Tag: WordPress Staff Plugin

You have no doubt heard that people generally will buy from businesses they know, like and trust.

Are you looking for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ideas to grow your business online? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.

Adding an employee directory to your website will help to personalize your business.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily create and add a list of employees or team members in your site.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Add An Employee Directory To Your WordPress Site

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost plugin that lets you easily build a basic staff directory list for.

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

Log into the WP administration and from the admin menu, click on Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After the plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will have been added to the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can start adding new employee details at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign youremployees into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups settings panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Setting up directory groups is very similar to working with categories in WordPress …

(Groups work like WordPress categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up nested categories
4. Description – Enter a category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to set up the new group …

(Groups settings area)

If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, project teams, 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 build a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

To change Groups for individual items, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The selected item’s details open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update 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 to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested categories your staff directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add the employee’s name
• Permalink: Edit the slug associated with your employee if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you did not set up your directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a new group by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group link)

A field for entering your group name will display, 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 group will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 entering your staff member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the employee directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• Your WP Control Panel – A Tutorial

Note: If you have set up groups and get ’page not found’ errors like the one shown below, check that your site’s permalinks have been configured correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get a page error)

To learn more about setting up permalinks, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Repeat the above process to continue adding more members to your employee or partner directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you have finished adding employee details into your directory, you can view and edit details by selecting Staff Members > All Staff Members on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the staff members and details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members table)

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

Click on Edit if you need to make changes to their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove an entry from your directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

If you have many items added to this section, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find items …

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings appear on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the item to the new location …

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order on your menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin allows you to create the style and layout of your staff 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 the main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

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

(Default Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your listings page should now look like …

(Directory with social media URLs added)

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

Usage Menu

In addition to being able 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 brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

In the dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Options settings screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List faq page.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only plugin you can use to display a listing of your staff in WordPress. Here are a few other plugins you can check out to create a directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also use custom fields …

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

Learn more about the plugin here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

Faculty And Staff Directory 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.

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone number, photo and member bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors will be able to 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

More info:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just one individual member of your team in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on 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 device screen size.

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

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Staffer 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 employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

If the directory plugins listed above 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
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to add an updatable simple faculty directory in in WordPress without touching code.

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

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