Tag: Employee Directory WordPress

Consumer behaviour research shows that people generally tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products or services online? Then help visitors get to know you and your business better.

If you run a WordPress-driven site, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to use a directory plugin that will let you display a directory containing information about your partners, your team, or your employees.

In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to add an easy-to-maintain list of employees in your WordPress site using free plugins.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory

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 Plugin For WordPress)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily employee (you could also use it to display faculty, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu will be added to the main WP menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can just begin to add new staff details at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings up the Groups screen …

(Groups settings)

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

(Groups work like categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

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

(Groups settings)

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

Create as many groups 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 edit Groups for a particular item, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click Update Group to save your changes …

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

Add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested categories)

Once you are done setting up your groups, you can begin adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member settings …

(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: Change the permalink URL for your employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your staff member’s position
• Email: Add 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 the staff member’s Twitter username (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 use HTML into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign the individual to a specific group (see above 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 will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

After you have finished entering each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you did not set up groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen 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 dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

The new category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an entry to the group …

(New group added via Groups feature)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the employee directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• Understanding Your WordPress Administration Panel

Note: If you have set up groups and get a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your staff directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you have finished entering employee details to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your listing entries and all details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members table)

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

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

(Editing Staff Members profile information)

If you have many names to add, your list can become unwieldy.

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

(Search Staff Members search feature)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order that your staff details display on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order on your main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding all of your staff details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your employee 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 your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(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 a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

Your staff details will now display as as shown below …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

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

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 in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

Here you can change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, visit the plugin faq page.

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. For example, here are some other plugins you can check out:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP 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 – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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, schools, etc.

The plugin also lets you insert custom fields …

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

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

This plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone, photo 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders 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 on plugin activation.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which 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 staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer)

This plugin 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 employee 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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

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
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain staff directory to your WordPress site.

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

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