Tag: Simple Staff List Template

Many business experts often raise the point that people generally buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online, then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know, like and trust your organization better.

If you use WordPress, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to add a staff list plugin that will let you add information about your partners, your business team, or your employees.

In this tutorial, we explain how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain simple employee directory to WordPress using free WordPress plugins.

How To Add A Staff List Directory To Your Site

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

Simple Staff List lets you build a simple staff directory for.

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

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

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins panel, 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)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will display on the main WP menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

Here is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could just begin adding new staff details at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) to place yourmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s set up your directory groups. From your WordPress dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups screen …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Setting up directory groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

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

(Groups area)

If you run a business that employs many people, being able to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, developers, faculties, etc.

Create as many groups and nested groups as you want 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 entering each item …

To edit Groups for an individual entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

Your selected category details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update when done …

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

Click Update Group after making changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested categories)

Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member section …

(Add New Staff Member section)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Modify your staff members’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: 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 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 have entered details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

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

A new directory category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. 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 your employee or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

You can update your staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Using Your WordPress Dashboard

Note: If a page error like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly set up your permalinks …

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

We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks in WordPress here:

• Setting Up WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add more members to your directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

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

Click on Edit to edit 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 staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Editing Staff Members profile)

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

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

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that your employees appear on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding all of your members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which your staff members show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order in the main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to customize 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 dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory, reorganize 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 Staff Loop Template)

The This code will display your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Directory listings with social media links)

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

Usage Menu

In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

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

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

Click Staff Members >Options in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin faq page and contact the plugin developer.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your employees in WordPress. For example, here are some other free plugins you can use:

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)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

The plugin also lets you create custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory 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 profiles in a widget area.

For more details go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, image 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders 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.

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

Detailed information about  each employee 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 go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Plugin)

This 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 many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

Learn more here:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

If the above plugins 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 add an easy-to-manage simple employee directory in in WordPress with no coding skills required.

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

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