Tag: WordPress Staff Plugin

No doubt you’ve already heard that people tend to buy from businesses they know, like and trust.

If you are looking for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ideas to sell more products online or get people to interact more with your site, then make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your business better.

If your site is powered by the WordPress CMS platform, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress staff list plugin that will let you add information about your partners, your business team, or your employees.

In this tutorial, we show you how to easily add a simple and easy-to-update list of employees or team members in your website without coding skills.

Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To Your 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)

Simple Staff List lets you easily staff members (you could also use it to display board of directors, etc.).

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

Log into the WordPress administration and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(WordPress Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, you will notice that new menu will appear in the main WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Simple Staff List – Plugin Configuration

Depending on how many people are in your business and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could just begin adding new staff entries after installing the plugin, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your directory categories go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

The Groups panel …

(Groups section)

Note: Adding groups works just like WordPress categories …

(Groups work like categories)

Create new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group category name
2. Slug – Type in 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 – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Enter a category description in this field (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to set up your new category …

(Groups settings)

If you are a business that employs many people, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, project teams, departments, etc.

Create as many categories and nested groups as you need 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 each new item …

To edit Groups for individual entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click on Update Group  to save your changes …

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

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested categories)

After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can begin to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This loads 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 profile and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit the permalink URL associated with each staff member if you want (you will see this section after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your staff members here. Since this uses the default WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your employee to a specific 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 can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Add New Staff Member fields)

Once you have finished entering each staff member’s details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups feature located in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group)

A field for creating a group name will appear, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

A new group will be created. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

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 above for details).

***

After typing in your team member’s details, click the Publish button to add them to the directory …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using the admin toolbar here:

• Your WordPress Control Area Explained

Note: If you see a ‘page not found’ error like the one shown below, check that you have configured your site permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)

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

• Configuring WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to add more details to your staff directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details list)

If you need to modify an individual’s entry, hover over their name, and a submenu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members profile info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate a member …

(Search Staff Members search box)

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

(Screen Options tab)

Selecting a checkbox displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are listed per page. Click Apply when finished to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that entries appear on your directory page.

Select Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list)

After adding your member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to a desired position …

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Simple Staff List Templates page)

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 Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your directory will now look like …

(Staff profiles with social media links)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations that you can use.

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

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

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, go to the Simple Staff List plugin site and contact the plugin developer.

Additional Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your employees in WordPress. Here are a few other free plugins you can look at:

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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also add custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

This plugin provides 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.

Go here to learn more:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and customizable single views, as well as fields like position title, email address, phone, pic and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to read more about each employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders or just a 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.

The Employee Spotlight pluginincludes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

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:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 onsite employee 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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staffer – WordPress 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.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add a simple team members directory to your WordPress site using a free plugin.

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

***

***