Tag: Staff Plugin WordPress

Many business and marketing experts often raise the point that people generally will buy from people they already know, like and trust.

If you are looking for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ways to sell more products online, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

If your site uses the WordPress CMS platform, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your faculty, or your staff members using a staff list plugin.

This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your web site.

Plugin Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff Directory

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

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

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into the WP admin and from the admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will show up in the WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just begin adding new staff members at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your groups. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups screen …

(Groups screen)

Note: Adding groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by typing in 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 – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter your category description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new directory group …

(Groups settings screen)

If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

To edit Groups for a particular item, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

Your selected item’s details will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent group from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click on Update Group  after making changes …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, you can start to add your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add the employee’s name
• Permalink: Here you can change the permalink URL associated with each employee if required (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your employee’s position
• Email: Your staff member’s email
• Phone Number: Your 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: Enter 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 staff member here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the individual to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).

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 your staff member’s details …

(Add Staff Member fields)

Once you are done inputting details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

A field will display allowing you to enter 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 group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or making changes to an employee’s details. 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 typing in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the employee directory …

Click View Post …

You can update the person’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Your WP Admin Section Explained

Note: If an error 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 a page error)

For a detailed tutorial about setting up WP permalinks, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to add more details to your staff directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the directory items and details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to make changes to an individual’s details, hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you want to update the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from the directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …

(Edit Staff Members details)

If you have many entries added to this section, your list can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find items if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(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 update your settings …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which listings display on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you are done adding staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the item to its desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to customize the layout and style of your employee directory entries 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 the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(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 the Default Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The This code displays your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)

Your employee details will now display as as shown below …

(Directory listings with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

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

A useful shortcode variation you can decide to use, for example, 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 display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)

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

You can also export your staff members details by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin help or support, visit the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin developer.

Other Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are other plugins you can use for adding a directory on your site:

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)

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

The plugin also lets you add custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

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 a profile in a widget area.

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone, photo 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 employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one single person in a four-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, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

Detailed information about  each staff 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 Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP 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 online employee directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

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

For more details go 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 Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create a simple and easy-to-manage employee directory in WordPress.

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

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