Tag: Company Directory

Consumer behaviour research shows that people generally buy from people they already know, like and trust.

If you are searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products online or get people to stay longer on your site, then help prospects get to know you and your organization better.

Adding a directory to your site can generate greater trust, boost your online credibility and get interested prospects getting in touch with you.

In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to easily create and add an easy-to-update simple staff directory to your site without using code.

How To Add An Employee Directory To Your WordPress Site: Step-By-Step Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you easily create a simple staff directory for.

The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into your WP admin and navigate to 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 Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will have been added to your main WP menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just start adding new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups settings screen …

(Groups area)

Note: Configuring directory groups is similar to creating categories …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
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 – Use this section to set up nested groups
4. Description – Type in your group description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new group …

(Groups settings screen)

If you manage a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, developers, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

To edit Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

Your selected item will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down 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 the Update Group button to save your changes …

Continue adding groups to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested categories your directory)

After you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member 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 employee’s name
• Slug: Edit the slug for your employee if required (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 position
• Email: Your staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Add the staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type your company’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type your employee’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 member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see the previous section 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 tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your staff member’s details …

(Staff directory settings)

Once you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

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

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create 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 the Add New Group button …

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

(New group)

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

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• The WP Dashboard – A Tutorial

Note: If you get ’not found’ page errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your permalinks correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Keep adding new details to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members list)

If you need to change individual entries, hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search box to find a member …

(Search Staff Members search box)

You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …

(Screen Options tab)

Selecting a check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that entries show on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which your staff members display on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order in your WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding staff details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory listings 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 the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(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 Template …

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The This code will display your listing as shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

Here is what your listings page should now look like …

(Staff profiles with social media links)

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

Usage Menu

In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.

A useful variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])

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

Options Menu

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

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need specific help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the plugin site and contact the plugin author.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use. Here are some other plugins you can use:

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)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

The plugin lets you use custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone number, image and member bio, allowing you to present 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 members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

Learn more here:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

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

Employee Spotlight installs 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 faculty 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 about the plugin here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

This 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 employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

If the directory plugins listed above 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 Directory Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to add a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff to your WordPress site.

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

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