Tag: Staff Plugin WordPress

You have no doubt heard that people often tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for ways to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site, then make it easier for your prospects to get to know you, your team and your business better.

If you use WordPress, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to use a staff list plugin that will let you add a directory containing information about your key partners, your team, or your employees.

This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain employee directory to WordPress.

Adding An Employee Directory

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)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you easily build a basic staff directory list for.

The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into the WordPress admin and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new entry will be added to your WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

The Staff Members menu 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.

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you can just start to add new staff entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups settings …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Configuring groups is just like setting up categories in WordPress …

(Groups work just like categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your group name. 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 a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in your group description here
5. Click Add New Group when finished to set up your new directory group …

(Groups area)

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

Create as many groups 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 creating new items …

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

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update to save your changes …

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

Click Update Group when done to save your changes …

Continue adding group names in this section until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested groups)

After you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings area …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Slug: You can change each staff members’ slug (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type the person’s position
• Email: Type in your employee’s email here
• Phone Number: Add the person’s phone number here
• Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter your employee’s Twitter username into this field (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 member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your employee to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

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 each staff member’s details …

(Add New Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

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

The new directory category will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

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

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After typing in your staff or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the employee directory …

Click View Post …

You can edit your member profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

If you need help using the admin toolbar, refer to this tutorial:

• Your WP Administration Section – An Overview

Note: If an error shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have correctly set up your permalinks …

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

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

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Continue adding new details to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done entering employee or team members to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your listing entries and their details …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to make changes to individual details, simply hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members details)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can grow quite large.

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate entries if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that entries appear 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 entry to its new position …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

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

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 your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added all of your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site users.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List 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 directory, select Staff Members > Templates from your menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

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

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are 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 example below …

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

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Directory with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.

A useful variation you can decide to use, for example, to display a list of members belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Gold Level associates”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options in your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

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

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can check out:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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)

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

The plugin also lets you use custom fields …

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

Learn more here:

• Staff Directory

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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin lets you 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 staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can 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: Company Directory website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

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

The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with 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 staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight website)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

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

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin

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
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

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