Tag: WP Staff Directory Plugin

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

If you are searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ideas to sell more products online or get people to stay longer on your site, then help visitors get to know, like and trust you and your organization better.

Adding a faculty directory to your website can help increase your online credibility and get more prospects considering using your services.

This tutorial explains how to add a simple and easy-to-maintain employee directory to your WordPress site.

Adding An Employee List Directory To Your WordPress Site

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

Simple Staff List

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

Simple Staff List lets you easily create a simple staff directory for.

The first step is to install and activate the plugin.

Log into your admin and navigate to 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 the plugin has been installed and activated, you will see that a new menu entry will appear on the main WordPress admin menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

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

How To Configure The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can just start to add new staff member details after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualgroup members into.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your groups go to your dashboard menu and select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

The Groups settings screen …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Configuring groups is very similar to working with WordPress categories …

(Groups work just like categories)

Add new groups by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Enter your category name here
2. Slug – Enter the slug of your group category name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – This section lets you set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in the group description here
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to set up the new directory group …

(Groups section)

If you run a larger organization, the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for partners, project teams, 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 build a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

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

The selected category details open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new 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 click on the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click the Update Group button when done …

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 …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member screen …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Add your employee’s name
• Slug: Modify each staff members’ permalink URL (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Add a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatting to the content entered in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign the person to a group (see above to learn how to set up your groups).

Click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

(Groups section)

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

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on Add New Group …

Your new category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your listing to the group …

(New group added)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when adding or editing an employee or team 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 filling in your employee’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

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

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

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

• Your WordPress Dashboard – A Tutorial

Note: If errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that you have correctly configured your site permalinks …

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

For a detailed tutorial on setting up permalinks in WordPress, go here:

• Improve Your WordPress SEO Using Permalinks

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

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

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a list with all your staff profiles and any details you have added for each entry …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to change individual entries, simply hover your mouse over their name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Editing Staff Members info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.

Use the Search Staff Members search feature to find items if necessary …

(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 …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide fields. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

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

Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order in your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

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

For example, below is the default template used for displaying directory listings …

(Default Template)

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

(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

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

Here is what your staff list should now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media links added)

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

Usage Menu

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

In your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This brings up the Usage screen …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations that you can use with this plugin.

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

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options in your WP admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings screen)

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

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

(Export Staff Members plugin info)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the plugin website and contact the plugin author.

Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your faculty. Here are other free WordPress plugins you can use to create a directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin)

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)

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, teams, etc.

You can also set up custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

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 profiles in a widget area.

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your staff to your website. Different layouts are included, including grid and single views, plus as fields like position title, email address, phone, image and staff 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 employee in a customizable single view …

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

This plugin uses shortcodes.

Go here to learn more:

• Company Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just an individual member of your team in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.

The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen in the viewer’s device.

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

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

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WP 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 site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from Staffer plugin website)

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

More info:

• Staffer

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

Hopefully, this step-by-step tutorial has helped you learn how to create an easy-to-update directory of staff members in your website.

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

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