Tag: Employee Directory WordPress

Consumer buying habits have successfully shown that people often tend to buy from people they know, like and trust.

Are you searching for inexpensive ideas to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then make it easier for your prospects to get to know you and your business better.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to easily add a simple and easily updatable simple faculty members directory to your web site using a free WP plugin.

Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To WordPress

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

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

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

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

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will appear in your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

All of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could begin adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place yourgroup members into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups section …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Setting up directory groups is just like setting up categories in WordPress …

(Groups work like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your category. 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 categories
4. Description – Type in your category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to set up a new directory category …

(Groups screen)

If you are a larger organization, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, developers, departments, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

To change or reassign Groups for a specific item, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …

The category details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  when done …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member section …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Permalink: Modify the slug for your employee if required (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 in the staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Enter your staff member’s phone number into this field
• Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook address (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 staff or faculty member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign the individual to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(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 staff member’s details …

(Add Staff Member settings)

Once you are done inputting each of you staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you did not set up groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down 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 category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(Groups box)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a person’s details. To edit a group entry, 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 the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Your WP Control Area Explained

Note: If errors shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

For a detailed tutorial about setting up permalinks, go here:

• Changing WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to continue adding more details to your employee directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you have finished adding employee details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members list)

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

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

(Editing Staff Members profile)

If you have added many items to this section, your table can grow quite large.

Use the Search Staff Members search box to find listing items …

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you 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)

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 settings …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list items)

Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order in which listings appear on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

After adding your members’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens 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, here is the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

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

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

Here is what your listings page should now look like …

(Directory listings with social media URLs)

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

Usage Menu

In addition to 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, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to 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=”property managers”])

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

Options Menu

In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need help with this plugin, visit the plugin faq page.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your faculty. Here are some other free plugins you can check out:

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)

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

The plugin lets you insert custom fields …

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

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin was developed to provide 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 a profile in a widget area.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, pic and staff bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors will be able to click through from your list, grid, and table views to read more about each employee in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one single person 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 selected in the editor, and 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 source: Employee Spotlight website)

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

This 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 onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)

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

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to add an easy-to-manage directory of employees to your website.

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

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