Tag: WordPress Staff List

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

Are you searching for cost-effective ideas to sell more products online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then make it easier for visitors to get to know your business better.

If your website runs on the WordPress CMS, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to use a WordPress directory plugin that lets you add a directory listing with information about your partners, your team, or your employees.

This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory to your WordPress site.

How To Add A Staff List Directory: Plugin Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

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

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

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

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new entry will display on the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

This menu is where you will configure and manage all of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration

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

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups settings screen …

(Groups area)

Note: Configuring directory groups is similar to creating WordPress categories …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group 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 groups
4. Description – Type in a category description (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new category …

(Groups area)

If you work with a larger organization, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for partners, developers, 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 assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

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

Your selected category 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 your mouse over the group name and click on Quick Edit …

Click the Update Group button when done …

Continue adding group names to this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested categories)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

This screen 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
• Permalink: Here you can edit your staff members’ permalink URL (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 employee’s position
• Email: The staff member’s email
• Phone Number: The employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type the staff member’s Twitter username (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 default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Staff directory settings)

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

(Groups section)

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

(Groups > + Add New Group link)

A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

Your new category will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign your listing to the group …

(Groups feature)

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

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

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

• The WP Control Section Explained

Note: If you get a page error like the one shown below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

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

• Setting Up WordPress Permalinks

Keep adding more details to your directory directory as described above.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your directory entries and all details you have added with each entry …

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to make changes to an individual’s entry, hover your mouse over their 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 such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from your employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members details)

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

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

(Search members)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Selecting a check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which entries display on your directory page.

Choose 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 automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the item to a desired location …

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the layout and style of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Plugin Template)

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

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your directory should now look like …

(Directory listings with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your main admin menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.

A useful variation you can decide to use, for example, to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”partners”])

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

Options Menu

In the main menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

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

(Export Staff Members information)

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

Additional Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List isn’t the only adding a listing of your faculty. Here are some other plugins you can check out:

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)

Learn more here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

The plugin also lets you create custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: plugin website)

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

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 installs a widget that allows you to feature a profile in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Company Directory plugin lets you easily add your staff to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like title, email, phone number, image and staff bio, allowing you to present 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WordPress 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.

With the Employee Spotlight plugin, you get 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 staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Plugin)

Staffer 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 onsite employee directory …

(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.

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Staffer – WordPress Plugin

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
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to add an easy-to-update simple team members directory to your website using a free plugin.

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

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