Tag: Staff Plugin WordPress

Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people generally will buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are looking for simple ideas to sell more products or services online and get people to engage more on your site, then something you can do, is help visitors get to know, like and trust your organization better.

Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your site can help to generate increased trust, boost your credibility online and get more prospects contacting you.

This tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of staff members to your web site.

Adding A Staff Directory: 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)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you employee (you could also use it to display faculty members, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new entry will be added to your WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new staff details at this at this stage, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

The Groups section …

(Groups screen)

Note: Configuring directory groups is just like adding WordPress categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your category. 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 groups
4. Description – Type in your category description here
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create the new category …

(Groups area)

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

Create as many categories and nested groups 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 the Add New Group button after creating new items …

To edit Groups for a particular entry, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The group details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

To change the 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 …

Add as many groups as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

Add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested categories your staff directory)

After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your employee’s name
• Slug: Modify your employees’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

Now that you know what each section does, enter your staff member’s details …

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups section)

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

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

A new category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign your entry to the group …

(Groups feature)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or modified. 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 filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To modify the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• The WP Dashboard Explained

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

(Check your permalinks if you get an error)

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using Permalinks

Keep adding new members to your directory directory as described above.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you have finished entering staff details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table of all the staff members and any details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details list)

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

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

(Editing Staff Members details)

If you have many entries added to this section, your table can grow quite large.

Use the Search Staff Members search field to locate listing items if required …

(Search members)

The plugin also allows you to specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …

(Screen Options)

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 update your settings …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

After adding all member details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to specify the order in which listings show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to customize the style and layout of your directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs)

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

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 main admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen displays all different shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.

A useful shortcode variation you can choose, for example, 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 display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – Options screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need additional information about this plugin, go to the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

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

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP 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)

Go here to learn more:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also set up custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

The plugin also includes a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like title, email, phone, photo and member bio, allowing you to present 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 also uses simple shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just a single member of your team 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, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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: plugin website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

Staffer 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 staff 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 – 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
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site without messing with code, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

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