Tag: WordPress Staff List

Something that is often quoted in marketing circles, is that people often tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.

Are you searching for ways to sell more products online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

Adding a directory of staff or faculty members to your site can help increase your online credibility and get more prospects buying from you.

This tutorial explains how to create and add a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff to your WordPress site.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory In WordPress

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

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily employee.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into your WordPress administration and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(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 …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

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

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

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

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings you to the Groups screen …

(Groups section)

Note: Adding directory groups works in the same way as configuring categories …

(Groups work just like categories)

Add a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Enter the URL-friendly version of your group 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 nested categories
4. Description – Enter the group description
5. Click Add New Group when done to set up a new directory group …

(Groups area)

If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested categories)

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

To edit or reassign Groups for an individual item, hover your mouse button over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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 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)

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

Staff Members – Add New

From your WordPress admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit the slug associated with your staff member if you want (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type your staff member’s position here
• Email: The staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in your staff member’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type your staff member’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employees here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign your employee to a group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You can 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 New Staff Member fields)

Once you are done entering 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 categories before adding new staff members, you can add a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups > + Add New Group)

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 directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

A new directory category will be added. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign an employee’s details to the group …

(Groups box)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an employee or faculty member’s details. 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 …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• Your WP Dashboard Explained

Note: If you have set up groups and get errors like the one shown below, check that you have set up your site permalinks correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial on using permalinks here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to add more members to your directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members list)

If you need to change an individual’s details, just hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you want to edit the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from the staff directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by selecting 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 feature to locate listing items …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to update your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange staff listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you are done adding employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you set the order that entries show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to a new position …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you have added member listing details to your directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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 …

(Default Plugin Template)

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

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your directory page)

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Staff profiles with social media URLs)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with template tags or are not sure what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

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

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

This screen displays all different shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can decide to use to display only members of 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 adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).

Options Menu

In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

You can also export your staff members data from the Tools > Export page …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, go to the Simple Staff List faq page and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your staff. For example, here are other free WordPress plugins you can use for adding a staff directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

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 about the plugin here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

The plugin also lets you set up custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin was developed to provide 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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Plugin)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone, image 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 source: Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

More info:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, partners or just a single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

This plugin includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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

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

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

Learn more here:

• Staffer – WP Plugin

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

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

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

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