Tag: Staff List

Consumer behaviour studies show that people generally tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for quicker and easier ideas to grow your business online or get people to interact more on your site, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your business better.

If your site uses the WordPress CMS platform, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress directory plugin that will let you add information about your partners, your faculty, or your staff members.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to easily add an easy-to-update directory of staff or team members in your web site with no coding skills required.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To Your Site

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

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

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

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will display on your main WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for this plugin are configured and managed from the Staff Members menu.

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just begin to add new staff details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your categories go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings up the Groups settings panel in your browser …

(Groups section)

Note: Setting up groups is similar to working with categories …

(Groups are like categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your 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 nested groups
4. Description – Type in the group description in this field
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new directory group …

(Groups screen)

If you run a larger organization, having the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, developers, faculties, 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 directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

To edit Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …

The item’s details open in the Edit Group page. 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 select the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click Update Group to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested categories)

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

Staff Members – Add New

From your WordPress 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 section)

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: Add your employee’s name
• Slug: Edit each staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your staff members here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign a staff or team member to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

After you have finished inputting each staff member’s details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups box in your sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you did not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups > + Add New Group feature)

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

Your new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an employee’s details to the group …

(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 the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your staff directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• The WP Control Screen Explained

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

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

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on setting up WP permalinks, go here:

• Setting Up Your WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add more details to your employee or member directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a list of all the directory entries and all details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members details)

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

Click on Edit if you need to make changes to their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a listing from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

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

Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate a member …

(Search Staff Members search feature)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Placing a tick in the item’s 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 finished to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in the WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that your employees show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin lets you customize the layout and style of your employee 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 menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Your directory profiles will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags 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 directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

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=”Asia Pacific Region”])

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

Options Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

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

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. For example, here are some other plugins you can look at:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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 – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also create custom fields …

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

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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 – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone number, 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 learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners 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.

Employee Spotlight includes 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 faculty member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

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

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff/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 Staffer website)

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

Learn more here:

• Staffer – WordPress Plugin

If the directory plugins listed above aren’t what you’re looking for, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:

• Add Staff Directory To WordPress
• WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to add an easy-to-update directory of staff to WordPress.

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

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