Tag: Company Directory

You have no doubt heard that people generally tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ways to sell more products or services online? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your organization better.

Adding a directory of employees or faculty members to your site can help boost your credibility online and get more prospects considering using your services.

In this tutorial, we show you how to easily add an easy-to-manage simple faculty directory in your site.

Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To Your WordPress Site

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you display information to visitors about your staff members on your website.

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

Log into the WP admin and from the admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members)

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

How To Configure The Plugin

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

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your directory categories. In your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups settings panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Type in the slug 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 if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter your category description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group name …

(Groups settings area)

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

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

The selected group details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click the Update Group button when done …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member section)

This section 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 the permalink URL for each staff member if required (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type in your employee’s position
• Email: Type the staff member’s email address here
• Phone Number: Type the staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type your company’s Facebook address here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type in 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: Enter a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign a staff or faculty member to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

After you have finished inputting details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups > + Add New Group feature)

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

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

(New group)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to 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 entering your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your employee directory …

Click View Post …

To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the WordPress admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• Your WordPress Administration Section – A Step-By-Step Tutorial

Note: If you get a page error like the one shown below, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial on using WordPress permalinks here:

• Changing Your WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add new entries to your staff or member directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all the employees and their details …

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to modify an individual’s details, hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile)

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

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find entries if necessary …

(Search members)

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

(Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that your employee profiles display on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that your employees appear on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding member listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List lets you edit the style and layout of your directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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 Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

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

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

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

Your staff profiles will now display as as shown below …

(Directory with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of 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 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 …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.

A useful shortcode 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=”sales managers”])

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in the menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)

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

You can also export your staff members details by going to your WP admin menu and clicking Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to create a directory of your staff in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can look at to add an employee directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory 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)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

The plugin lets you add custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress 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 profiles in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone, pic and 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 sourced from Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin uses shortcodes.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just an individual 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, and 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

The Staffer 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 onsite employee directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add a directory of employees or team members to your web site.

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

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