Tag: Staff List

It’s often said in business circles that people will buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

Are you searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products or services online or increase user interaction on your site? Then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you, your team and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff to your site can lead to greater trust, increase your online credibility and get more prospects to consider using your services.

This tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory in your WordPress site.

Adding A Staff Directory To Your Site: WordPress Plugin Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a free WordPress plugin that lets you employee.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will appear in the main WP menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are employed in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could start adding new staff member details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place yourstaff members into.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups settings …

(Groups section)

Note: Adding directory groups works just like categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested categories
4. Description – Type in a category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to set up the new group name …

(Groups area)

If you work with a business that employs many people, being able to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, 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 build a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

To change Groups for a particular item, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click on Update Group  when done to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Slug: Edit the permalink URL for each employee if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your employee here. As this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign an employee or faculty member to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).

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

(Screen options tab)

You can 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 fields)

Once you have entered details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you have not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen 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 Add New Group …

Your new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an individual to the group …

(New group added)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff member’s details. To edit a group entry, 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 to add them to the staff directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• The WP Administration Screen – An Overview

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

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done adding employee or team members into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details table)

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

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

(Edit Staff Members details)

If you have many names to add, your table can grow quite large.

Use the Search Staff Members search field to find member details if required …

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

Once you are done adding employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to display the 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 in which listings show on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the item to its new position …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

Once you have added all of your staff details to the directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin also lets you create the layout and style of your employee 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 main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Directory with social media links)

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

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

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

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options on your main menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export screen …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need any help with the plugin, visit the plugin faq page.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your staff in WordPress. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can use to add an employee directory on your website:

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 – WP Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

This plugin lets you set up custom fields …

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

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin was developed to provide 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.

Learn more here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone number, image and staff 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

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

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

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

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

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory 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 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 – Plugin For WordPress

If the above plugins 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
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee directory to your WordPress site with no coding skills required, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

***