Tag: Simple Staff List Template

Consumer buying habits have successfully shown that people generally will buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for inexpensive ways to grow your business online? Then help your visitors get to know your business better.

Adding a staff directory to your site can help to generate greater trust, increase your online credibility and get interested prospects to consider using your services.

This tutorial shows you how to add a simple and easy-to-update employee directory to WordPress.

Adding An Employee List Directory: Plugin Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you create a simple staff directory list for.

The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu will be added to the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can start to add new employee details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your categories. From your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups settings panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Setting up groups is very similar to creating categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter the group description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new group name …

(Groups settings screen)

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

Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

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

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

The item’s details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  when done to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

After you have finished setting up your directory structure, you can begin adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your employee’s name
• Slug: You can modify each employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your employees here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options)

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 your employee’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

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

(Groups section)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

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

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

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to a staff or team 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 typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:

• The WP Admin Screen – A Tutorial

Note: If you see errors like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

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

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Keep adding new details to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members table)

If you need to change an individual’s entry, just hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members info)

If you have many names to add, your table can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find items if necessary …

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you 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)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that listings show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its new position …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to create the style and layout of your staff directory listings 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 menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Directory with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin lets you use.

A useful variation you can insert in your page, 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=”Asia Pacific Region”])

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

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Options settings)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export screen …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need help with the plugin, go to the Simple Staff List faq page.

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are other plugins you can use to create a staff directory on your website:

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)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin 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.

For more details go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone, image and 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 employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one 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.

This plugin includes two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight

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 an onsite employee directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

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

To learn more about the plugin go 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 Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to create an easy-to-update staff directory in your website.

Images of models used to display sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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