Are you planning to set up an e-commerce web site with WordPress, or sell goods or services online? If so, then here’s a great idea: think about providing users with the convenience of currency conversion on your e-commerce web site.
Currency conversion lets your visitors translate foreign currency transactions to their local currency when purchasing products on e-commerce sites. It also allows your visitors to view the exact amount their card or PayPal account will be charged, displayed in their local currency.
One benefit of adding currency conversion is that it allows your customers to view and understand prices in foreign countries in their own local currency, making it it easier for customers to calculate their costs and expenses.
If your site is built with WordPress, it’s easy and simple to add currency conversion using a plugin to your WP website, allowing your site visitors to easily calculate the cost of your goods.
WP Free Currency Converter – Currencyr
Currencyr is an intuitive, easy-to-use and complete currency converter WP plugin with a unique converter tooltip. It’s also free to install and use on your website.
Some of the useful features of this plugin include:
- Inline converter
- Supports various exchange rates providers, such as Yahoo! and FoxRates
- Support database cache driven for fast response
- Widgetized currency table and converter
- Supports integration with various online store plugins such as WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.
- Automatically detects local currency
- Full translation support
Note: This plugin needs PHP 5.3.0 or later. Do not install this plugin if you are running an older version of PHP on your server. Ask your webhosting provider to upgrade your PHP.
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You can install the Currencyr plugin from your WordPress dashboard by typing in “currencyr” into the Plugins search field and clicking the “Install” button …
After installing and activating the plugin, you can get to the plugin’s settings by choosing Currencyr from your dashboard menu …
This takes you to the plugin settings screen …
For example, you can select a base currency from a drop-down menu. The default base currency is (‘USD’) …
You can also choose a data provider from the drop-down menu in the ‘Provider’ section. The default provider is Yahoo Finance, but you can also select another provider, such as FoxRate or Google Finance …
Note: If you choose ‘Open Exchange Rates’, you will need to enter an API (Application Programming Interface) ID …
You can select how frequently you would like to update the exchange rates by choosing an option from the Update Rates dropdown menu …
The Currencyr plugin uses jQuery, which allows web developers to add things like animation effects to web applications (like WP plugins).
If you have no reason to change the jQuery settings, leave this option alone …
Configure the remainder of the settings according to your preferences and remember to click ‘Save Changes’ when finished …
After your plugin settings have been configured, you can start adding currency conversion to any WP page using shortcodes and widgets.
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section below to learn more about using currency codes (e.g. USD, GBP, ZAR, etc …) with the Currencyr plugin.
How To Use Shortcodes
You can easily add currency conversion to pages, posts and widgets without touching your web templates using shortcodes.
Below are some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to posts and pages:
Let’s say that you sell goods for a fixed price (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you would like to show the amount converted into British pounds (GBP) on your sales page.
All you need to do is add the shortcode below into your post or page …
Note: You can also insert prices in dollars and cents (e.g. 6.95, 197.00, 129.10, etc …)
The screenshot below shows how your shortcode looks after being added to your post or page …
After your page or post has been published, the converted currency will display as shown below …
Using this example, let’s also translate the same price into different currency formats.
To do this, use the shortcode shown below (add as many currency symbols as you want separated by vertical pipes) …
You can see how the shortcode looks when inserted into a post …
After publishing your post or page, the converted currency amounts will then display like this …
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section below to learn more about changing the currency separator symbol with the Currencyr plugin.
Now, let’s say that you want to select a different base currency than the one selected as your default.
For example, say you have set 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 …
The example below now shows how the shortcode looks when added to a page …
After publishing your content, your converted currency amounts will then appear as you can see in the screenshot below …
How To Use The Currencyr Widget
You can also add a currency converter to your website or blog’s sidebar using the plugin’s widget.
To add the currency converter to your sidebar area, choose Appearance > Widgets in the WP dashboard menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets area find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and drag it to an Active Widgets location …
Configure the widget options as shown in the screenshot below (add the currency codes you would like displaying on your widget separated by commas), and click Save to update your settings …
The currency converter tool will now appear on your site’s sidebar menu with the settings you have specified …
Additional Plugin Notes
Here are some additional notes and useful information about using the plugin.
Currency Separator
The Currencyr plugin allows you to specify a symbol of your choice to display as the currency separator when using several currencies.
You can select a different symbol in the Multiple Separator settings field.
So, for example, using the default symbol “/” (forward slash) …
Separates all your currency amounts using the forward slash as shown below …
If you modify this symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your web site visitors will see the new symbol display as the currency separator …
e-Commerce Platform Integration
As mentioned earlier, the Currencyr plugin can be integrated with various WordPress-compatible e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce, Shopp, and Easy Digital Downloads …
(image sourced from Currencyr 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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