Tag: Company Directory

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

If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ideas to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff to your site can help increase your credibility online and get more prospects buying from you.

In this tutorial, we explain how to easily add an updatable simple employee directory to your WordPress site using free WordPress plugins.

Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory To WordPress

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

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

First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will appear on the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.

Plugin Configuration

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just start to add new staff entries at this at this stage, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your directory categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings up the Groups settings screen …

(Groups area)

Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as adding categories …

(Groups are like WordPress 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 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 nested groups
4. Description – Enter your group description here (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create your new group name …

(Groups settings screen)

If you work with a larger organization, being able to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups 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 assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To change Groups for a specific entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update to save your changes …

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

Click Update Group to save your changes …

Add as many categories as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to start adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Slug: You can edit your staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The staff member’s position
• Email: Type in the person’s email address
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter the staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type in your company’s Twitter username into this field (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 members here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: 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 …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups box)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

A field for entering your group name will display, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

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

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an employee’s 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 entering the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• How To Use Your WordPress Control Area

Note: If you see errors like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

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

• How To Change WordPress Permalinks

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your directory items and their details …

(Staff Members details)

If you need to edit individual details, hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile details)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate items if required …

(Search members)

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

(Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that listings appear on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List allows you to edit the style and layout of your 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 main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up 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 the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Template)

The This code displays your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your directory listings will now display as as the example below shows …

(Staff profiles with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with editing 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 listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that you can use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page to display a list of persons belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales managers”])

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

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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 page …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List support page.

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to create a directory of your faculty members in WordPress. For example, here are some other free WordPress plugins you can look at:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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)

For more details go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

This plugin lets you insert custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also includes 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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, image and 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one 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.

The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.

Detailed information about  each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Staffer uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an onsite staff 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.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

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

Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to create an easy-to-update directory of staff members in your web site.

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

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