Do you sell any products online to a global customer base? If so, then here’s a great idea: think about providing your prospects with the convenience of currency conversion on your e-commerce web site.
Currency conversion software tools allow your customers to have the price of an international currency amount translated into their local currency at the point of sale. It also allows customers to see the exact amount their card or PayPal account will be charged, displayed in their own local currency.
One benefit of displaying 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 work out their costs and expenses.
If your site is powered by WordPress, it’s quite simple to add currency conversion using a plugin to your web site, allowing your site visitors to quickly perform currency conversions to determine the cost of your goods.
Currencyr – Free Currency Converting Tool For WordPress
Currencyr is a simple, easy-to-use and complete currency converter plugin with a visually attractive converter tooltip. It’s also free to install and use on your web site.
The Currencyr useful WP plugin features:
- Inline conversion tool
- Supports several exchange rates providers, like Yahoo!, Google and FoxRates
- Supports Shortcodes
- Widgetized currency table and converter
- Can be integrated with various e-store plugins like WP-eCommerce & Shopp.
- Can determine local currency automatically
- Full translation support
Important: This plugin requires 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 web hosting support team to update 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 admin user menu …
This takes you to the plugin settings area …
For example, you can choose your base currency from the Base Currency drop-down menu if you want a different currency than the default option ‘USD’ …
You can specify which data provider you want to use from a drop-down menu. The default selection is Yahoo Finance, but you can also select another provider, like European Central Bank, FoxRate, Google Finance or Open Exchange Rates …
Note: If you select Open Exchange Rates as your provider, you will need to obtain an API (Application Programming Interface) ID …
You can specify how often you want the currency exchange rates to update by specifying an option from the ‘Update Rates’ drop-down menu …
The Currencyr plugin uses jQuery, which allows web developers to add things like animation effects to web applications (such as WP plugins).
If you have no reason to modify the jQuery settings, simply ignore this section …
Configure the remainder of the plugin settings to suit your preferences and don’t forget to click Save Changes when done …
After your plugin settings have been configured, you can add currency conversion to WordPress pages and posts using shortcodes and widgets.
Refer to the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section further below to learn how to use currency codes (e.g. USD, GBP, CAD, etc …) with this plugin.
How To Use Shortcodes
You can add currency conversion to WordPress pages, posts and widgets without editing your web templates 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 set price (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you want to display this price converted into British pounds (GBP) on your page.
To do this, simply insert the shortcode below to your page content …
Note: You can also display amounts in dollars and cents (e.g. 89.95, 97.00, 2499.99, etc …)
The screenshot below shows how the shortcode looks after being added to the page …
Once your page has been published, your converted currency will then appear like this …
Using this example, let’s now translate the same amount into different 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 shortcode looks when added to a page …
Once your post has been published, the converted currency amounts will then display as you can see in the screenshot below …
refer to the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section at the end of this tutorial to learn more about changing the currency separator symbol with this plugin.
Now, let’s say that you would like to specify a different base currency than the one set as the default.
For example, if you have set your default base currency as EUR and you have a section on your website targeted to visitors in countries like Australia or Canada, you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
The screenshot below shows how the shortcode appears when you add it to a page …
After publishing the content, the currency conversion will then display like this …
Using The Widget
You can also add a currency converter to your website’s sidebar using a widget.
To add currency conversion to your sidebar area, choose Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets section find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and add it to the Active Widgets location …
Configure the widget settings as shown below (add currency codes separated by commas), and click Save to save your settings …
The currency conversion tool will now appear on your sidebar menu with the options you have selected …
Additional Plugin Notes
This section contains additional information about using the Currencyr 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 prices using a forward slash as you can see in the example below …
If you modify this symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your site visitors will see the new symbol display as the currency separator …
Integration With e-Commerce Platforms
As stated earlier, the Currencyr plugin can be integrated with various WordPress-compatible e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce, Shopp and Easy Digital Downloads …
(image source: plugin website)
Congratulations! Now you know how to easily add currency conversion to your WordPress web site.
To learn more about WordPress e-commerce plugins, see the tutorial below:
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)