Tag: WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Many business experts have successfully proven over time that people generally tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online? Then one of the things you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust your organization better.

Adding a directory of employees to your site can lead to increased trust, increase your online credibility and get more prospects to buy from you.

This tutorial explains how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory to your web site.

Tutorial: How To Add An Employee List Directory

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you display basic information to visitors about your staff on your site.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into your dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place yourstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by configuring your directory groups. From your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups settings area …

(Groups settings)

Note: Configuring directory groups is just like configuring categories …

(Groups are like categories)

Create a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category. 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 groups
4. Description – Enter a category description
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to set up the new category …

(Groups settings)

If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, project teams, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click Update Group when done …

Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add the staff member’s name
• Permalink: Here you can change each employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Enter your staff member’s role
• Email: Type in the person’s email
• Phone Number: Type the staff member’s phone number into this field
• Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add the 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 employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options tab)

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 staff member’s details …

(Add Staff Member fields)

Once you have finished entering each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you have not set up categories before adding staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group feature)

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 group and click on the Add New Group button …

A new category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your list entry to the group …

(New group added)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee 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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your staff directory …

Click View Post …

To make changes to your employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WP admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Your WP Dashboard – An Overview

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

(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)

For a detailed tutorial on setting up permalinks, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With SEO-Friendly URLs

Repeat the above process to add new details to your staff or faculty directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table of all your directory entries and the details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to modify an individual’s details, just hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members info)

If you have many entries, your table can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to find entries …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when done to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order that entries show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the item to its desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

After adding your member details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List also lets you customize the style and layout of your employee directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template)

The This code displays your directory listing as 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 display these fields, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Directory listings with social media links)

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

In your main menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations you can use with the plugin.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can add 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 inserting the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

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

Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to your main admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need additional information about the plugin, visit the plugin website and contact the plugin developer.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to build a faculty directory in WordPress. For example, here are some other free plugins you can look at:

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)

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also use custom fields …

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

Learn more here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin was developed to provide 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 profiles in a widget area.

More info:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone, pic and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know 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 sourced from plugin website)

This plugin uses simple shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just an 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.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer plugin website)

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

For more details go here:

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

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff or faculty directory to your WordPress site with no coding skills required, so you can better showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

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