Do you plan to set up a WordPress-based e-commerce site, or sell any products globally? If so, you should consider providing your prospects with the convenience of currency conversion on your e-commerce site.
Currency conversion software lets your customers have the cost of a foreign currency amount converted into their local currency at the buying or checkout phase. It also allows your visitors to view the exact amount their credit card or PayPal account will be charged, displayed in their own local currency.
The obvious benefit of providing currency conversion is that it allows customers to see and understand pricing in foreign countries in their own local currency, making it it easier for visitors to calculate their costs and expenses.
If your site is built with WordPress, you can add currency conversion via a plugin to currency conversion to your WordPress web site using a plugin, allowing your visitors to quickly and easily determine the cost of your goods.
Currencyr – WordPress Currency Conversion Plugin
Currencyr is an intuitive, easy-to-use and complete currency converter plugin with a unique converter tooltip. It’s also free to install and use on your web site.
This plugin includes many practical features such as:
- Inline conversion tool
- Supports a number of exchange rates providers, such as Yahoo!, Google & FoxRates
- Supports Shortcodes
- Currency table and converter widget
- Supports integration with a number of online store plugins like WooCommerce and Shopp.
- Automatically detects local currency
- Full language translation support
Note: The Currencyr plugin requires 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. Alternatively, ask your web host to upgrade your PHP.
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You can install the plugin from your WordPress dashboard by typing in “currencyr” into the Plugins search field and clicking “Install Now” …
When you have installed and activated the plugin, you can get to the plugin’s settings by selecting Currencyr from your WP administration menu …
The plugin settings section provides many configuration options …
For example, you can select a base currency from the ‘Base Currency’ dropdown menu. The default base currency is ‘United States Dollar – (USD)’ …
You can specify which data provider you want to use from a dropdown menu. The default option is Yahoo Finance, but you can also choose another provider, like European Central Bank, FoxRate, Google Finance or Open Exchange Rates …
Note: If you select Open Exchange Rates, an API (Application Programming Interface) will be required …
You can specify how often you want the currency exchange rates to be updated by choosing an option from the Update Rates drop-down menu …
The plugin uses jQuery, which lets web developers add things like animation effects to web applications (like WP plugins).
Unless there is a reason to change the jQuery settings, leave these as they are …
Configure the remainder of the settings and click ‘Save Changes’ when done …
After your plugin settings have been configured, you can easily add currency conversion to any WordPress post or page using a shortcode.
See the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section at the end of this tutorial to learn how to use currency codes (e.g. USD, GBP, ZAR, etc …) with this plugin.
Using Shortcodes
You can insert currency conversion into WP posts, pages and widgets with no web coding skills using shortcodes.
Below are some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to your WordPress posts and pages:
Let’s say that you retail an item online for a set amount (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you would also like to show this conversion amount in British pounds (GBP) on your product information page.
To do this, simply add the shortcode below to your page content …
Note: You can also insert amounts in dollars and cents (e.g. 188.35, 29.95, 2499.99, etc …)
The screenshot below shows how the shortcode looks when inserting it into your post or page …
When the post has been published, your currency conversion will then display as shown in the example below …
Using this example, let’s now display the same amount into different currencies.
To do this, use following shortcode (you can add as many currency symbols as you want by using vertical pipes) …
The example below shows how the shortcode looks when you add it to a page …
Once the post has been published, your converted currency will then display as seen in the screenshot below …
refer to the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section at the end of this tutorial to learn how to change the currency separator symbol in the Currencyr plugin.
Now, let’s suppose that you would like to use a different base currency than the one you have 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 non-European visitors (for example, Australia or Canada), you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
You can see how the shortcode appears when added to your content …
After publishing your post or page, your currency conversion will then appear as shown below …
Using The Widget
You can also add a currency converter to your website’s sidebar menu using a widget.
To add the currency converter to your sidebar area, choose Appearance > Widgets from the WordPress admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets section find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and drag it to an ‘Active Widgets’ location …
Configure the widget settings as shown below (add the currency codes you want to display on your widget separated by a comma), and click ‘Save’ to update your settings …
The currency converter will now appear on your sidebar with the settings 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 several 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 screenshot below …
If you change this symbol and update your settings …
Your site visitors will see the new symbol used as the currency separator …
WordPress E-Commerce
As mentioned earlier, the Currencyr plugin can be integrated with various WordPress-compatible e-commerce plugins like WP-eCommerce and Shopp …
(above image sourced from 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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