Tag: WP Staff Directory Plugin

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

If you are searching for simple ways to sell more products or services online and get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is help your prospects get to know you and your organization better.

If your web presence is built with the WordPress CMS, a simple way to help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key people, your business team, or your staff using a WordPress directory plugin.

This tutorial will show you how to add a simple and easy-to-update directory of staff to WordPress.

How To Add An Employee Directory

In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you staff.

First, let’s install and activate the plugin.

Log into the WP dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins area, 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)

Click on the Activate Plugin link …

(Activate plugin)

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

(Staff Members menu)

This 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 this menu.

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can start to add new staff details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual employees.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups settings …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Configuring directory groups works just like categories in WordPress …

(Groups work like categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group 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 the group description in this field (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create your new group …

(Groups settings area)

If you manage a medium to large organization, having the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for partners, developers, faculties, etc.

Create as many groups and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to organize these into a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

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

Your selected item will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new parent category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group settings)

Click Update when done …

To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  to save your changes …

Continue adding categories in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

Add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested categories)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member section)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The staff member’s name
• Permalink: You can change each staff members’ slug (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Enter the employee’s position here
• Email: Add the staff member’s email
• Phone Number: Type in the person’s phone number into this field
• Facebook URL: Type in the employee’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type your company’s Twitter username here (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 employee here. Since this uses the built-in WordPress Text Editor, you can format content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign the individual 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)

You can enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

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

(Staff directory fields)

Once you have finished inputting details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Groups > + Add New Group)

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

Your new group will be added. Remember to tick the check box to assign a person to the group …

(New group added in Groups feature)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing someone’s details. To edit a group entry, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section above for details).

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

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

We have created a detailed tutorial on using the WP admin toolbar here:

• The WP Administration Screen – A Tutorial

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

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

To learn more about setting up permalinks, see this tutorial:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all the listing entries and their details …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to edit individual details, simply hover over their name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from the employee directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Edit Staff Members details)

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

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

(Search members)

The plugin also lets you specify which fields to display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(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 shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to update your settings …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you specify the order in which listings show on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding your staff listing details to the directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in the WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list items)

After adding all employees’ details to the directory, the next step is to add your directory to your visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(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, here is a screenshot of the Default Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to Staff Loop Template)

Your employee entries will now display Facebook and Twitter links as as shown below …

(Directory listings with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess around with code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

As well as allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your WordPress admin menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all different shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.

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=”senior staff”])

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

Options Menu

In your menu, select Staff Members >Options …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

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

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need help with the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the Simple Staff List faq page.

Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only for creating a directory of your team members. For example, here are a few other free WordPress plugins you can look at for adding an employee directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

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)

Go here to learn more:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory)

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

You can also insert custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

Faculty And Staff Directory 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.

Learn more here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and table views, as well as fields like job title, email address, phone number, image and member bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can 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 in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, partners or just one single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

This plugin comes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff/employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an employee directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

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

More info:

• 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 Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has explained how to add a simple and easy-to-manage staff directory to your web site.

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

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