Tag: Company Directory

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

Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ways to sell more products online? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your website can help increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.

This tutorial will show you how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain employee directory in WordPress.

Adding An Employee List Directory

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

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

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

Log into the administration and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins screen, 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  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will appear on the main WP menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could just start adding new staff entries at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place yourgroup members into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings up the Groups section …

(Groups section)

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

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group. 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 groups
4. Description – Type in a category description
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to create the new group name …

(Groups settings area)

If you manage a larger organization, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, project teams, departments, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

To change or reassign Groups for a particular entry, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …

The item’s details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  after making changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can start to add names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member section …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

This area 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 each employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign your employee to a specific group (see above 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 tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

Once you have entered details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group)

A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to 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. Remember to tick the check box to assign a staff member to the group …

(New group)

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

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

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

• Your WordPress Control Screen – An Overview

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

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

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

• Setting Up Your WordPress Permalinks

Keep adding new details to your directory directory as described above.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a list of all your staff profiles and all details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to make changes to an individual’s details, hover over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members info)

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

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

(Search Staff Members search feature)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that listings show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added members’ details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site users.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowable 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 above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

As well as 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 brings up the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations you can use.

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

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

Options Menu

In your main menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need additional information about this plugin, visit the Simple Staff List support page.

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a directory of your staff in WordPress. For example, here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can look at:

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)

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

The plugin also lets you add custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school 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 – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like 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 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 also uses shortcodes.

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

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

With Employee Spotlight, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight

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 plugin website)

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

If the above plugins aren’t what you’re looking for, just go online or visit the WordPress plugin directory and search for:

• Add Staff Directory To WordPress
• WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of employees in your website using free plugins.

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

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