Tag: Company Directory

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

If you are looking for inexpensive ideas to sell more products online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff to your website can help boost your online credibility and get interested prospects buying from you.

In this tutorial, we show you how to easily add an easy-to-update list of staff or faculty members in your web site.

How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory: WordPress Plugin Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you employee (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).

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

Log into the WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(WP 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  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members)

All of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are in your team and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin to add new staff member details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by configuring your categories. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen in your web browser …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Adding directory groups is very similar to working with WordPress categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category 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 a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter a group description in this field (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to set up your new group …

(Groups settings)

If you work with a medium to large organization, the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, developers, faculties, etc.

Create as many categories 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 specific entries, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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

Click on Update Group  to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested categories your directory)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can start adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit the slug associated with each employee if required (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options)

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 staff member’s details …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups section)

Note: If you have not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, 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 your group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on Add New Group …

Your new group will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

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

Click View Post …

You can edit your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar, refer to this tutorial:

• Using Your WP Control Screen

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

(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on setting up permalinks, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to add more entries to your employee directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all the staff members and details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to change individual entries, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.

Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

If you have many names to add, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find a member if necessary …

(Search members)

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

(Screen Options tab)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site users.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

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

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

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

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen provides a list of 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=”Gold Level associates”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on the menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Options settings)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to the main menu and choosing Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List support page and contact the plugin developer.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use. For example, here are other plugins you can check out to add a directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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 – Plugin For WordPress)

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

The plugin also lets you add custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

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

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, pic and bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 source: plugin website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

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

This plugin includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

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 plugin website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 a staff directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)

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

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

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to create a simple and easy-to-manage staff directory in your site.

Models used to display sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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