Tag: WP Staff Directory Plugin

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

If you are looking for cost-effective 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 you, your team and your business better.

If your site runs on WordPress, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your partners, your team, or your staff using a WordPress staff list plugin.

This tutorial shows you how to create an easy-to-manage staff directory in your WordPress site.

Step-By-Step Tutorial: 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 – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily build a simple staff directory for.

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

Log into the WP dashboard and from the admin menu, click on 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 plugin search results.

Click on the Install Now button …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating your plugin, a new entry will show up in your WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

All of the settings for your plugin are configured and managed from 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 staff directory, you could start adding new staff members after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to individual members.

Staff Members – Groups

To set up your categories go to your dashboard menu and choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members Menu – Groups)

This brings up the Groups section …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Configuring groups works in the same way as configuring WordPress categories …

(Groups are like WordPress 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 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 nested groups
4. Description – Type in a category description here (optional)
5. Click Add New Group when done to create your new group name …

(Groups area)

If you run a medium to large organization, the ability to set up different groups can be very useful. For example, you can create categories for investors, developers, faculties, 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 hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

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

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

Your selected category open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

To edit the Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose Quick Edit …

Click on Update Group  when done to save your changes …

Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

Add as many nested categories as you like …

(Nested groups)

Once you are done setting up your groups, the next step is to begin adding staff details to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This brings you to the Add New Staff Member settings screen …

(Add New Staff Member screen)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: Your staff member’s name
• Permalink: You can edit the slug for your staff member if required (you will see this section after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: The employee’s position
• Email: Type the person’s email address here
• Phone Number: Your employee’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type your staff member’s Facebook URL (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Type the staff member’s Twitter username here (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 format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign your staff member to a group (see above to learn how to set up groups).

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)

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

(Staff directory fields)

After you are done inputting each of you staff member’s details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups box in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you have not set up directory groups before starting to add new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups - + Add New Group)

A field for creating a group name will display, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

A new group will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your entry to the group …

(New group)

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

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After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

To modify your employee’s profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in the WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

If you need help using the dashboard admin toolbar , go here:

• The WordPress Control Screen – An Overview

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

(Check your permalinks if you get errors)

If you need help setting up permalinks in WordPress, refer to this step-by-step tutorial:

• Configuring WordPress Permalinks

Repeat the above process to continue adding new details to your employee directory directory.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff members into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

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

(Staff Members details table)

If you need to change an individual’s details, just hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.

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

(Edit Staff Members profile details)

If you have added many employees to this section, your list can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to locate listing 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 on Screen Options …

(Staff Members Screen Options)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically rearranged …

(Reordered list entries)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Choose Staff Members > Order on your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

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

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

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

Templates Menu

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

(Staff Members – Templates)

This brings up the Templates screen …

(Templates screen)

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

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

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The The code shown above displays your 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 …

(Use template tags to customize your directory page)

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

(Directory listings with social media links)

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

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, select Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This brings up the Usage page …

(Simple Staff List plugin shortcodes)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations that the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to use.

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

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

Options Menu

Click Staff Members >Options in your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This brings up the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

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

You can also export your staff members info by going to your dashboard menu and choosing Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin help or support, go to the Simple Staff List support page and request help from the plugin developer.

Additional Staff Directory Plugins

Simple Staff List isn’t the only for creating a directory of your employees in WordPress. For example, here are a few other plugins you can use to add a staff directory on your website:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

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

You can also create custom fields …

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

Go here to learn more:

• Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

The Faculty And Staff Directory plugin 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.

Go here to learn more about the plugin:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin lets you add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including list and customizable single views, as well as fields like job title, email, phone, image and bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to read 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 also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just a single person in a 4-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, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of 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 circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)

More info:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

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

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

Staffer works immediately 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 List
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Staff Plugin WordPress
• etc.

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

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

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