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.

Are you searching for quicker and simpler ways to grow your business online? Then help your prospects get to know your business better.

If your web presence is driven by the WordPress CMS, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to use a WordPress staff list plugin that lets you display information about your key partners, your team, or your staff.

This tutorial explains how to add an easy-to-maintain employee directory to your site.

How To Easily Add An Employee Directory In WordPress: Step-By-Step Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you staff (you could also use it to display partners, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

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

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will have been added to the main WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can begin to add new entries at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your members.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups settings area …

(Groups settings)

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

(Groups are like categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your category. 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 the category description
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new category …

(Groups area)

If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, project teams, 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 hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

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

To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse 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 category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click the Update Group button when done to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member area)

This screen 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: Your staff member’s name
• Permalink: Here you can change the permalink URL associated with your employee if you want (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The employee’s position
• Email: The staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter your company’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type 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 or team member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign an employee or faculty member to a specific 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)

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 staff member’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

Once you are done inputting your staff member’s details, assign the new entry to a directory group in the Groups feature located in your sidebar …

(Groups feature)

Note: If you did not set up categories before adding 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 drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on Add New Group …

A new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. To edit a group 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 …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the WP admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:

• The WP Control Area – An Overview

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

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to continue adding new details to your staff or faculty directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done adding employees into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your staff members and their details …

(Staff Members table)

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

Click on Edit to modify the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Editing Staff Members profile information)

If you have many entries, your list can grow quite large.

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

(Search members)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which your employees display on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to the new location …

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you have added all of your members’ details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List also lets you create the layout and style of your staff directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Templates screen)

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

For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your staff list will now look like …

(Staff profiles with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess around with editing code 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 listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations you can use with the Simple Staff List plugin.

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

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, visit the plugin website.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are a few other plugins you can look at:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

The Modern Team Staff Directory 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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

You can also use custom fields …

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

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

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 includes a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Plugin)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, pic 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 sourced from Company Directory website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

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

This plugin includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Plugin)

Staffer 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 online employee directory …

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

Staffer works 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 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 Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-manage list of staff members in your web site without coding skills.

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

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