Tag: WordPress Staff Plugin

Something often said in business circles, is that people tend to buy from people they already know, like and trust.

Are you searching for cost-effective ways to sell more products or services online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.

If your site is driven by the WordPress CMS, one way to easily help people get to know you better is to add a WordPress directory plugin that will let you display information about your key people, your team, or your employees.

In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to add an easy-to-update list directory of staff members in your WordPress site.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a free plugin that lets you easily display basic information to visitors about your staff on your site.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

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

(WP 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 …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will notice that new menu will have been added to the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

Here 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 the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could begin to add new entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your staff.

Staff Members – Groups

To configure your groups go to your WP dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This takes you to the Groups panel …

(Groups settings)

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

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group name here
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group. 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 category description
5. Click Add New Group when done to create a new directory category …

(Groups settings)

If you are a medium to large organization, being able to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, developers, faculties, etc.

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

(Nested groups)

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

To change Groups for an individual entry, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

The group details will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click the Update button when done …

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

Click Update Group after making changes …

Continue adding groups to this section until you have created your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested categories)

After you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to start to add staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

This section provides you with 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: Change each staff members’ slug (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo in this section

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your employee or faculty member here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can use HTML into this section.

Groups Section (5)

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

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up categories 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 a group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

The new category will be added. Make sure that the checkbox is ticked …

(New group)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing a staff member’s details. 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 typing in your staff or faculty member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To edit your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

To learn more about using the dashboard admin toolbar, see this tutorial:

• The WP Administration Panel Explained

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

(Not found error? Check your permalinks)

To learn more about setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With SEO-Friendly URLs

Continue adding new details to your employee directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members table)

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

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

(Editing Staff Members info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate listing items …

(Search Staff Members search feature)

You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show 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 specify how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be rearranged …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to add the directory to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered listings)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin allows you to edit the style and layout of your employee directory listings 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 menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Templates page)

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

For example, below is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying listings …

(Default Plugin Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Plugin Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Your directory entries will now display as as the screenshot below shows …

(Staff profiles with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

As well as being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List shortcodes)

This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that you can use with this plugin.

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

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …

(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 data from the Tools > Export screen …

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

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

Other WordPress Plugins For Creating Employee Directories

Simple Staff List isn’t the only plugin you can use to display a listing of your faculty members in WordPress. Here are other plugins you can check out:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

Modern Team Staff Directory 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

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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

You can also add custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Staff Directory

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school 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 – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory lets you easily add your staff, team or faculty to your site. Different layouts are included, including list and single views, plus as fields like job title, email, phone number, image 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 staff member in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.

Detailed information about  each faculty 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 – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

Staffer 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 plugin website)

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

Learn more about this plugin here:

• Staffer – WP 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 Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Directory Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update directory of staff members to WordPress.

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

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