Tag: WordPress Staff Plugin

Many business and marketing experts often raise the point that people will mostly buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for cost-effective ways to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for your prospects to get to know your business better.

If you are a WordPress user, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to add a staff list plugin that lets you display a directory containing information about your key people, your faculty, or your staff members.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you are going to learn how to add a simple and easily updatable simple staff directory to your WordPress site using a free WP plugin.

Adding A Staff List Directory

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

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost WordPress plugin that lets you staff.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into the admin and in your admin menu section, select Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu entry will display on your WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

Here is where you will configure and manage all of the options and settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed from this menu.

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just start to add new staff details after installing the plugin, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to assign your individualmembers into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your categories. From your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen in your web browser …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Setting up groups works just like categories …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group. 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 – Enter a category description in this field
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to create the new group …

(Groups screen)

If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to assign people to different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for investors, developers, faculties, 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 directory hierarchy …

(Nested groups)

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

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

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

To edit your Group name or slug, hover your mouse over the group name and select Quick Edit …

Click on Update Group  to save your changes …

Continue adding categories in this section 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 start adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings area)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Type your employee’s name
• Slug: Modify your staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type in your staff member’s role here
• Email: Type the person’s email
• Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in your company’s Facebook URL into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type the person’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. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups feature)

Note: If you have not set up groups before adding staff member details, you can create a group now by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to enter a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

A new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your list entry to the group …

(New group)

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

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on using the WordPress admin toolbar , go here:

• The WP Dashboard Explained

Note: If ’page not found’ errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that your permalinks have been configured correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

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

• Setting Up Your WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add new details to your employee or member directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to change individual details, simply hover your mouse over their name, and a submenu will appear.

Click on Edit if you want to edit the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a list item from the directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Editing Staff Members profile info)

If you have many employees, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find listing items if required …

(Search Staff Members search field)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also specify how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to its desired location …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order in the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the item to the new position …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you edit 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 opens the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

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

(Default Plugin Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Template Listing)

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

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

Here is what your directory should now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

In addition to being able 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 screen …

(Usage Shortcode section)

This screen provides a list of all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.

A useful shortcode variation you can add to your page, for example, to display a list of staff or faculty members belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales trainers”])

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

Here you can edit some of the labels used in the plugin

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

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin site.

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your employees. For example, here are other plugins you can check out:

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)

More info:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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

You can also set up custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

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

For more details go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and table views, plus as fields like job title, email address, 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 learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin also uses simple shortcodes.

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just an individual person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, plus 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 employee circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)

Learn more here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

The Staffer plugin 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 employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer website)

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staffer – WordPress Plugin

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

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

Images of persons used in this tutorial to depict fictitious staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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