Tag: Company Directory

Consumer buying habits show that people generally buy from those they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for inexpensive ways to sell more products online and get people to engage more with your site? Then make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

If your website uses the WordPress Content Management System, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress staff list plugin that will let you display a directory listing with information about your key people, your team, or your staff.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add an updatable simple employee directory to your website.

How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily create a basic staff directory list for.

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

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

(WP 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 the plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will have been added to the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can begin to add new entries at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your groups. In your WordPress dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Adding directory groups is just like configuring categories …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group 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 – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in a category description
5. Click Add New Group when done to create your new group …

(Groups section)

If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, developers, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

Remember to click 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 category open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

To change the Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select Quick Edit …

Click Update Group 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 categories as you like …

(Add nested categories your directory)

Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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: The employee’s name
• Slug: Change the permalink URL for each staff member if required (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: Enter your staff member’s position
• Email: Type your staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook address into this field (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: Add a profile description for your employee here. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups section)

Note: If you have not set up directory groups 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)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category 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 added via Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an employee’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 team member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

You can edit the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the admin toolbar, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:

• The WordPress Admin Screen – An Overview

Note: If you see a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Continue adding more details to your directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employee or team members to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the dashboard 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 details table)

If you need to edit individual details, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you want to edit the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete someone from the staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Edit Staff Members profile)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.

Use the Search Staff Members search field to find a member if required …

(Search members)

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

(Staff Members 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 select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in the 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 automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit 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 directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, below is the Default Template …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your staff list will now look like …

(Directory listings with social media links)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose to display a list of staff members belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Gold Level associates”])

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

Options Menu

Click Staff Members >Options on your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members details 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 faq page.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. For example, here are other plugins you can look at to create 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)

Learn more here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

The plugin also lets you insert custom fields …

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

Learn more here:

• Staff Directory – WP 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, school or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

More info:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, pic 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

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 member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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 staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)

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

More info:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

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

Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-update simple faculty members directory to your web site using free plugins.

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

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