Tag: Staff Directory WordPress Plugin

It’s often said in business circles that people generally tend to buy from those they already know, like and trust.

If you are searching for ideas to sell more products or services online, then help your visitors get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding an employee directory to your site can generate increased trust, boost your credibility online and get more prospects buying from you.

In this tutorial, we explain how to create and add an easy-to-manage simple team members directory to your site with no coding skills required.

How To Add An Employee Directory In WordPress

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 WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you easily display basic information about your staff on your website.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will see that a new menu will display on the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the settings and options for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin adding new staff member details at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s set up your directory categories. In your WP dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups settings screen …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Configuring directory groups is just like setting up categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your category. 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 nested categories
4. Description – Enter a category description in this field
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create the new group name …

(Groups settings area)

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

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

(Nested categories)

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

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

The category details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

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 …

(Add nested categories your directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Slug: You can modify the permalink URL for each employee if you want (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type in the person’s role here
• Email: The employee’s email address
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add the person’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add the person’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 members here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …

(Add Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups feature)

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

(Groups > + Add New Group feature)

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

Your new group will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your entry to the group …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

***

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

Click View Post …

To modify your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• The WP Control Panel Explained

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

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

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

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Continue adding new entries to your staff directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employee or faculty members into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and details you have added for each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to make changes to individual entries, hover over their name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you need to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members profile)

If you have many employees, your table can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate items …

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to the new location …

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which your employee profiles appear on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to create the style and layout of your directory items 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 menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Templates page)

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

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

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your directory listings will now display with Facebook and Twitter addresses as as the example below shows …

(Directory listings with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize how your directory looks but don’t want to mess with code or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.

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

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 the WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Options settings screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

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

Other Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your team members in WordPress. For example, here are other plugins you can use to add a staff directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

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)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also set up custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from Staff Directory website)

More info:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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.

More info:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With Company Directory, you can easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, photo 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 learn 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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just one single member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Plugin)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer website)

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

Learn more about this plugin 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.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff or team member directory to your WordPress site, so your web visitors can get to know you and the people in your organization better.

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

***