Tag: WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Consumer buying habits show that people tend to buy from those they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online and increase user interaction on your site? Then something you can do, is help visitors get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.

Adding a staff directory to your site will help to let visitors learn more about the people behind your business.

In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to create and add an easy-to-manage directory of staff members in your web site without coding skills.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory In WordPress

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you easily build a simple staff directory list for.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

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

(WordPress 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  – plugin search results)

Click on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new entry will appear on the main WP menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

All of the settings and options for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

Configuring Simple Staff List

Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups settings …

(Groups area)

Note: Adding groups is very similar to creating WordPress categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

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

(Groups area)

If you run a larger organization, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.

Create as many groups and nested groups as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To change or reassign Groups for individual items, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

Your selected item’s details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update to save your changes …

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

Click Update Group when done …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter your staff member’s name
• Permalink: Change each employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

After you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your new item to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you have not set up categories before starting to add staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

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

(New group)

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 entering your employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this step-by-step tutorial:

• An Overview Of Your WordPress Admin Panel

Note: If a ‘page not found’ error 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 not found’ error)

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

• How To Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Repeat the above process to continue adding new details to your employee or faculty directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done entering employee details into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a list displaying all the staff members and the details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to edit individual details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Search members)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings display on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to its desired position …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added all of your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

The 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 your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you are done adding all of your member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory display to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin lets you customize the layout and style of your employee 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 the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The The code shown above will display your directory listing as shown below …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your listings page)

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Directory with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

As well as being able to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations you can use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can insert in your page 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”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options in your menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

Here you can change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

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, go to the Simple Staff List site.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. For example, here are some other free WordPress plugins you can use:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

The plugin also lets you insert custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Faculty And Staff Directory 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.

Learn more here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

This plugin lets you easily add your staff to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone, photo and member 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 employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

More info:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, 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 upon plugin activation.

With this plugin, you also get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.

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

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

For more details go here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Plugin)

This 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 plugin website)

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

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Staffer – WP 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 List
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add an easy-to-maintain simple employee directory to a WordPress site without touching code.

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

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