Shortcodes are a powerful feature in WordPress that allow you to add complex functionality to your website with just a single line of code. Whether you want to display a slideshow, embed a video, or add a contact form, shortcodes make it easy to do so.
When it comes to actually creating a shortcode in WordPress, the process is fairly straightforward. Here’s an example of how to create a basic shortcode that displays the current year:
Steps for creating shortcode
- Open your theme’s functions.php file (you can access this file by going to Appearance > Theme Editor in the WordPress dashboard).
- Add the following code to the file:
function current_year_shortcode() {
$year = date('Y');
return $year;
}
add_shortcode('current_year', 'current_year_shortcode');
3. Save this code
4. Place shorcode in wordpress page or post where you want to display the shortcode content.
This code defines a function called current_year_shortcode that gets the current year using the PHP date function and returns it. It then uses the add_shortcode function to register the shortcode [current_year] with WordPress, which will call the current_year_shortcode function when the shortcode is used.
Save the changes to your functions.php file and go to a page or post on your website where you want to use the shortcode. Add the shortcode [current_year] to the content area, and when you view the page, it should display the current year.
That’s it! With just a few lines of code, you can create your own custom shortcodes in WordPress and add powerful functionality to your website.
