Tag: WordPress Staff List

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

If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ways to sell more products online and get people to interact more on your site, then help your visitors get to know your business better.

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

This tutorial will show you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of staff members in your web site.

How To Add A Staff Directory: Plugin Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily build a basic staff directory for.

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

Log into the WP administration and in your admin menu, choose Plugins > Add New …

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu entry will have been added to the WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

Configuring Simple Staff List

Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place youremployees into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s set up your directory groups. In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen in your web browser …

(Groups screen)

Note: Configuring directory groups works in the same way as adding categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
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 category description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group name …

(Groups settings area)

If you are a medium to large organization, being able to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for founders, 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 build a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

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

Your selected group will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new parent category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click Update Group when done to save your changes …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding names to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

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

(Add New Staff Member section)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Slug: Here you can edit your staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Enter the staff member’s role
• Email: Type the person’s email here
• Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type the staff member’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter 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 in a profile description for your employees here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign the person to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

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

(Groups box)

Note: If you did not set up groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting 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 to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …

The new directory category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(Groups section)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an individual’s details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

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After filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

If you need help using the admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• Your WordPress Dashboard Explained

Note: If you see errors like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get a ‘page not found’ error)

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

• Configuring Your WordPress Permalinks

Keep adding new details to your staff directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you are done entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the employees and details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to make changes to individual entries, simply hover over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

If you have many names to add, your table can become unwieldy.

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

(Search members)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

Once you are done adding members’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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

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

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

(Directory with social media URLs)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations allowed by the plugin.

For example, a useful variation you can add to your page to display a list of persons belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”Gold Level associates”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

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

(Export Staff Members info)

If you need additional information about this plugin, go to the plugin support page and request help from the plugin developer.

Other Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can look at to add a staff directory on your website:

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 the plugin:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress 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 profiles in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With Company Directory, you can easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, as well as fields like position title, email, phone number, pic and member 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 read more about each staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin uses shortcodes.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

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 upon plugin activation.

Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in 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 sourced from Employee Spotlight website)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Staffer 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 online staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory in WordPress.

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

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