Do you plan to set up an e-commerce site, or sell goods globally? If so, then you should think about providing users with currency conversion.
Currency conversion software lets your customers have the cost of an international currency transaction converted into their local currency when checking out products online. It also lets your customers see the exact amount their credit card or PayPal account will be charged, expressed in their local currency.
One advantage of adding currency conversion is that it allows visitors to see and understand pricing in foreign countries in their own local currency, making it it easier for purchasers to calculate their costs and expenses.
If your site is powered by WordPress, it’s simple to add a currency conversion plugin to WordPress, allowing your customers to quickly calculate the cost of your goods.
Currencyr
Currencyr is a simple, easy-to-use and complete currency converter WordPress plugin with a unique and attractive converter tooltip. And, it’s completely free!
Useful plugin features include the following:
- In-line converter
- Supports a number of exchange rates providers, such as Yahoo!, Google and FoxRates
- Support database cache driven for fast response
- Widgetized currency table and converter
- Can be integrated with a number of online store plugins like WooCommerce, WP-eCommerce, Shopp, and Easy Digital Downloads.
- Can detect local currency automatically
- Supports full translations
Important: This plugin needs your server to be running PHP 5.3.0 or later. Do not use this plugin if you currently have an older version of PHP installed. Ask your webhosting support team to check and upgrade your PHP.
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You can install the currency conversion plugin from your WordPress admin area by searching for “currencyr” in the Plugins section and clicking “Install Now” …
After installing and activating the plugin, you can configure the plugin’s settings by choosing Currencyr from your WP dashboard menu …
The plugin settings screen offers you various configuration options …
For example, you can select your base currency from the Base Currency dropdown menu. The default base currency is ’USD’ …
You can also choose which data provider you want to use from the dropdown menu in the ‘Provider’ section. The default provider is ‘Yahoo! Finance’, but you can choose another option, such as European Central Bank or Google Finance …
Note: If you select ‘Open Exchange Rates’ as your provider, an API (Application Programming Interface) will be required …
You can select how frequently you want to update the currency exchange rates by specifying an option from the Update Rates drop-down menu …
The plugin uses jQuery, which lets web developers add things like animation effects to web applications (e.g. WP plugins).
If you have no reason to change the jQuery settings, leave this option alone …
Configure the remainder of the plugin settings according to your preferences and click the ‘Save Changes’ button when you have finished configuring this section …
Once you have configured your settings, you can add currency conversion to all of your WordPress website’s posts using a shortcode.
Refer to the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section further below to learn how to use currency codes (e.g. USD, AUD, CAD, etc …) with this plugin.
Currencyr Shortcodes
You can easily add currency conversion to posts, pages and widgets without having to edit code using shortcodes.
Let’s take a look at some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to your WP pages and posts:
Let’s say that you retail goods online for a fixed price (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you would also like to display this price converted into British pounds (GBP) on your page.
To display this information, just insert the shortcode below to your page content …
Note: You can also display amounts in dollars and cents (e.g. 175.00, 29.95, 2499.99, etc …)
The screenshot below shows how your shortcode will look after being inserted into the post …
After publishing the content, your currency conversion will then display as seen below …
Using the above example, let’s also translate the same amount into multiple currencies.
To do this, use the shortcode below (you can add as many currency symbols as you like by using vertical pipes) …
You can see how the above shortcode looks when inserted into your content …
After publishing your post, the converted currency amounts will then display as you can see in the example below …
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section further below to learn how to change the currency separator symbol with this plugin.
Now, suppose you would like to specify a different base currency than the one selected as the default.
For example, if you have specified your default base currency as EUR and you have a section on your site targeted to visitors from countries like Australia or Canada, you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
Here’s how the above shortcode appears when inserted into your content …
After publishing your post or page, your currency conversion will then display as shown in the screenshot below …
How To Use The Currencyr Widget
You can also add currency conversion to your website or blog’s sidebar menu using a widget.
To add currency conversion to your sidebar, choose Appearance > Widgets in your WP admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets area find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and drag it to the Active Widgets area …
Configure the widget options as shown in the example below (add currency codes separated by a comma), and click ‘Save’ to update your settings …
The currency conversion tool will now show on your site’s sidebar with the options you have specified …
Additional Plugin Notes
This section contains additional information about using the plugin.
Currency Separator
The Currencyr plugin lets you specify a symbol of your choice to display as the currency separator when using several currencies.
You can change the symbol in the ‘Multiple Separator’ settings section.
So, for example, entering the default symbol “/” (forward slash) …
Separates all your currency values with a forward slash as shown below …
If you choose another symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your site visitors will see the new symbol display as the currency separator …
E-Commerce Software Integration
As stated earlier, the Currencyr plugin integrates with a number of WP-compatible e-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce, WP-eCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads …
(image source: plugin website)
Congratulations! Now you know how to easily add currency conversion to your e-commerce website.
To learn more about WordPress e-commerce plugins, see the tutorial below:
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