Do you sell goods and services online worldwide? If so, then here’s a good idea: consider providing users with currency conversion.
Currency conversion software tools allow your customers to convert foreign currency amounts to their local currency at the point of sale. It also allows your customers to see the exact amount their credit card or PayPal account will be charged, displayed in their own home currency.
One great advantage of providing 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 purchasers to calculate their costs and expenses.
If you are a WordPress user, you can add currency conversion via a plugin to currency conversion to your WordPress website or blog using a plugin, allowing your customers to quickly determine the cost of your products.
Currencyr – WordPress Currency Conversion Plugin
Currencyr is a simple, easy-to-use and complete currency converter plugin with a unique and attractive converter tooltip. It’s also free!
Plugin features include:
- Inline conversion tool
- Supports various exchange rates providers, like Google, Open Exchange Rates and FoxRates
- Support database cache driven for fast response
- Widgetized currency table and converter
- Can be integrated with a number of e-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce, Shop and Easy Digital Downloads.
- Automatic local currency detection
- Support for language translations
Note: The Currencyr plugin requires your server to be running PHP 5.3.0 or later. Do not install this plugin if you are running an older version of PHP. Ask your web host to check and upgrade your PHP.
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You can install the plugin from your WP dashboard by typing in “currencyr” into the Plugins search field and clicking the ”Install Now” button …
After installing and activating the plugin, you can visit the plugin’s settings by choosing Currencyr from your admin menu …
The plugin settings area offers you various configuration options …
For example, you can choose a base currency from a dropdown menu if you prefer a different currency than the default option ’United States Dollar’ …
Similarly, you can select a data provider from a dropdown menu. The default option is ‘Yahoo! Finance’, but you can choose another option, such as FoxRate or Open Exchange Rates …
Note: If you choose Open Exchange Rates as your provider, you will need to enter an API (Application Programming Interface) ID …
You can select how frequently you want to update the currency exchange rates by specifying an option from the ‘Update Rates’ dropdown 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 change the jQuery settings, leave them as they are …
Edit the rest of the plugin settings to suit your needs and remember to click ‘Save Changes’ when done …
Once your plugin settings have been configured, you can add currency conversion to any WP page or post using widgets.
Refer to the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section below to learn more about using currency codes (e.g. USD, GBP, CAD, etc …) in this plugin.
How To Use Shortcodes
You can easily add currency conversion to posts, pages and widgets with no web coding skills using shortcodes.
Here are some examples of currency shortcodes that you can add to pages and posts:
Let’s say that you retail goods on your website for a set amount (e.g. $175) in US Dollars (USD), and you want to show this conversion amount in British pounds (GBP) on your product information page.
All you need to do is add the following shortcode to your page content …
Note: You can also insert amounts in dollars and cents (for example, 175.00, 37.95, 295.75, etc …)
The example below shows how your shortcode should look after you have added it to the post or page …
After publishing your information, your currency conversion will appear as you can see in the screenshot below …
Using the above example, let’s now display 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) …
The example below now shows how the above shortcode appears when added to a page …
After publishing your post, your converted currency will then appear like this …
refer to the ‘Additional Plugin Notes’ section further below to learn how to change the currency separator symbol within the Currencyr plugin.
Now, let’s suppose that you want to use a different base currency than the one selected 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 visitors from countries like Australia or Canada, you can change the base currency using the following shortcode …
The screenshot below now shows how the shortcode appears when added to a post …
After publishing the post, your converted currency will then appear as you can see in the example below …
How To Use The Widget
You can also insert a currency converter into your site’s sidebar menu using a widget.
To add currency conversion to your sidebar, choose Appearance > Widgets in the WP admin menu …
In the Widgets > Available Widgets area find the ‘Currencyr’ widget and add it to the ‘Active Widgets’ location …
Configure the widget settings as shown below (add the currency codes you want displaying on your widget separated by commas), and click Save to save your settings …
Your currency converter tool will now show on your sidebar with the options you have selected …
Additional Plugin Notes
Here are some additional notes and useful information about using the Currencyr plugin.
Currency Separator
The Currencyr plugin lets you specify the symbol 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) …
Separates all your prices with the forward slash as shown below …
If you choose another symbol and update your plugin settings …
Your website visitors will see the new symbol being used as the currency separator …
Integration With e-Commerce Platforms
As mentioned earlier, the plugin integrates with a number of WordPress-compatible e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce, Shopp and Easy Digital Downloads …
(image source: plugin website)
And there you have it! Now you can go and easily add a currency converter to your WordPress website.
To learn more about WordPress e-commerce plugins, see the tutorial below:
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