Do you sell goods online worldwide? If so, then it’s a good idea to consider providing users with the convenience of currency conversion on your site.
Currency conversion lets your prospective customers translate international currency prices to their local currency at the point of sale. It also allows customers to view the exact amount their card or PayPal account will be charged, expressed in their local currency.
One benefit of putting currency conversion is that it lets customers 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 a currency conversion plugin to WordPress, allowing your prospective customers to quickly perform currency conversions to determine the cost of your products.
WordPress Free Currency Conversion Plugin – Currencyr
Currencyr is a simple, easy-to-use and complete currency converter plugin with a unique converter tooltip. It’s also free!
Plugin features include the following:
- In-line converter
- Supports a number of exchange rates providers, like Google, Open Exchange Rates and European Central Bank
- Support database cache driven for fast response
- Currency table and converter widget
- Can be integrated with various e-commerce plugins like WP-eCommerce & Shopp.
- Can detect local currency automatically
- Full language translation support
Note: This plugin needs 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 on your server. Ask your webhosting company to check and upgrade your PHP server installation if required.
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You can install the currency conversion plugin from your WP dashboard by searching for “currencyr” in the Plugins section and clicking “Install Now” …
Once the plugin has been installed and activated, you can configure the plugin’s settings by choosing Currencyr from your dashboard navigation menu …
This takes you to the plugin settings screen …
For example, you can select your base currency from the ‘Base Currency’ drop-down menu if you want something other than the default option ’United States Dollar’ …
Similarly, you can specify any supported data provider from a dropdown menu. The default provider is ‘Yahoo! Finance’, but you can also choose another option, like FoxRate or Open Exchange Rates …
Note: If you choose ‘Open Exchange Rates’, you will need an API (Application Programming Interface) ID …
You can choose how frequently you would like the currency exchange rates to be updated by choosing 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 (such as WordPress plugins).
If you have no reason to modify the jQuery settings, leave these as they are …
Configure the rest of the plugin settings and don’t forget to click the Save Changes button when you have finished configuring all the options on this page …
When your plugin settings have been configured, you can start adding currency conversion to any of your WordPress posts and pages using a shortcode.
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section further below to learn how to use currency codes (e.g. USD, GBP, CAD, etc …) in this plugin.
Using Currencyr Shortcodes
You can add currency conversion to posts, pages and widgets with no web coding knowledge using shortcodes.
Below are some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to WordPress pages and posts:
Let’s say that you are selling a product for a set price (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you want to show the conversion amount in British pounds (GBP) on your page.
All you need to do is insert the shortcode below to your post or page …
Note: You can also insert pricing in dollars and cents (e.g. 6.95, 189.00, 295.75, etc …)
The example below shows how your shortcode should look when added to your post or page …
Once your content has been published, your converted currency amount will then appear as shown in the screenshot below …
Using the same example, let’s also convert the same price into different currency formats.
To do this, use the shortcode below (add as many currency symbols as you like by using vertical pipes) …
The screenshot below shows how the shortcode looks when inserted into a page …
Once the page or post has been published, the converted currency will then display like this …
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section at the bottom of this tutorial to learn more about changing the currency separator symbol in this plugin.
Now, suppose you would like to select a different base currency than the one set as your default.
For example, if you have specified your default base currency as EUR and you have a section on your site targeted to customers in countries like Australia or Canada, you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
The screenshot below shows how the above shortcode appears when added to a page …
Once the post or page has been published, the converted currency will then display as shown below …
Plugin Widget
You can also insert currency conversion into your website or blog’s sidebar using a widget.
To add currency conversion to your sidebar, select Appearance > Widgets from the WordPress admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets area find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and add it to the Active Widgets area …
Configure the widget options as shown below (add currency codes separated by a comma), and click ‘Save’ to update your settings …
Your currency converter will now appear on the sidebar with the options you have selected …
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 multiple 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 specify another symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your web visitors will see the new symbol being used as the currency separator …
Integration With e-Commerce Platforms
As stated earlier, the Currencyr plugin can be integrated with a number of WP-compatible e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce, Shopp, and Easy Digital Downloads …
(above image sourced from Currencyr plugin site)
Congratulations! Now you know how to easily add a currency converter to your e-commerce web site.
To learn more about WordPress e-commerce plugins, see the tutorial below:
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