Tag: Simple Staff List Template

No doubt you already know that people will buy from people they already know, like and trust.

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

If your web presence is driven by the WordPress Content Management System, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your team, or your staff using a directory plugin.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily create and add an easy-to-maintain list of staff members in your WordPress site without coding skills.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory

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

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you easily display basic information to visitors about your employee on your website.

First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

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

(WordPress 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 Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can start adding new employee details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This opens up the Groups section …

(Groups area)

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

(Groups work like categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group category name. 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 in this field (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up your new group …

(Groups settings area)

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

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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

Click the Update Group button to save your changes …

Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

Add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your directory structure, the next step is to start to add names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add your employee’s name
• Slug: Edit the slug for each employee if you want (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your staff member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(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 of your staff member’s details …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

After you have entered details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group)

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

A new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign a person to the group …

(New group added)

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 entering your team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the staff directory …

Click View Post …

You can make changes to your staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• Your WordPress Admin Section Explained

Note: If you have set up groups and get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that you have correctly set up your site permalinks …

(Check your permalinks if you get an error)

To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your employee or member directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members in your main menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to modify individual entries, hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

If you have many entries, your list can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to find entries …

(Search members)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the new position …

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that entries show on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Plugin Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Directory with social media URLs)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

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

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

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

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the plugin support page and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. For example, here are other free plugins you can look at to create an employee directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also add custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

Faculty And Staff Directory provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With Company Directory, you can add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone number, photo 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 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 uses shortcodes.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

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

This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.

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

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer)

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 staff directory …

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

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members in your web site.

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

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