Tag: WordPress Plugin Staff Directory

Many business experts often raise the point that people will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.

Are you searching for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online or get people to engage more on your site? Then make it easier for visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a directory to your site can generate increased trust, increase your credibility online and get interested prospects contacting you.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to easily add an easy-to-update list directory of employees to WordPress.

Adding An Employee List Directory To Your WordPress Site

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you display information about your staff members on your site.

First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

This menu is where you will manage and configure all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

How To Configure The Plugin

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

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This opens up the Groups section …

(Groups section)

Note: Setting up groups works just like categories …

(Groups work just like categories)

Add a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – This section lets you set up nested categories
4. Description – Enter the group description (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new directory group …

(Groups settings)

If you work with a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, developers, departments, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

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

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

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member section …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Permalink: Edit each staff members’ slug (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Enter the person’s position here
• Email: Your employee’s email address
• Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add your employee’s Facebook URL here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter your company’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 staff members here. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign your staff member to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you did not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

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

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

(New group added via Groups feature)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing a staff member’s details. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

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After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your staff directory …

Click View Post …

To update the staff member’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

We have created a detailed tutorial on using the admin toolbar here:

• The WordPress Dashboard – An Overview

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

(Check your permalinks if you get an error)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about setting up WordPress permalinks, go here:

• How To Configure WordPress Permalinks

Continue adding more details to your staff directory directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to change an individual’s details, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to edit their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

If you have many employees, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find items if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list)

After adding all staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin also lets you edit the layout and style of your directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Plugin Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)

Notice that there are no Facebook or Twitter addresses showing in the above listing. To make these fields show in the directory, you 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 Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your listings page should now look like …

(Directory with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize how your staff directory looks but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags or are not sure how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for help.

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, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

In your main menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

Here you can change some of the labels used in the plugin

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, visit the Simple Staff List support page.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for displaying a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can use for creating a directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

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

For more details go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and table views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone number, photo 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 read 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 plugin website)

This plugin uses shortcodes.

Learn more here:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just an individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on 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 device screen size.

Detailed information about  each employee 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

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 onsite 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.

More info:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

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

Hopefully, now you know how to add an updatable directory of staff members in a WordPress site without coding skills.

Images of persons used in this tutorial to portray staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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