Tag: WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

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

If you are searching for cost-effective ideas to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.

Adding a ‘Meet Our Team’ directory to your site can help increase your credibility online and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.

This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain directory of staff to your web site.

How To Easily Add A Staff Directory: Tutorial

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

Simple Staff List is free and lets you create a simple staff directory for.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new menu entry will have been added to the main WP admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could start adding new staff entries at this at this stage, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen …

(Groups screen)

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

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Type in 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 – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in the category description (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create a new directory category …

(Groups screen)

If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, project teams, 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 organize these into a hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

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

To edit Groups for a particular entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

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

Click Update Group when done …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested categories)

Once you are done setting up your hierarchical structure, the next step is to begin adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This loads 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 details and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Modify each employees’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign an employee or team member to a specific 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)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups box)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group)

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

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

(Groups feature)

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

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After entering the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To edit the person’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

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

• The WordPress Dashboard – A Tutorial

Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using WordPress permalinks here:

• Configuring WordPress Permalinks

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details)

If you need to make changes to an individual’s details, hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members profile info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate entries if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Screen Options)

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 screen options …

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order in which entries show on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list items)

Once you have added employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site users.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which your employees display on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory on your site.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop 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 add the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags to the template loop, as shown in the example below …

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your listings page will now look like …

(Directory with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

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

A useful variation you can add, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Asia Pacific Region”])

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options on your menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Options settings screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need specific help with the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the Simple Staff List faq page and contact the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use. For example, here are other plugins you can check out for adding an employee directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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)

Learn more here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

The plugin also lets you use custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

This plugin lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, pic and 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 members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just one single member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

Employee Spotlight 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 viewer’s screen.

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: Employee Spotlight plugin website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory 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 employee directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

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

More info:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

If the above plugins 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 List
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple staff directory to your WordPress site, so you can showcase the people in your business, team, or organization.

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

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