Do you plan to set up an e-commerce site, or sell your products globally? If so, then here’s a good idea: consider providing users with a currency conversion feature.
Currency conversion software allows your web visitors to translate foreign currency prices into their local currency at the point of sale. It also allows your customers to view the exact amount their credit card or PayPal account will be charged, displayed in their own local currency.
One benefit of adding currency conversion is that it allows customers to see and understand prices in foreign countries in their own home currency, and makes it easier for visitors to work out their costs and expenses.
If you are a WordPress user, it’s really simple to add currency conversion using a plugin to WordPress, allowing your site visitors to quickly and easily determine the cost of your products.
WP Currency Converting Plugin – Currencyr
Currencyr is a simple yet advanced, intuitive, easy-to-use and complete currency converter WordPress plugin with a beautiful and unique converter tooltip. Best of all, it’s free to install and use on your website.
The Currencyr plugin features:
- In-line converter
- Supports several exchange rates providers, such as Google and European Central Bank
- WP-Cron task scheduler enabled
- Widgetized currency table and converter
- Can be integrated with a number of e-store plugins such as WP-eCommerce & Easy Digital Downloads.
- Automatic local currency detection
- Support for language 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 web host to check and upgrade your PHP server installation if required.
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You can install the currency conversion plugin from your WordPress dashboard by searching for “currencyr” in the Plugins screen and clicking the ”Install Now” button …
After installing and activating the plugin, you can configure the plugin’s settings by selecting Currencyr from your administration navigation menu …
This takes you to the plugin settings screen …
For example, you can select your base currency from the ‘Base Currency’ dropdown menu if you want something other than the default option ’US Dollar’ …
Similarly, you can specify which data provider you want to use from the dropdown menu in the ‘Provider’ section. The default selection is Yahoo Finance, but you can choose one of the other options, such as European Central Bank or Google Finance …
Note: If you choose Open Exchange Rates as your provider, an API (Application Programming Interface) will be required …
You can choose how frequently you would like to update the currency exchange rates by choosing an option from the ‘Update Rates’ dropdown menu …
The plugin uses jQuery, which lets web developers add things like animation effects to web applications (such as WordPress plugins).
If you have no reason to edit the jQuery settings, leave these as they are …
Configure the remainder of the settings according to your own preferences and remember to click Save Changes when you have finished configuring all the options in this screen …
After you have configured your plugin settings, you can easily start adding currency conversion to your WP blog’s pages or 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 pages, posts and widgets without editing your web templates using shortcodes.
Here are some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to your WP pages and posts:
Let’s say that you sell a product online for a set amount (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you would like to show this conversion amount in British pounds (GBP) on your sales page.
All you need to do is insert the following shortcode to your post or page …
Note: You can also add pricing in dollars and cents (e.g. 89.95, 37.95, 295.75, etc …)
The screenshot below shows how the above shortcode looks after being added to a page …
After the information has been published, your currency conversion will then display like this …
Using the same example, let’s also translate the same price into multiple currency formats.
To do this, use following shortcode (you can add as many currency symbols as you like separated by vertical pipes) …
The example below now shows how the above shortcode appears when added to a post …
After publishing your page, the currency conversion 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, suppose you want to use a different base currency than the one set 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 non-European customers (e.g. Australia or Canada), you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
The example below now shows how the above shortcode looks when you add it to a post …
After publishing the page, your currency conversion will then display like this …
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, select Appearance > Widgets in the WordPress admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets area find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and add it to the ‘Active Widgets’ location …
Configure the widget options as shown in the example below (add currency codes separated by a comma), and click ‘Save’ to save your settings …
Your currency conversion tool will now appear on your website’s sidebar menu with the options 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 the symbol to display as the currency separator when using multiple currencies.
You can change the symbol in the Multiple Separator settings field.
So, for example, entering the default symbol “/” (forward slash) …
Displays your currency values separated by the forward slash as you can see in the example below …
If you enter another symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your web site visitors will see the new symbol display as the currency separator …
Integration With WP e-Commerce Platforms
As stated earlier, the Currencyr plugin can be integrated with a number of WP-compatible e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce, WP-eCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads …
(image sourced from plugin site)
And there you have it! Now you know how to easily add currency conversion to your e-commerce site.
To learn more about WordPress e-commerce plugins, see the tutorial below:
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