Tag: WP Staff Directory Plugin

Consumer buying habits show that people will mostly buy from people they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for ways to sell more products or services online, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust your business better.

If you have a WordPress site, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your team, or your employees using a directory plugin.

In this tutorial, we explain how to easily add an easy-to-update directory of employees to your web site using a free plugin.

WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free WordPress plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

The Simple Staff List plugin is a free WordPress plugin that lets you easily employee (you could also use it to display faculty, etc.).

The first step is to install and activate the Simple Staff List plugin.

Log into your WP administration and from the admin menu section, choose Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

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

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new entry will show up in the WordPress menu bar called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

Configuring The Plugin

Depending on the size of your organization and how you want to structure your directory, you could begin adding new employee entries at this point, or create different groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. In your WordPress dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen in your web browser …

(Groups settings)

Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as configuring categories …

(Groups are like categories)

Create new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your group category name here
2. Slug – Type in the URL-friendly version of your category 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 nested categories
4. Description – Enter your group description here (optional)
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new directory group …

(Groups screen)

If you manage a business that employs many people, being able to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for investors, project teams, 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 organize these into a directory hierarchy …

(Nested categories)

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

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

The item will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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

Click the Update Group button after making changes …

Add as many group names as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested groups as you like …

(Nested groups)

After you are done setting up your directory structure, you can begin to add your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This opens up the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …

(Add New Staff Member settings screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Permalink: Edit your staff members’ slug (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Add a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Groups Section (5)

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

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

(Screen options)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings)

Once you have entered details, assign the new item to a directory group in the Groups section located in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

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

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will appear allowing you to create a new group name, 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 the Add New Group button …

Your new directory category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign an individual to the group …

(New group added in Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups 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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• The WP Administration Area Explained

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

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

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

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With SEO-Friendly URLs

Continue adding more entries to your staff or faculty directory as shown above until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

Once you have entered all employees to your directory, you can view and edit their details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table listing all your employees and their details …

(Staff Members table)

If you need to edit an individual’s entry, simply hover your mouse over their listing, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to modify the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove a listing from your employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking on View …

(Edit Staff Members profile info)

If you have many employees, your table can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search field to locate items if required …

(Search Staff Members search feature)

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

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Selecting a check box 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 settings …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order in which listings display on your directory pages.

Choose Staff Members > Order in the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your listings, click and drag the entry to its new location …

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To reorder your items, click and drag the entry to the new location …

(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates page …

(Simple Staff List Templates screen)

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

For example, here is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Staff Loop Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

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

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)

Here is what your listings page will 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 code or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for help.

Usage Menu

As well as allowing you to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin lets you display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your main menu, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Usage Shortcode screen)

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

A useful variation you can select, for example, 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=”sales trainers”])

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

Options Menu

Click Staff Members >Options in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need plugin support, visit the plugin faq page and request help from the plugin developer.

Other Employee Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only WordPress staff directory plugin you can use. Here are some other plugins you can check out:

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)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin lets you easily create a directory of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.

You can also create custom fields …

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

For more details, visit the plugin site 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, school or university.

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

More info:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Company Directory lets you easily add your employees to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, plus as fields like job title, email address, phone number, pic 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 source: plugin website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays employees, founders 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.

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

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

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight plugin website)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

This plugin 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 almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

More info:

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

Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to add a simple and easy-to-manage staff directory to your WordPress site.

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

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