Tag: Company Directory

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

If you are searching for inexpensive ways to sell more products online and increase user interaction on your site, then make it easier for your visitors to get to know your business better.

If you have a WordPress site, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to add a directory plugin that lets you display information about your key partners, your business team, or your employees.

In this tutorial, we explain how to add an easy-to-manage simple faculty members directory to WordPress.

Adding A Staff Directory

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 Plugin For WordPress)

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

First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into your WP dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new entry will display on the main WP menu bar called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed from this menu.

Configuring Simple Staff List

Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just begin to add new staff members after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your employees.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your directory categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups panel …

(Groups settings)

Note: Configuring directory groups is very similar to creating WordPress categories …

(Groups work just like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
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 – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter the category description here
5. Click Add New Group when done to create the new directory group …

(Groups settings area)

If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups 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 build a hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

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

To edit Groups for specific items, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …

The selected group details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click Update Group after making changes …

Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested categories your staff directory)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter your staff member’s name
• Slug: Modify your employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign the individual to a specific 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 features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

Once you are done entering each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field for creating a new group name will appear, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

Your new group will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(Groups feature)

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

***

After entering your team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

You can modify the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• Your WordPress Dashboard Explained

Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly configured your site’s permalinks …

(Page error? Check your permalinks)

For a detailed tutorial on setting up WP permalinks, go here:

• Configuring Your WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add more details to your employee or faculty directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your directory items and their details …

(Staff Members details)

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

Click on Edit to edit their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Editing Staff Members profile information)

If you have many entries, your table can grow quite large.

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

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to the new position …

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which your employee profiles appear on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

To customize the style and layout of your employee directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates screen)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Plugin 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 appear in your directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template loop, as shown below …

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Your staff listings will now appear with Facebook and Twitter addresses as as the screenshot below shows …

(Employee profiles with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that you can use with this plugin.

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

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

Options Menu

In the main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

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

Other Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to display a directory of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are a few other plugins you can use for adding a directory on your website:

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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

You can also set up custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP 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 – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

This plugin lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone, 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

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

Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, 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 circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

Staffer 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 online 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.

More info:

• 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
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

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

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

***