How To Create A Shortcode With HTML And PHP Code

Shortcodes are powerful tools in web development that allow you to insert dynamic content or execute functions with just a simple code snippet. In this article, we will explore how to create a shortcode using HTML and PHP code to enhance the functionality of your website. So let’s dive in and learn how to create a shortcode with HTML and PHP code.

A shortcode is typically enclosed in square brackets, such as [shortcode]. When WordPress encounters a shortcode within a post or page, it replaces it with the corresponding output. However, shortcodes are not limited to WordPress alone and can be implemented in any PHP-based web application.

How to Create a Shortcode with HTML and PHP Code

Step 1: Setting up the Environment

Before we start creating our shortcode, we need to ensure that we have a suitable development environment. Make sure you have a text editor or an integrated development environment (IDE) installed. Additionally, you’ll need a web server with PHP support to test your code.

Step 2: Creating the Shortcode Function

In PHP, we create a shortcode by defining a function that will be executed when the shortcode is encountered. Let’s begin by creating a function and giving it a unique name. For the purpose of this tutorial, let’s call it my_custom_shortcode.

function my_custom_shortcode() {
    // Function code here
}

Step 3: Adding HTML Content

To include HTML content within the shortcode, you can use PHP’s echo statement to output the desired HTML. Let’s add some HTML code to our function.

function my_custom_shortcode() {
    $output = '<div class="shortcode-container">';
    $output .= '<h2>How to create a shortcode with HTML and PHP code</h2>';
    $output .= '<p>This is an example of a custom shortcode created using HTML and PHP code.</p>';
    $output .= '</div>';

    echo $output;
}

In this example, we’ve created a container <div> with a heading and a paragraph describing what the shortcode does. Feel free to customize the HTML content according to your needs.

Step 4: Registering the Shortcode

To enable the execution of our shortcode, we need to register it using the add_shortcode() function provided by WordPress. Although we are not specifically targeting WordPress in this tutorial, the concept of registering a shortcode remains the same across various PHP applications.

function my_custom_shortcode() {
    $output = '<div class="shortcode-container">';
    $output .= '<h2>How to create a shortcode with HTML and PHP code</h2>';
    $output .= '<p>This is an example of a custom shortcode created using HTML and PHP code.</p>';
    $output .= '</div>';

    return $output;
}

add_shortcode('my_shortcode', 'my_custom_shortcode');

In the add_shortcode() function, the first parameter specifies the shortcode name you want to use (in this case, ‘my_shortcode’). The second parameter refers to the function that should be executed when the shortcode is encountered (‘my_custom_shortcode’ in this case).

Step 5: Utilizing the Shortcode

Now that we have created our shortcode, we can use it within our posts, pages, or templates by simply inserting the shortcode within square brackets. In our case, the shortcode would be [my_shortcode].

<p>Here is an example of using the custom shortcode:</p>
[my_shortcode]

When the page containing the shortcode is rendered, it will be replaced with the HTML content defined in our shortcode function.

Conclusion

Creating a shortcode with HTML and PHP code allows you to enhance the functionality of your website by providing dynamic and reusable content. By following the steps outlined in this article, you

For creating a shortcode, you need a shortcode action and a function which will execute when the shortcode is called. So here is an example of how you can do it.

I am adding a simple shortcode which will run on a single post page. So we have to get a post variable which is defined globally in WordPress. You can simply call it via

global $post;

If you want to print some post meta like I want to print post second image and I created second_image as a meta key from ACF.

So I can simply print it via the following code.

Copy Code


add_shortcode('print_second_image','func_print_second_image');
function func_print_second_image(){
global $post;
return get_post_meta($post->ID,'second_image',true);
}

Note*
The second parameter of add_shortcode will be the function name which will be called when you call shortcode. You can define shortcode like anything you want but for function, you have to remember following things

– The name of the function cannot start with a number.
– A PHP function cannot be overloaded or redefined.
– PHP functions are case-insensitive.
– Any variable declared and defined within a function is restricted within the function only – Unless, accompanied by a “global” keyword.

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How To Create A Shortcode With HTML And PHP Code