Tag: WordPress Plugin Staff Directory

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

If you are searching for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online, then help prospects get to know you and your organization better.

If you use WordPress, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to use a WordPress directory plugin that lets you display information about your partners, your team, or your staff members.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to create and add an easy-to-manage simple staff directory in your WordPress site with no coding skills required.

Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you staff members.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into your WordPress dashboard and from the admin menu section, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins panel, 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  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu will appear in the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your directory, you could just start adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualgroup members into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups settings …

(Groups area)

Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as configuring categories in WordPress …

(Groups work like categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version 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 a category description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new group name …

(Groups settings area)

If you work with a medium to large organization, being able to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, project teams, faculties, etc.

Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

Remember to click the Add New Group button after creating new items …

To change Groups for an entry, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

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

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

Add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

After you have finished setting up your groups, you can start adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter the employee’s name
• Slug: Modify the permalink URL associated with your staff member if you want (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your staff member’s position
• Email: The employee’s email address
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add your employee’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username (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. As 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 specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the 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 your staff member’s details …

(Add Staff Member fields)

After you are done inputting details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section in the sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen 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 to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

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

(Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or making changes to a staff member’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 your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• How To Navigate Around The WordPress Control Area

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

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using WP permalinks here:

• How To Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add new members to your employee directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done adding staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your staff members and all details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details)

If you need to edit an individual’s entry, just hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile)

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

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

(Search Staff Members search feature)

You can specify which fields to display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Screen Options)

Placing a tick in the item’s checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order that entries appear on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order in the main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added staff details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you create the style and layout of your staff 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 brings up 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 used for displaying listings …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Your directory details will now display as shown in the example below …

(Directory listings with social media links)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with CSS code and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

In addition to allowing you to customize your directory 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 Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations allowed by the Simple Staff List plugin.

For example, a useful variation you can choose 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=”technical engineers”])

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

Options Menu

In your main admin menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options 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 support, go to the Simple Staff List plugin website and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use. For example, here are a few other plugins you can use:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

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)

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

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

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory 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 installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone, image 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 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 shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just a 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 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

This 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 sourced from Staffer website)

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

Learn more here:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

If the directory plugins listed above 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 Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create 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 display fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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