Tag: Simple Staff List Template

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

Are you searching for ideas to sell more products online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your organization better.

If your site uses the WordPress Content Management System, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to add a staff list plugin that lets you add information about your partners, your team, or your employees.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to add a simple faculty directory to WordPress using free plugins.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add An Employee Directory

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you create a simple staff directory for.

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new menu will have been added to your WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

Here is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed from this menu.

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could begin to add new staff member details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualemployees into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups settings panel …

(Groups settings)

Note: Adding directory groups is similar to creating categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create 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 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 in this field (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up your new group name …

(Groups area)

If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

To edit or reassign Groups for a particular 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 page. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …

Click the Update Group button to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested categories)

After you are done setting up your directory structure, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter the employee’s name
• Permalink: Edit your employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your employee’s role
• Email: Type the staff member’s email address into this field
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add the employee’s Facebook address here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add your company’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 staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign the person to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

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

(Screen options tab)

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 each staff member’s details …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

After you have finished entering details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

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 …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

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

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

(Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff 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 filling in your staff member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

You can modify your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

For a detailed tutorial about using the admin toolbar , go here:

• How To Use Your WordPress Control Area

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

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

If you need help setting up permalinks, refer to this tutorial:

• Changing Your WordPress Permalinks

Keep adding more details to your employee directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your staff profiles and details you have added for each entry …

(Staff Members details)

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

Click on Edit to make changes to the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members details)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate listing items …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Screen Options)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order on the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that listings show on your directory pages.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list items)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up 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, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)

The This code displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Directory listings with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with code or are not sure 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 lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add to your page to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”senior staff”])

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

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

You can also export your staff members details from the Tools > Export menu …

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin faq page and contact the plugin author.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to build a staff directory in WordPress. Here are other free plugins you can check out to add an employee directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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)

Learn more here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also create custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone number, pic and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors will be able to click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just one single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

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

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)

Go here to learn more:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

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 staff directory …

(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.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin

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 Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an updatable directory of staff or team members in in WordPress without messing around with code.

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

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