Are you thinking about setting up an e-commerce web site or selling goods internationally? If so, then it’s a great idea to think about providing your web visitors with the convenience of currency conversion on your web site.
Currency conversion software allows your prospects to convert foreign currency transactions into their local currency when purchasing or checking out products online. It also allows visitors and customers to view the exact amount their credit card or PayPal account will be charged, expressed in their own home currency.
One benefit of showing currency conversion on your site is that it lets visitors see and understand pricing in foreign countries in their own local currency, making it it easier for customers to calculate their costs and expenses.
Fortunately, if you are a WordPress user, you can add currency conversion using a plugin to WordPress, allowing your visitors to quickly and easily determine the cost of your goods.
WordPress Free Currency Converting Plugin – Currencyr
Currencyr is an intuitive, easy-to-use and complete currency converter WP plugin with a beautiful and unique converter tooltip. It’s also free to install and use on your web site.
Useful plugin features include:
- Inline converter
- Supports a number of exchange rates providers, such as Google, Open Exchange Rates & European Central Bank
- Supports Shortcodes
- Currency table and converter widget
- Can be integrated with a number of e-store plugins like WooCommerce, WP-eCommerce, Shopp, and Easy Digital Downloads.
- Automatic local currency determination
- Full language translation support
Important: The Currencyr plugin requires your server to be running PHP 5.3.0 or later. Do not use this plugin if you are running an older version of PHP. Alternatively, ask your web host to update your PHP server installation.
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You can install the Currencyr plugin from your WordPress dashboard by searching for “currencyr” in the Plugins screen and clicking the “Install Now” button …
Once the plugin has been installed and activated, you can configure the plugin’s settings by choosing Currencyr from your WP admin user navigation menu …
This takes you to the plugin settings screen …
For example, you can choose a base currency from the Base Currency dropdown menu. The default option is ’USD’ …
You can select any supported data provider from a drop-down menu. The default provider is ‘Yahoo! Finance’, but you can choose one of the other options, such as European Central Bank, FoxRate, Google Finance or Open Exchange Rates …
Note: If you select ‘Open Exchange Rates’, you will need to enter an API (Application Programming Interface) ID …
You can select how often you would like to update the exchange rates by specifying an option from the Update Rates drop-down menu …
The 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 modify the jQuery settings, leave this option alone …
Edit the rest of the settings and remember to click Save Changes when you have finished configuring this section …
When your plugin settings have been configured, you can start adding currency conversion to your WP pages or posts using widgets.
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section further below to learn more about using currency codes (e.g. USD, NZD, CAD, etc …) in the Currencyr plugin.
Currencyr Shortcodes
You can insert currency conversion into pages, posts and widgets with no programming knowledge or skills using shortcodes.
Here are some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to your WordPress pages and posts:
Let’s say that you are selling a product online for a set amount (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you would like to show the conversion amount in British pounds (GBP) on your page.
To display this information, simply add the shortcode below into your page content …
Note: You can also insert prices in dollars and cents (for example, 175.00, 22.00, 2499.99, etc …)
The example below shows how the shortcode should look after being added to the post …
After publishing your post, the converted currency amount will display like this …
Using this example, let’s now translate the same price into different currency formats.
To do this, use following shortcode (you can add as many currency symbols as you like by using vertical pipes) …
The example below shows how the above shortcode appears when inserted into your content …
After publishing your post, your converted currency will then appear like this …
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section below to learn more about changing the currency separator symbol within the Currencyr plugin.
Now, let’s suppose that you want to select a different base currency than the one set as your default.
For example, if you have set your default base currency as EUR and you have a section on your site targeted to non-European visitors (like Australia or Canada), you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
The screenshot below shows how the shortcode looks when you add it to a post …
After publishing the post or page, your currency conversion will then appear as shown in the example below …
How To Use The Widget
You can also insert currency conversion into your website’s sidebar using the Currencyr widget.
To add currency conversion to your sidebar menu, select Appearance > Widgets in the WP admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets area find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and drag it to an 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 converter tool will now appear on your site’s sidebar with the settings you have selected …
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 multiple currencies.
You can change the symbol in the ‘Multiple Separator’ settings field.
So, for example, using the default symbol “/” (forward slash) …
Displays your currency values separated by a forward slash as you can see in the example below …
If you enter another symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your site visitors will see the new symbol display as the currency separator …
Integration With e-Commerce Software
As stated earlier, the plugin can be integrated with a number of WP-compatible e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce, WP-eCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads …
(image source: plugin website)
Congratulations! Now you can go and easily add currency conversion to your WordPress website.
To learn more about WordPress e-commerce plugins, see the tutorial below:
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