Tag: Simple Staff List Template

Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people generally tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for inexpensive ideas to sell more products online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then something you can do, is help your visitors get to know you, your team and your business better.

If you have a WordPress-powered website, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your team, or your staff members using a WordPress directory plugin.

This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members in your web site.

Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory To Your WordPress Site

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List lets you employee (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

Log into the WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins screen, 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  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will show up in your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourgroup members into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by configuring your categories. In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This opens up the Groups area …

(Groups settings screen)

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

(Groups work just like categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Enter 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 groups
4. Description – Type in your category description here
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new group name …

(Groups screen)

If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, 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 directory hierarchy …

(Nested groups)

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

To change Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …

Your selected group details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  when done …

Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested categories)

After you are done setting up your groups, you can start adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign the person to a group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).

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

(Screen options)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Staff directory fields)

After you have finished entering details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field for entering your group name will display, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

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

(Groups feature)

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 above for details).

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After typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• Your WordPress Administration Section – An Overview

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

(Check your permalinks if you get a ‘page not found’ error)

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

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to continue adding new entries to your directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done adding employees to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your directory entries and their details …

(Staff Members details)

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

Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a listing from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate listing items …

(Search Staff Members search box)

The plugin also allows you to 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)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to update your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding member listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which listings show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

After adding all staff details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site users.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your employee directory entries 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 the menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Plugin Template)

The The code shown above will display your listing as shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter URLs showing in the above example. 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 …

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage Shortcode section)

This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that you can use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to display a list of staff or team members belonging only to 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 inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings)

This section lets you edit some of the labels used in the plugin

Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to the menu and clicking Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need help with the plugin, go to the plugin site and contact the plugin developer.

Other Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can look at for creating a staff directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Modern Team Staff Directory 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 about the plugin here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

This plugin also lets you set up custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone number, pic and member 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 learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, 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.

With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)

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

Learn more about the plugin 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 Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to add an easy-to-update employee directory to your website.

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

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