Tag: Simple Staff List Plugin

No doubt you’ve already heard that people generally will buy from those they already know, like and trust.

If you are looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ideas to grow your business online and get people to interact more on your site, then one of the things you can do, is help prospects get to know you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a directory of staff to your site can lead to more trust, increase your online credibility and get interested prospects making enquiries.

In this step-by-step tutorial, we explain how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of employees or faculty members to your web site without touching code.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory

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

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you employee.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu will have been added to the WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members 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 begin to add new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place youremployees into.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your directory groups go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups section …

(Groups settings area)

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

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
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 – This section lets you set up nested groups
4. Description – Enter your category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create the new directory group …

(Groups section)

If you manage a larger organization, being able to set up 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 organize these into a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

Remember to click the Add New Group button after entering new items …

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

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update when done …

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

Click the Update Group button when done …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested categories)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can start adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your 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 settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Slug: Edit the permalink URL associated with each employee if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your employee’s position
• Email: Your employee’s email
• Phone Number: Type in your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook address here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter the person’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 employee here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign a staff or faculty 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 the screen …

(Screen options)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups feature)

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

A new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign the list item to the group …

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an employee or faculty member’s details. To edit an item, 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 …

Click View Post …

To modify the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:

• The WordPress Dashboard Explained

Note: If you see a page error like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)

To learn more about setting up permalinks, see this step-by-step tutorial:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using Permalinks

Keep adding new entries to your staff or partner directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done entering employee details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all the listing entries and the details you have added for each entry …

(Staff Members details)

If you need to change an individual’s entry, just hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile information)

If you have many entries, your table can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search box to find items …

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Screen Options)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that entries appear on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which your employee profiles display on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to customize the layout and style of your directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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

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

(Default Plugin Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Your employee listings will now appear with Facebook and Twitter links as as the example below shows …

(Directory listings with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.

A useful variation you can select, for example, 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”])

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options on your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Options screen)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, go to the plugin support page.

Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a directory of your faculty in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can look at:

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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

This plugin lets you add custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone number, pic and 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

This plugin includes 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 team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

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

More info:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Plugin)

Staffer 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 an online staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

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

Hopefully, now you know how to add an updatable simple faculty members directory in your WordPress site without editing code.

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

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