Tag: Simple Staff List Template

Consumer behavior research shows that people often tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for simple ways to grow your business online? Then make it easier for visitors to get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff or faculty members to your site can generate greater trust, increase your online credibility and get more prospects making enquiries.

This tutorial shows you how to create and add a simple and easy-to-maintain employee directory in your WordPress site.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee Directory

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you employee (you could also use it to display board of directors, etc.).

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into the administration and from the admin menu section, click on Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, a new menu entry will appear on the main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just start adding new staff member details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place yourmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Adding groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Create a new group by entering 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 a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in your group description here
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create your new category …

(Groups settings area)

If you run a medium to large 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 groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a directory hierarchy …

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click on Update Group  to save your changes …

Continue adding groups to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter the employee’s name
• Permalink: Here you can change the permalink URL for your staff member if you want (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your employee’s position
• Email: Your staff member’s email
• Phone Number: Add the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type your staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter your staff member’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff members here. Since this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the person to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Staff directory fields)

Once you have finished inputting details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up directory groups before adding staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field for entering a new group name will display, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

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

(Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing a staff member’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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using the WordPress admin toolbar here:

• The WordPress Control Screen Explained

Note: If ’page not found’ errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Keep adding more entries to your staff or partner directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table with all the staff profiles and any details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to make changes to an individual’s entry, hover over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile)

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

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate listing items if required …

(Search members)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order in the WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

Once you have added employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which listings 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 a new location …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Directory listings with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

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

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List site and contact the plugin author.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are a few 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)

Go here to learn more:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

The plugin lets you add custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin provides 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 here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone number, photo and staff 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 employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

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

Employee Spotlight comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.

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

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

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 an employee directory on your site …

(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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• 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.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-update list directory of staff or team members in in WordPress with no coding skills required.

Models used to display fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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