Tag: Employee Directory WordPress

You have no doubt heard that people will buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are looking for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a staff directory to your site is a great way to let visitors learn more about the team behind your business.

This tutorial explains how to create a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff members in your site.

Adding An Employee Directory In WordPress: Step-By-Step Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

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

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into your WordPress administration 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 Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu will appear on the WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

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

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen in your web browser …

(Groups section)

Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as configuring WordPress categories …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested categories
4. Description – Enter your group description in this field
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group …

(Groups settings area)

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

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

(Nested categories)

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

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

The group open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click Update Group when done to save your changes …

Continue adding groups in this section until you have created your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Slug: Here you can edit each employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The employee’s position
• Email: The staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Type the staff member’s phone number into this field
• Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add the employee’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 members here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign your staff member to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Staff directory settings)

Once you have entered details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups > + Add New Group)

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

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

(New group added)

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

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

We have created a detailed tutorial on using the dashboard admin toolbar here:

• Using Your WordPress Dashboard

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

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

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

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using Permalinks

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the staff members and their details …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to modify an individual’s entry, simply hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you need to make changes to the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a list item from the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

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

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find member details …

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings show on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to set the order that entries show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to the desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added all of your members’ details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List lets you create the layout and style of your staff 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 your menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Templates screen)

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

For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your employee entries will now display with Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …

(Staff profiles with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with CSS code and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

Here you can modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

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

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the plugin plugin website and contact the plugin developer.

Other Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your staff. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can look at to create an employee directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

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

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone, pic and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners 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.

Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP 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 a staff directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-manage simple staff directory in your web site using free WP plugins.

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

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