group added via Groups section)

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

***

After entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

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

• Your WP Administration Panel Explained

Note: If you have set up groups and get an error like the one shown below, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

If you need help setting up permalinks, go here:

• Setting Up WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your staff directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to edit individual details, just hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to edit the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from your staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Editing Staff Members profile info)

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

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find entries …

(Search members)

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

(Screen Options)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that your staff details show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

After adding your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list items)

After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin lets you create 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 employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(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 Plugin 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 listing. To make these fields display in the directory, we will need to add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template, as shown below …

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Directory listings with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

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

Or, you can 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 brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

Here you can modify some of the labels used in the plugin

Finally, you can also export your staff members data by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

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

Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create an employee directory in WordPress. Here are a few other free plugins you can use for creating a directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With Staff Directory, you can easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.

You can also set up custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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 profiles in a widget area.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

Company Directory lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone number, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors can 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 Company Directory website)

This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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

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

Go here to learn more:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

The Staffer 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 onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

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

For more details go here:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

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

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-manage list of staff or team members in your website using a free WordPress plugin.

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

***