Tag: WP Staff Directory Plugin

Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people tend to buy from businesses they already know, like and trust.

Are you looking for cost-effective ways to grow your business online and increase user interaction with your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your business better.

If your website runs on the WordPress CMS platform, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to add a staff list plugin that will let you display a directory listing with information about your key people, your faculty, or your employees.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to easily add an easy-to-manage simple staff directory to your web site using a free WordPress plugin.

Adding A Staff Directory: WordPress Plugin Tutorial

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

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress)

Simple Staff List is a free plugin that lets you easily create a simple staff directory list for.

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

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

(WordPress 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 …

(Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, you will notice that new menu entry will have been added to your main WP menu bar called Staff Members …

(Staff Members menu)

The Staff Members 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 the Staff Members menu.

Configuring Simple Staff List

Depending on how many people are in your organization and how you want to structure your employee directory, you could just begin to add new staff details at this point, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign yourstaff into.

Staff Members – Groups

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

(Staff Members – Groups)

This brings up the Groups settings screen in your browser …

(Groups settings screen)

Note: Configuring groups works just like categories in WordPress …

(Groups work like categories)

Create a new group by typing in the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your 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 – Enter the category description in this field
5. Click Add New Group when done to set up a new category …

(Groups settings area)

If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to set up different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create groups for founders, 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 change or reassign Groups for an individual item, hover over a category title and select the Edit link …

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

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

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

Click on Update Group  to save your 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 categories)

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

Staff Members – Add New

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

(Staff Members – Add New)

This takes you to the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

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

Name Section (1)

• Name: The employee’s name
• Permalink: You can change each employees’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

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

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Enter a profile description for your employees here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can format content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: You can assign a staff or team member to a specific 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 tab)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

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

(Add Staff Member fields)

Once you are done entering details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups feature in your sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you have not set up directory groups before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Groups > + Add New Group)

A field for entering a new group name will appear, with a drop-down menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new category and click on the Add New Group button …

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

(New group)

Note: Groups cannot be edited when a staff member’s details are being added or edited. 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 entering the person’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

You can update the staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in the admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WordPress admin toolbar)

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

• The WordPress Dashboard – An Overview

Note: If errors shows up like the one shown in the screenshot below, check that you have set up your site’s permalinks correctly …

(Check your permalinks if you get ’not found’ page errors)

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

• Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

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

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After you are done entering employee or team members to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members on your main menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table with all the directory items and their details …

(Staff Members details)

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

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

(Edit Staff Members info)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your list can become unwieldy.

Use the Search Staff Members search box to locate entries if necessary …

(Search Staff Members search box)

You can specify which fields can display in this section. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Screen Options)

Placing a tick in the item’s check box displays the field and unselecting it hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when finished to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

The plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order that listings show on your directory page.

Choose Staff Members > Order in your dashboard menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

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

(Rearrange employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will be automatically reorganized …

(Reordered list)

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

Staff Members – Order

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

Select Staff Members > Order on the main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

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

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reordered …

(Reordered list entries)

After adding all members’ details to the directory, the next step is to make the directory show to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

Simple Staff List lets you customize the style and layout of your staff directory items 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 main admin menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(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 Staff Loop Template …

(Default Staff Loop Template)

The This code displays your listing as shown below …

(Default Staff Loop Template Listing)

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

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your directory should now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media URLs)

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

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=”sales reps”])

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

Options Menu

Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options page …

(Simple Staff List – Options settings)

This section lets you modify labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

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

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need plugin support, go to the plugin support page and contact the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Staff Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only for displaying a directory of your staff in WordPress. Here are some other plugins you can look at for adding a directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory)

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 go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

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

The plugin lets you add custom fields …

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

More info:

• Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory)

This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

This plugin lets you add your staff, team or faculty to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, plus as fields like title, email address, phone, photo and staff 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 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 go here:

• Company Directory

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WP Plugin)

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

Employee Spotlight installs with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees selected in the editor, plus two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

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

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

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight – Plugin For WordPress

Staffer

(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)

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 a staff directory on your website …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)

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

More info:

• Staffer – WordPress Plugin

If the above plugins 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 List
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Simple Staff List Template WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee or team member directory to your WordPress site, so your site visitors can get to know your team better.

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

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