10 WordPress Shortcodes and Plugins You Might Want To Try

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If you are not familiar with shortcodes, a shortcode is a WordPress-specific code that lets you do creative things with scripts and code. Since you won’t have to fill your posts and pages with long ugly codes, they be condensed into just one line of code – a shortcode.

                In a nutshell, a shortcode is basically a shortcut to a long script or piece of code. Even though WordPress has its own set of shortcodes that you can use within your blog’s posts and pages, there are a whole lot more shortcodes available out there, with a ton more flexibility to offer.

                                           Shortcodes can be inserted manually into your blog theme or via a plugin. The problem is finding one that suits what you want to do on your blog. In this post, I’ll showcase 10 WordPress plugins that add shortcode functionality to your blog, along with 10 codes that you can add yourself.

WordPress Plugins

Here are some plugins that allow you to use or custom build shortcodes for use on WordPress. Where relevant, an alternative plugin that does pretty much the same thing is suggested after each plugin.

1. Shortcode

A simple plugin that adds several useful shortcodes for you to show off your blog’s contents quantitatively. A few of the codes include:

• [postcountbr]   – displays total number of published blog posts
• [catcountbr]     – displays total number of categories that contain one or more posts
• [tagcountbr]     – displays total number of tags that contain one or more posts
• [totalwords]     – displays total number of words in published posts
• [commentcount] – displays the total number of approved comments
• [pagecount]       – displays the total number of published pages 

2. WordPress Shortcodes

This plugin includes more than 20 WordPress shortcodes and an easy-to-use shortcode editor. You can use it to add cool elements like:

• SEO-ready tabs, buttons
• author cards
• message boxes
• smart links
• sections
• lists, etc to your blog.

3. Post Content Shortcodes

This plugin adds two shortcodes:

[post-content] –
Lets you display the content of a single post or page, within another post or page.You must use an argument within the shortcode to specify the post ID. You can also use arguments to display a featured image, post excerpt, and post title.

[post-list]      –
Displays a list of posts within another post. It also supports optional arguments for customizing the list such as order options, post types/statuses to use, display images, excerpts, etc. You can even pull a list of posts from another blog, by adding the blog’s ID as an argument in the shortcode.

4. Shortcoder

Shortcoder lets you create custom shortcodes via a visual editor. You can also store frequently used text, HTML, and JavaScript snippets. It has a tinyMCE button that you can use from the blog editor to insert shortcodes, thereby allowing you to add your own custom shortcodes.

5. Hide Broken Shortcodes 

                         Sometimes, you may have accidentally disabled shortcodes, leaving their functionality somewhat disrupted. Rather than go through each page or post to remove these "broken" shortcodes, an easier way is just to hide them. This plugin will help you do that.

6. Column Shortcodes

                              If you’re looking for an easy way to create columns within your posts and pages, this is the perfect shortcode plugin. Just choose your desired column width from the shortcode selector pop up, and it will be added to the post editor. There are 10 column widths to choose from full width down to one sixth. You can also customize the padding of each individual column.

7. Metaphor Shortcodes

                                 If you’re looking for a responsive column grid for your posts and pages, try out the Metaphor Shortcodes plugin. You can set certain attributes for your columns such as span, start, end, and class. This plugin also comes with a few other handy shortcodes, including:

• Post Block Shortcode     – display the title and excerpt of any post type, anywhere on your blog.

• Post Slider Shortcode     – create a horizontal slider of any post type and display within your content
• Pricing Table Shortcode – create various types of pricing tables to display within your content

8. ShortCodes UI

ShortCodes UI is another plugin for creating shortcodes that come with its own tinyMCE and Quicktag buttons. You can easily insert shortcodes in your posts and pages from both the visual and HTML editors. 
                 It is great for beginners who know little about code, and there are video tutorials to help. For those who know a little more about code, they would probably appreciate the syntax highlighting code editor.
             There is also an import/export feature so you can move your shortcodes from one site to another and even share with friends.

9. Last Updated Shortcode

                                  This is a very simple plugin that lets you add the [lastupdated] shortcode to your posts and pages. It will then display the date and/or time of the last update. There are also options to change how the date/time is formatted.

10. Geoportail Shortcode

               This one adds a Geoportail map into your posts and pages with a shortcode. You can then set the map size, zoom level, location (latitude and longitude), size (normal, mini), territory, layers and more. The map supports geotagging (which you can enable with this plugin Geolocation), so the location of your posts will be reflected.
                                        The plugin also includes a shortcode builder, for custom map shortcodes, and a live preview, so that you can see your map before posting it.