Tag: WordPress Plugin Staff Directory

Something that is generally well known in business and marketing, is that people often tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.

If you are looking for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products or services online and increase user interaction with your site, then make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

If you use WordPress, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your faculty, or your staff using a staff list plugin.

This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add an easy-to-maintain directory of employees to WordPress.

Adding An Employee Directory To WordPress

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List lets you staff members.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

Log into the WordPress administration and in your admin menu, select 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 search results area.

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

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

How To Configure The Plugin

Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin to add new staff member details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s set up your directory groups. From your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

The Groups settings opens up …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your category 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 – Enter your group description
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new directory group …

(Groups section)

If you manage a medium to large organization, having the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, 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 assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To change or reassign Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The selected group open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click the Update Group button to save your changes …

Continue adding groups to this section until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you are done setting up your groups, 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 Menu – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member settings screen in your browser …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit your employees’ slug (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Add the person’s role
• Email: The employee’s email address
• Phone Number: Add the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Enter the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter the person’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 in a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign the individual to a specific group (see above 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 features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each of your employee’s details …

(Add Staff Member fields)

After you have entered details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

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

The new category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your employee’s details to the group …

(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 of the tutorial 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 make changes to the employee’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the admin toolbar , go here:

• Using Your WP Dashboard

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

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

To learn more about setting up WP permalinks, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using SEO-Friendly URLs

Keep adding more details to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you have entered all staff 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 of all your listing entries and details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to modify individual entries, just hover over their listing, and a submenu will appear.

Click on Edit to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete a listing from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members details)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can get quite long.

Use the Search Staff Members search box to find listing items if required …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display on your site.

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to a desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to customize the layout and style of your directory listings 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 dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is the Default Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your directory should now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with 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 listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.

A useful variation you can choose, for example, to display only members belonging 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=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Options settings screen)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members info by going to your menu and choosing Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need plugin support, go to the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin developer.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your team members in WordPress. Here are a few other plugins you can use:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This 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 go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

This plugin lets you use custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

This 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 a profile in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone number, pic and staff 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just one individual person in a 4-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 selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

Detailed information about  each team 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)

Go here to learn more:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

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 staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)

Staffer works immediately with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

For more details go here:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

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

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

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

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