Tag: Simple Staff List Plugin

No doubt you’ve heard that people tend to buy from people they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for quicker and simpler ideas to grow your business online and increase user interaction with your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding a faculty member directory to your site can generate increased trust, boost your credibility online and get more prospects to buy from you.

This tutorial explains how to create an easy-to-manage staff directory in your web site.

Adding A Staff Directory: WordPress Plugin Tutorial

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List)

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

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

Log into your WordPress administration and from the admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will show up in the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could just begin to add new entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual group members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups section …

(Groups screen)

Note: Adding groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group 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 drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested categories
4. Description – Type in your category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new directory category …

(Groups settings)

If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, developers, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

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

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update when done …

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

Click Update Group when done …

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 …

(Nested categories)

After you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member section)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Slug: Edit each staff members’ permalink URL (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: Add the person’s role
• Email: Type in your staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add the employee’s Twitter username here (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. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your employee to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on 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 to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …

The new category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign a person to the group …

(Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff member’s details. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).

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After entering your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• Using Your WP Control Screen

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

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Changing WordPress Permalinks

Continue adding more entries to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members list)

If you need to change individual entries, simply hover over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile)

If you have many names to add, your list can grow quite large.

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

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(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 done to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the new location …

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

After adding your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory show on your site.

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order in which entries display on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you have added all of your employees’ 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 lets you edit the style and layout of your directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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

For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Your employee details will now display as shown in the example below …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with code or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.

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, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you change 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 info)

If you need specific help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the Simple Staff List support page and request help from the plugin developer.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for creating a directory of your faculty members. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can use for adding a staff directory on your website:

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 – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin lets you easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.

You can also create custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

More info:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

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 includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

This plugin lets you easily add your employees, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, plus as fields like position title, email address, 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 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 plugin website)

This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.

Go here to learn more:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

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

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

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 a staff directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)

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

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

If the directory plugins listed above 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
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

Images used to portray staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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