Tag: Company Directory

Consumer behavior research shows that people will buy from those they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for inexpensive ideas to sell more products or services online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you, your team and your organization better.

If you are a WordPress user, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to use a staff list plugin that lets you add information about your partners, your team, or your employees.

This tutorial shows you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of employees to your WordPress site.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To WordPress

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily staff members.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

Log into your WP administration and in your admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, a new menu will appear on the main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

Here is where you will manage and configure all of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin to add new employee details at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourgroup members into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This loads the Groups settings panel in your browser …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
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 – This section lets you set up nested categories
4. Description – Type in your category description in this field
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create the new directory group …

(Groups settings screen)

If you run a medium to large organization, being able to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, project teams, departments, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

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

The category will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click the Update Group button 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 hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin adding 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 …

(Add New Staff Member area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your employee’s name
• Slug: Edit the slug associated with each employee if you want (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: Add your staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Add the staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type the person’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your staff or team member here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).

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

(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 have finished entering details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature located in your sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before starting to add 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 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 group and click on the Add New Group button …

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

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing employee 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 typing in your employee or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

For a detailed tutorial about using the admin toolbar , go here:

• The WP Control Screen – A Tutorial

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

(Page error? Check your permalinks)

If you need help setting up WordPress permalinks, see this tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Keep adding new details to your directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done adding staff details into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details)

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

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

(Edit Staff Members details)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate member details if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search field)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to 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 unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose 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 set the order in which your employees show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you have added employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which listings display on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added staff details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowed 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 listing as shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media links)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage Shortcode section)

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

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

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 main menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

Finally, 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 plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List support page and contact the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your faculty. For example, here are other plugins you can check out to add a staff directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

This 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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

This plugin also lets you add custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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 a profile in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone, image and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 source: Company Directory website)

This plugin uses shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners 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.

The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP 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 online employee directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

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

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you learn how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to WordPress.

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

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