Tag: WordPress Staff Plugin

You have no doubt heard that people tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

If you are searching for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products or services online, then something you can do, is help your prospects get to know you and your organization better.

Adding a directory of staff or faculty members to your site can generate more trust, boost your credibility online and get interested prospects to get in touch with you.

This tutorial will show you how to create and add an easy-to-update employee directory to your web site.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory To Your Site

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

Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily create a basic staff directory for.

First, let’s install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into your WP administration and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WP Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This should 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 entry will be added to the main WordPress admin menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

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

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you can begin adding new entries at this point, or create various groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual staff.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This opens up the Groups area …

(Groups settings)

Note: Adding directory groups is just like adding categories in WordPress …

(Groups are like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your group category name. 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 – Type in your group description (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when finished to create your new directory group …

(Groups section)

If you are a larger organization, having the ability to create groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, departments, etc.

Create as many groups and nested groups as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to build a hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

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

To change or reassign Groups for a specific entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

Your selected category will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

To change the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and select the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  after making changes …

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

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Add nested groups to your staff directory)

After you are done setting up your directory structure, the next step is to start adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This loads the Add New Staff Member settings …

(Add New Staff Member section)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Slug: Modify the permalink URL associated with each staff member if required (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 the person’s position here
• Email: Your staff member’s email address
• Phone Number: Enter the person’s phone number here
• Facebook URL: Type in the person’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type the person’s Twitter username here (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 or team member here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign your staff member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Staff directory settings)

Once you have finished entering details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

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

(Groups - + Add New Group)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new group and click on the Add New Group button …

The new directory category will be added. Make sure that the check box is ticked …

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing a staff member’s details. To edit a group entry, 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 employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• How To Use The WordPress Administration Area

Note: If a ‘page not found’ error shows up like the one shown in the example below, check that you have set up your site permalinks correctly …

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

To learn more about setting up permalinks, go here:

• Configuring Your WordPress Permalinks

Keep adding new details to your staff or faculty directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done adding staff members to your directory, you can view and edit their details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a list displaying all your directory items and the details you have added for each entry …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to modify individual details, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members profile details)

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

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate a member if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search box)

You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to save your screen options …

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your main menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered listings)

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

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface allowing you to arrange the order in which your employees show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

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

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Directory with social media URLs added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory 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 lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your dashboard menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List – Usage shortcodes)

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

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

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

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you change labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member title

You can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …

(Export Staff Members information)

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

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your staff. Here are some other free plugins you can use to create a staff directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

The plugin also lets you add custom fields …

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

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your employees to your site. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone, photo and 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses a simple shortcode system.

More info:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, 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, 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 Employee Spotlight plugin website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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 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 go here:

• Staffer – WP Staff Directory 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 Directory Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, now you know how to easily add a simple and easily updatable simple employee directory to your web site using a free WP plugin.

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

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