Tag: Company Directory

Business experts have successfully proven that people will buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ideas to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is help your prospects get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

If you use WordPress, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to use a directory plugin that lets you display information about your key people, your team, or your staff members.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff or faculty members to a WordPress site using a free plugin.

How To Add An Employee Directory

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a free plugin that lets you staff members.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into the dashboard and from the admin menu, choose 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 the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new entry will appear in the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can start to add new entries after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This opens up the Groups section …

(Groups screen)

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

(Groups work like categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Enter the slug 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 – Enter a category description here
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create your new group name …

(Groups area)

If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, developers, faculties, etc.

Create as many groups and nested categories as you want 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 creating new items …

To edit Groups for an individual item, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click the Update Group button to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested categories)

After you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member section)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter the employee’s name
• Slug: You can modify your staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your employee’s position
• Email: Type your employee’s email
• Phone Number: Type your employee’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: Add the person’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign an employee or faculty member 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 the screen …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings)

Once you are done inputting details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

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

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. 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 team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your employee directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• The WordPress Control Panel Explained

Note: If a page error shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Continue adding new entries 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 clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to change an individual’s entry, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members info)

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

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate items if required …

(Search members)

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

(Screen Options)

Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox 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 done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that your employee listings appear on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you have added all of your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your directory entries 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 WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory listings, insert any of the allowed template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above will display your listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(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 not sure 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 lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations you can use with the plugin.

For example, a useful variation you can insert in your page 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 adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options in your main menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

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

(Export Staff Members information)

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

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

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

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

The plugin lets you set up custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

Faculty And Staff Directory provides 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.

For more details go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With Company Directory, you can add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, pic and member 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 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 simple shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners 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 comes with 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 team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)

To learn more about this plugin go 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 employee directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin 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:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to add an easy-to-update employee directory to your website.

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

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