Tag: WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

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

If you are searching for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products online, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.

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

This step-by-step tutorial explains how to create a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff members in your site.

Adding A Staff List Directory In WordPress

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily employee (you could also use it to display faculty, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

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

(WP 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  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu will display on the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are employed in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin to add new staff details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings up the Groups area …

(Groups settings screen)

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

(Groups work like categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category 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 a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter a group description in this field
5. Click Add New Group when done to set up a new directory group …

(Groups area)

If you work with a larger organization, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, developers, departments, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

The group will display in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update when done …

To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  after making changes …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add the staff member’s name
• Permalink: You can change your employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Your staff member’s role
• Email: Your staff member’s email
• Phone Number: Enter the employee’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: Add 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 employee here. As this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can use HTML 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).

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

(Screen options tab)

You can 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 New Staff Member settings)

Once you are done entering each of you staff member’s details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up directory groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

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

A new category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing employee details. To edit a group 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 …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

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

• How To Navigate Inside The WP Control Area

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

(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this tutorial:

• How To Improve Your WordPress SEO With SEO-Friendly URLs

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members list)

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

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

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

If you have many employees, your table can grow quite large.

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate member details if required …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Screen Options tab)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to save your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that your employee profiles show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List allows you to create the layout and style of your directory listings 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 your menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Templates page)

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

For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs)

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

Usage Menu

In addition to being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you 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 the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.

A useful variation you can add, 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=”senior staff”])

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

Options Menu

In the menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin website and request help from the plugin author.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. Here are other free plugins you can look at to add a staff directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress 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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

You can also add custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory 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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone, image and staff 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 plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just one individual member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.

Detailed information about  each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

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 a staff directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

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

More info:

• Staffer

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.

Hopefully, this tutorial has explained how to add an easy-to-maintain staff directory to WordPress.

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

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