Tag: Company Directory

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

If you are searching for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

Adding a directory to your site can help increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members in your website using free WordPress plugins.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff Directory

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you staff (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

Log into your dashboard and in your admin menu, select 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 search results area.

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu entry will appear in your WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Plugin

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

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

The Groups settings …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Adding groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Type in 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 section to set up nested categories
4. Description – Enter your category description (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create the new directory category …

(Groups settings screen)

If you run a business that employs many people, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, project teams, departments, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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

Click the Update Group button when done 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 …

(Nested categories)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your employee’s name
• Slug: Change the slug associated with each staff member if you want (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(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 employee’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

Once you are done inputting details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on Add New Group …

The new category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(Groups box)

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

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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the admin toolbar , go here:

• The WordPress Administration Panel Explained

Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …

(Page error? Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to add new entries to your directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the staff members and their details …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to edit an individual’s details, just hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile details)

If you have many entries, your table can become unwieldy.

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate items if necessary …

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that entries appear on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list)

After adding all members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List lets you create the style and layout of your staff 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 menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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 …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The The code shown above displays your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your staff list will now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with editing code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

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

In your WordPress admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Options screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and contact the plugin author.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use. For example, here are some other free WordPress plugins you can check out:

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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin lets you easily display a list of team/faculty/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.

The plugin also lets you add custom fields …

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

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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 includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

Company Directory lets you easily add your employees, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone number, photo and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors will be able to 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 plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just a single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 website)

Go here to learn more:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

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 sourced from Staffer website)

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

More info:

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

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

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

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