Tag: WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

No doubt you already know that people generally will buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products online, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know your business better.

If your site is driven by the WordPress CMS platform, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to display information about your key partners, your team, or your staff members using a WordPress staff list plugin.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to add an easy-to-maintain simple employee directory to a WordPress site without editing code.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add A Staff List Directory

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you staff members.

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

Log into your WP admin and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins area, 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 on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

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

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just start to add new employee entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your employees.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your directory categories go to your WordPress dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups settings panel …

(Groups screen)

Note: Adding directory groups is just like configuring categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your 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 a group description (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create your new directory category …

(Groups settings)

If you manage a larger organization, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, developers, departments, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

To change or reassign Groups for a specific item, hover your mouse button over a category title and click on the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group settings)

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 the Update Group button when done to save your changes …

Add as many group names as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you are done 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, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Slug: Edit the slug associated with each employee if you want (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type the employee’s position here
• Email: The employee’s email
• Phone Number: Type the person’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type your employee’s Twitter username (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 here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign the individual to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up your directory groups before adding new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display 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 the Add New Group button …

A new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign the person’s listing to the group …

(New group added)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. 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 typing in your employee’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• Your WordPress Dashboard – A Step-By-Step Tutorial

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

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

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

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to add more entries to your staff directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you have added staff members into your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the staff profiles and their details …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to modify individual entries, hover over their listing, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to update the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a member from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Editing Staff Members info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can become unwieldy.

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

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab …

(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 shown 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 in which entries show on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in the main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your visitors.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which entries display on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order on your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding staff listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List 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 the menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory listings, insert 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 Staff Loop Template)

The The code shown above displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your listings page should now look like …

(Directory listings with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen displays all different shortcode variations allowed by 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=”sales trainers”])

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

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

You can also export your staff members info by going to your main admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the Simple Staff List support page and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can use for creating a directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

The Modern Team Staff Directory 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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

The plugin lets you use custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory 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 a profile in a widget area.

Learn more here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

Company Directory lets you easily add your employees, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email address, phone number, photo 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

Go here to learn more:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, founders or just a single member of your team 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 selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.

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

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

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer)

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 employee directory on your site …

(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.

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

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 Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to add a simple and easy-to-manage simple employee directory to your site using free plugins.

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

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