Do you want to add an Amazon-like magnifying zoom for images in WordPress?
Adding a zoom feature will allow users to see details that they would not see in a normal-sized image.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add magnifying zoom for images in WordPress.
Why Add a Magnifying Zoom for Images?
Adding a magnifying zoom feature on your WordPress website will allow visitors to view the intricate details of the images clearly.
If you have a photography website, then adding a magnifying feature will allow users to zoom in on your photographs to view the finer details.
Similarly, if you run an online store, then your customers will be able to zoom in on product images.
Many big eCommerce websites already use magnifying zoom for product images. It allows customers to examine the product and creates a better shopping experience in your store.
That being said, let’s see how you can easily add a magnifying zoom for images in WordPress.
How to Add a Magnifying Zoom For Images in WordPress
Upon activation, you need to head over to the WP Image Zoom » Zoom Settings page from the WordPress admin sidebar.
Next, you need to configure the zoom effect settings by switching to the ‘Zoom Settings’ tab and choose a lens shape that you want to use.
You can choose from circle, square, and zoom window lens shapes. You can even choose a ‘No Lens’ (⨯) option if you don’t want to use a shape for magnifying effect.
After choosing your preferred lens, you need to scroll down to the next step where you can preview an image with the selected lens to see how it works. The plugin has a preview image that you can use to test your changes.
Next, you need to switch to the ‘General’ tab.
From here, you can select a cursor type, set an animation effect, enable the zoom on mouse hover or mouse click, and define a zoom level.
If you want even more options, some of the features are only available for the pro version of the WP Image Zoom plugin.
After making your choices accordingly, simply go to the ‘Lens’ tab from the top.
You can now configure settings like lens size, lens color, lens border options, and more if you selected the ‘circle’ or ‘square’ lens in Step 1.
If you selected the Zoom Window Lens, then you need to switch to the ‘Zoom Window’ configuration tab.
From here, you can change the width and height of the zoom window, positioning, distance from the main image, border colors, and more.
Next, you need to simply click the ‘Save Changes’ to store your settings.
After that, all you have to do is configure a few general settings.
Configure General Plugin Settings
Next, you need to switch to the General Settings tab under the plugin settings.
From here, you can now enable features like zoom on WooCommerce product images, thumbnails, mobile devices, attachment pages, product category pages, and more.
All you need to do is simply check the boxes next to these options.
You can also remove the lightbox effect, so users can smoothly zoom images.
However, you would need the Pro version of the plugin for this feature.
If you are not going to remove the lightbox for images, then you need to scroll down to the ‘Enable inside a Lightbox’ option and check the box next to it.
Note: You can see supported lightboxes to make sure that the zoom works fine inside a lightbox on your site.
Once you are done adjusting the settings, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
Magnifying zoom will now be enabled for WooCommerce products.
You can go visit your online store to check our zoom feature.
However, if you want to enable zoom for images on WordPress posts and pages, you need to follow the step below.
Step 3. Enable Magnifying Zoom for Images in Block Editor
By default, the magnifying zoom is not enabled for images on your posts and pages. You need to do it manually after adding an image to your content.
First, you need to open a post you want to edit in the block editor.
Next, you need to upload an image to that post from the media library or your computer.
Once you do that, simply click on the image to open up its’ Block Settings panel on the right corner of the screen.
From here, simply go to the ‘Styles’ tab and click on the ‘With Zoom’ button to apply magnifying zoom to your image.
After that, simply click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button at the top to store your settings.
The zoom feature will look like this on your site:
Note: You will need to repeat this step each time you want to add the zoom effect to an individual image.
We recommend using high-quality images for the zoom feature to look great. High-quality images are normally larger in file size and take longer to load which will affect your website speed and performance.
WordPress users love page builders. And when it comes to page builders, we’re already a bit spoiled for choice. But Blox Page Builder aims to make us…spoiled’er. It’s a brand new entrant to the WordPress page builder market (though it’s been around longer as a page builder for Joomla). In my Blox Page Builder review, ... Read moreBlox Page Builder Review: A Brand New WordPress Page Builder
Do you want to create a product catalog in WordPress without adding a full-blown shopping cart? Sometimes businesses want to take order by phone while still displaying their product catalog on the website. In this article, we will show you how to easily create a product catalog in WordPress without a shopping cart.
Why Add a Product Catalog without Shopping Cart>
Some businesses have products that they can’t sell online because they have an undetermined price. This makes it impossible for them to use a shopping cart plugin, but they still want to make a website, so they can showcase those products and attract potential customers.
Normally, people associate eCommerce platforms with online shopping. However, you can still use them to display products without using shopping cart feature.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily create a product catalog in WordPress without using the shopping cart feature.
Getting Started with Your Product Catalog in WordPress
The best way to create a product catalog in WordPress is by using WooCommerce. Don’t worry, you will not be using any of its shopping cart features.
If you already have a WordPress website, then you can go ahead and install and activate the WooCommerce plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
If you don’t have a WordPress site setup, then see our guide on how to create an online store to quickly set up WordPress with WooCommerce.
Once you have installed WooCommerce, you can move on to creating your product catalog in WordPress.
Creating Product Catalog in WordPress without Shopping Cart
By default, WooCommerce displays an add to cart or buy button next to all your products. This makes it difficult to create a product catalog without the shopping cart feature.
Luckily, there’s an easy solution that fixes this problem.
Upon activation, you need to visit YITH Plugins » Catalog Mode page to configure the plugin settings.
First, you need to check the box next to ‘Enable YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode’ option to enable the plugin. After that, you need to choose where you want to hide the ‘Add to cart’ button.
You can choose to hide it on the shop pages or product details pages.
But in this case, you should go with the last option which allows you to disable shop feature everywhere by disabling the checkout page, cart page, and removing all add to cart button everywhere.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
Adding Products to Your WordPress Product Catalog
You can now go ahead and start adding products to your site. Simply visit Products » Add New page to enter your product information.
On the products screen, you can provide product title, description, short description, product image, and product gallery. Under the ‘Product’ data section, you will find the price options. You can leave them blank if you don’t want to display product pricing.
Once you are finished, go ahead and publish your product. Repeat the process to add as many products as needed to build up your catalog.
Viewing Your WordPress Product Catalog
You can visit your WooCommerce shop page to view your default catalog in action. Your shop page is usually located at a URL like this:
http://example.com/shop/
Replace example.com with your own URL to view your WooCommerce shop page in the catalog mode.
If you don’t want to use the shop page, then you can also display your products on any WordPress page and use it as your product catalog.
All you have to do is create a new WordPress page or edit an existing one, and add the following shortcode in the content area:
[products columns="4" limit="8" paginate="true"]
Feel free to change the number of columns and the items per page limit to your own requirements. Once you have adjusted the shortcode, go ahead and save or publish your page to preview it.
You will notice that the product pages will not show any add to cart or buy buttons. You can click on any individual product to see the product details page.
It will show all the product information images, description, gallery, without an add to cart or buy button.
We hope this article helped you learn how to easily create a product catalog in WordPress without the shopping cart feature. You may also want to see our list of the best WooCommerce themes that you can use for your product catalog website.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
CSS gives you the power to change pretty much everything about how your WordPress site looks. It’s that powerful… But here’s the problem with CSS: It’s not accessible to beginners – you need to know at least a bit about code if you want to do anything with it. And even if you do know ... Read moreCSS Hero Review: Makes Theme And Plugin CSS Beginner-Friendly
Do you want to display Facebook page reviews in WordPress?
Reviews and ratings can help you gain the trust of potential customers and encourage them to buy from your website. If you have a Facebook page, then you may already have lots of reviews that you can easily embed in your WordPress website.
In this article, we’ll show how to display your Facebook page reviews and ratings on your WordPress website.
Why Should You Display Facebook Page Reviews in WordPress?
Reviews can help you build social proof and gain the trust of your visitors, which means more sales for your business.
However, Facebook has its own built-in review system. If you already have a Facebook page, then followers can review your products and services on that platform. This is great for helping you build an engaging and trusted Facebook page.
But it’s also a good idea to show these reviews on your WordPress website. That way, people can see all your positive reviews, even if they don’t visit your Facebook page.
The reviews can also highlight benefits and features that you missed in your website’s text and are great for improving your WordPress SEO.
After embedding the review feed on your site, new reviews will appear on your site automatically. This means visitors will always see the latest reviews without you having to add them to your site manually.
With that in mind, let’s see how to display your Facebook page reviews in WordPress.
This plugin and extension allow you to show all your Facebook page reviews in an attractive and fully-customizable layout. As you get more reviews, they’ll be added to your WordPress website automatically.
Note: In this guide, we’ll be using the Pro version of Smash Balloon, as it allows you to embed Facebook reviews on your WordPress website. However, there’s also a free version that allows you to easily embed Facebook status posts in WordPress.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you’ll need to go to Facebook Feed » Settings and enter your license key into the ‘License Key’ field.
You’ll find this information under your account on the Smash Balloon website. After entering the key, click on the ‘Activate’ button.
Next, go to Facebook Feed »Extensions. Here, find the ‘Reviews’ extension.
If you haven’t purchased the bundle or extension, then click on its ‘Install’ button. You can then follow the onscreen instructions to purchase the Reviews extension.
You can then install the extension in exactly the same way you set up a WordPress plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once you have the extension installed, go ahead and click on the ‘Activate’ button.
Connect the Facebook Reviews Plugin to Your Page
Now, it’s time to connect your Facebook page to WordPress so that you can show reviews from that page.
To get started, go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and click on ‘Add New.’
Since we want to embed our Facebook page reviews, click on ‘Reviews’ and then select the ‘Next’ button.
After that, you’ll need to select the Facebook page where you’ll get the reviews from.
To do that, click on ‘Add New.’
On the next screen, select the radio button next to ‘Page.’
Once you’ve done that, go ahead and click on ‘Connect to Facebook.’
This opens a popup where you can log into your Facebook account and choose the pages where you’ll get the reviews from.
Once you’ve done that, click on ‘Next.’
Facebook will then show all the information that Smash Balloon will have access to and the actions it can perform.
To restrict Smash Balloon’s access to your Facebook page, simply click any of the switches to turn it from ‘Yes’ to ‘No.’ Just be aware that this may affect the content that you can show on your WordPress blog or website.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to leave all the switches enabled.
When you’re happy with how the Facebook permissions are configured, click on ‘Done.’
After a few moments, you should see a message confirming that you’ve connected your WordPress website and your Facebook page.
With that done, click on the ‘OK’ button.
Smash Balloon will automatically take you back to the WordPress dashboard.
How to Display Your Facebook Page Reviews in WordPress
You’ll now see a popup with the Facebook page you connected to your WordPress website. Simply select the radio button next to your page and then click on the ‘Add’ button.
If you closed the popup by accident, don’t worry. You can simply refresh the tab to reopen the Smash Balloon popup.
After that, Smash Balloon will take you back to the Facebook Feed » All Feeds page automatically. Just like before, click on the ‘Add New’ button, select ‘Radio,’ and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
Now, select your Facebook page, and click on ‘Next.’
On this screen, you can choose the template you’ll use as the starting point for your review feed. You can customize all of these templates using the Smash Balloon editor.
We’re using the ‘Default’ template, but you can choose any template you want.
With that done, click on the ‘Next’ button.
Smash Balloon will now go ahead and create a feed of all your Facebook reviews.
How to Customize Your Embedded Facebook Reviews
This is a good start, but Smash Balloon has lots of settings that you can use to customize how the reviews appear on your WordPress website.
To fine-tune your review feed, go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds. Here, find the feed you just created and click on the ‘Edit’ button next to it.
This opens the Smash Balloon feed editor, which shows a preview of your review feed.
On the left-hand side, you’ll see all the different settings you can use to customize how the review feed looks on your site. Most of these settings are fairly straightforward, but we’ll quickly cover all the main settings.
If you want to change the template you’re using, simply click on ‘Template.’
Then, select the ‘Change’ button and choose a new template.
When you’re happy with the layout, click on the ‘Customize’ link.
This will take you back to the main Smash Balloon editor, where you can move to the next settings screen, which is ‘Feed Layout.’
On this screen, you can switch between masonry and list layouts and change the feed height.
As you make changes, the preview on the right will update automatically, so you can try different settings to see what works best for your Facebook review feed.
By default, Smash Balloon will show a different number of reviews on desktop computers and mobile devices.
You can preview how the feed will look on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones using the row of buttons in the upper-right corner.
Just because your feed looks great on desktop devices, doesn’t mean it will look as good on smartphones and tablets.
To make this change, simply find the ‘Number of Posts’ section and type a different number into the ‘Mobile’ field.
If you do want to show less content on smartphones and tablets, then you can also change the number of columns.
To show fewer columns on mobile devices, simply type some new numbers into the ‘Columns’ settings. In the following image, we’re splitting the content into 3 columns on desktop, 2 columns on tablet, and 1 column on mobile devices.
By default, Smash Balloon uses the same color scheme as your WordPress theme, but it also lets you switch to a ‘Light’ or ‘Dark’ color scheme.
To take a look at these options, click on ‘Color Scheme’ on the main Smash Balloon menu. Here, you can test out the ‘Light’ and ‘Dark’ color schemes, change the text color in WordPress, select ‘Custom’ and use the controls to change the background color, and more.
Next, you can add a header above your review feed, which can include content like your page’s profile picture and name. This makes it clear that all the positive reviews are for your page or business.
To add a header section, select ‘Header’ from the left-hand menu.
To start, you can add or hide the header by clicking on the ‘Enable’ slider.
If you do show a header, then you can use the controls to change the size of the header and its color, hide or show your page’s profile picture, show your page’s bio and likes, and more.
After that, you can change how the individual reviews look inside the feed by selecting ‘Post Style’ from the left-hand menu.
After that, click on ‘Post Style’ again.
Here, you can choose between a regular and a boxed layout.
If you click on ‘Boxed,’ then you can create a colored background for each post. You can also make the border radius larger to create curved corners or add a border shadow to help your reviews stand out.
If you choose a ‘Regular’ layout, then you can change the color and thickness of the line that separates the different reviews.
In the following image, we’ve increased the line thickness and used a different color.
You can also style the individual parts within each review by going back to the main Smash Balloon settings screen.
Once again, select ‘Post Style’ and then click on ‘Edit Individual Elements’ instead.
You’ll now see all the different content that Smash Balloon shows from each review, such as the customer’s name, the date, and the number of likes, shares, and comments.
To remove a piece of content from your embedded reviews, click to uncheck its box.
To style a piece of content, simply click on its title. This will take you to a screen where you can change its text size and text color.
This allows you to make certain content stand out more than others. For example, you may want to make the review text bigger than the name of the person who left the review.
By default, Smash Balloon will show a ‘View all Reviews’ link below each review.
You can change how this link looks or even replace it with your own message by clicking on ‘Post Action Links.’
Here, you can change the text size and color.
To replace the default text, simply type into the ‘View All Reviews text’ field.
By default, Smash Balloon doesn’t add a Facebook ‘Like’ button to your review feed. This button makes it easier for visitors to follow you on Facebook, so they can learn more about your business.
For this reason, you may want to add this button by selecting the ‘Like Box’ settings.
Here, simply click on ‘Enable’ so that the toggle turns blue.
You can now use the ‘Position’ dropdown to show the Like Box below or above the review feed.
You can also use these settings to make the button large or small, show your page’s cover photo, or add a custom call-to-action.
Reviews are already a powerful form of social proof, but you may also want to show the total number of people who follow you on Facebook. To do this, simply click on the ‘Show fans’ switch so that it turns blue.
The ‘Load More’ button gives visitors an easy way to scroll through more of your reviews. If you have a lot of reviews, then it’s a good idea to add this button to your feed if it isn’t already enabled.
To do this, select the ‘Load More Button’ option from the left-hand menu.
Then, click on the ‘Enable’ toggle so that it turns blue.
You can also make the button stand out by changing its background color, hover state, and text color.
You can even add your own messaging to the button by typing into the ‘Text’ field. For example, you may want to use something like ‘Read More Reviews.’
When you’re happy with how the Facebook review feed looks, don’t forget to click on ‘Save’ to store your changes.
How to Embed Your Facebook Review Feed in WordPress
You’re now ready to add the review feed to your site using a block, widget, or shortcode.
If you’ve created more than one feed using Smash Balloon, then you’ll need to know the review feed’s code if you’re planning to use a block or widget.
To get this information, go to Facebook Feed »All Feeds and then look at the feed="" part of the shortcode. This is the code you’ll need to add to a block or widget, so make a note of it.
In the following image, we’ll need to use feed="5".
If you want to embed your reviews in a page or post, then you can use the ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ block.
Simply open the page or post where you want to show your reviews. Then, click on the ‘+’ icon to add a new block and start typing ‘Custom Facebook Feed.’
When the Facebook block appears, click to add it to your page or post.
The block will show one of your Smash Balloon feeds by default. If this isn’t your Facebook review feed, then find the ‘Shortcode Settings’ section in the right-hand menu.
Here, go ahead and add the feed="" code, then click on ‘Apply Changes.’
After that, publish or update the page to make the reviews live on your website.
Another option is to add the feed to any widget-ready area, such as the sidebar or similar section. This allows visitors to see your latest reviews no matter where they are on your WordPress website.
To do this, head over to Appearance » Widgets in the WordPress dashboard and then click on the blue ‘+’ button.
After that, type ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ into the search bar.
When the right widget appears, drag it to where you want to show the reviews on your WordPress website, such as the sidebar.
By default, the widget will show one of the feeds you created using Smash Balloon.
If this isn’t your Facebook review feed, then type the feed’s code into the ‘Shortcode Settings’ box. After that, click on ‘Apply Changes.’
Another option is embedding the review feed on any page, post, or widget-ready area using a shortcode. Simply head over to Facebook Feed »All Feeds and copy all the code under the ‘Shortcode’ column.
Finally, if you have a block-enabled theme, then you can use the full-site editor to add the ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ block anywhere on your site.
In the WordPress dashboard, simply go to Appearance » Editor.
By default, the full-site editor will show the theme’s home template. If you want to add the review feed to a different template, then click on the arrow next to ‘Home.’
You can then choose a template from the dropdown menu, such as the footer template.
Another option is to click on ‘Browse all templates.’
The full-site editor will now show a list of all the templates you can edit. Simply click on the template where you want to show your reviews.
Once you’ve chosen your template, simply hover your mouse over the area where you want to add the review feed.
Then, click on the blue ‘+’ when it appears.
After that, start typing in ‘Custom Facebook Feed.’
When the right block appears, click to add it to the template.
As always, Smash Balloon will show a feed by default. You can change this feed by adding a shortcode following the same process described above.
Do you want to better manage online booking on your WordPress site? Many WordPress businesses and individuals rely on a booking system to efficiently run their business and manage customers. In this article, we will show you how to better manage online booking in WordPress with StartBooking.
Why Manage Online Booking in WordPress with StartBooking
Often business websites need an online booking management system to allow customers to book appointments online without calling.
Aside from offering convenience to customers, it also enables you to efficiently manage your time and services. There are plenty of booking plugins for WordPress to choose from. Here are some of the things you should look for in an online booking solution.
Does it allow you to easily add booking forms to your website?
Are the features customizable enough to match your business?
Does it integrate with third-party services like Google Calendar?
Does it have smart scheduling to avoid overlapping or incorrect appointments?
Does it have the ability to add staff schedules which is highly useful for services like salons, spas, etc?
That being said, let’s see how to easily manage online booking in WordPress with StartBooking.
Managing Online Booking in WordPress with StartBooking
First, you need to visit StartBooking website to create an account. StartBooking is a paid service, but it does offer a free plan for those starting out.
Once you have signed up, you will be taken to your account dashboard. From here you need to click on your account name at the top right corner, so you can access the settings page.
On the settings page, you need to click on the ‘Hours’ section from the left column and then start saving your business hours for each day.
If you run a multi-staff business like spa or salon, then you can add your staff by visiting the users section under account settings. You will be able to edit hours, notifications, and role for each user.
StartBooking allows you to add multiple services that customers can book for. You can visit the ‘Services’ page where an ‘Example Service’ will already be added for you.
You can edit or delete the Example Service. You can also create new services as needed.
On the new service page, you can provide a title and description for the service offered. After that, you need to select the duration, cost, user (staff member assigned to the task), and add price.
Once you are done, click on the ‘Add Service’ button to save your changes. Repeat the process to add more services if necessary.
Now that you have set your StartBooking account, let’s connect it to WordPress by using their WordPress booking plugin.
Upon activation, the plugin will add a new menu item labeled ‘Booking’ to your WordPress admin sidebar. Clicking on it will take you to the plugin’s settings page.
You need to click on the ‘Connect My Account’ button and log in using your StartBooking account details. Once connected, you will see the plugin’s settings page.
It will automatically create a new page on your WordPress site called ‘Book Now’ and the online booking form shortcode inside it.
You can click on the ‘View Page’ link to see your online booking system in action.
If you have multiple services, then users will first see the option to select a service and then click on continue button. On the next screen, they will be able to select the date and time.
In the next step, customers will provide their contact information and save their appointment.
After that StartBooking will see send a confirmation email to the customers, and they will also be able to see their appointment details on screen. You or the staff member assigned for the service will also receive an email notification.
If you don’t want to use the default ‘Book Now’ page created by the plugin, then you can also select any other page on your WordPress site to display your online booking form. Simply add the following shortcode to your page.
[startbooking]
This shortcode will display full booking form flow with services, date, time, and customer information.
You can also create call to action buttons to be used on your services pages. Simply use the following shortcode with a service ID which you can find under the plugin settings.
Viewing and Managing Your Online Booking Appoinments
StartBooking not only makes it easy for your users to make a booking, but it also allows you to easily manage your time using a simple dashboard.
Simply head over to the StartBooking website, and you will be able to see all your booked time slots. You can switch the calendar view into day, week, or month to see more appointments or click on an individual appointment to see details.
StartBooking can also integrate into your Google Calendar to sync your appointments. Simply go to your account settings and then click on the ‘Integrations’ tab.
You need to click on the connect button next to Google Calendar. This will take you to your Google account where you will be asked to give StartBooking access to update your Google Calendar.
Click on the ‘Allow’ button to continue.
After that, you will be able to see all your appointments on your phone using the Google Calendar app.
At this point, I’ve already stuck my foot in my mouth when it comes to quoting the price of cryptocurrencies here at WPLift. Suffice it to say, there are all kinds of reasons you might want to accept cryptocurrency payments at your WooCommerce store – you probably know most of them already if you’re reading ... Read moreWooCoinbase Review: Add Coinbase Commerce Gateway To WooCommerce
Are you looking for a calculator plugin for your WordPress blog? There are many types of WordPress plugins to calculate prices, measurements, dates, form fields, and more. In this article, we have hand-picked some of the best calculator plugins for WordPress.
Calculated Fields Form allows you to create forms and do mathematical calculations among form fields. It comes with a form and logic builder which you can use to add fields, assign values to those fields, and define mathematical operators to run.
It is quite flexible and can be used for a wide range of use cases. The plugin’s user interface may look a little rough around the edges, but don’t let it stop you from trying the powerful features packed inside.
CT Mortgage Calculator allows you to easily add a simple mortgage calculator to your website. It runs well with other popular WordPress real estate plugins and comes with an easy to use widget that you can add to your sidebar. You can enter a title for the widget and enter a currency name or symbol.
It uses JavaScript to do the calculations and allows users to enter the mortgage amount, interest rate, installments, and down payment options to calculate their monthly payment.
Responsive Mortgage Calculator is another easy to use mortgage calculator for real estate websites. It comes with a sidebar widget and shortcode that you can use inside your WordPress posts, pages, and below your listings.
It also comes with light and dark color schemes however you can disable plugin styling and use your theme’s colors or add custom CSS to style the calculator.
If you are running an online store with WooCommerce that has items available in flexible measurement sizes, then this is the plugin you will need. It allows you to add item pricing based on measurement selected by the customer.
It comes with quantity-based calculation method which automatically calculates pricing from user’s selected quantity. The other method is user-defined which allows customers to select different measurements to calculate pricing and shipping. It is tested to work well with other top WooCommerce plugins and addons.
This plugin provides additional WooCommerce product options and pricing calculation formulas. It comes with custom product layout builder which allows you to add and display more product options for each item.
It includes conditional logic and formulas to calculate pricing based on selection. You can use it to show, hide, or completely change product pricing based on customer selection. You can also use mathematical formulas to calculate product pricing and other display options.
WooCommerce Price Based on Country does exactly what it says. The plugin uses WooCommerce’s geolocation feature to guess customer’s location and then displays pricing in the local currency.
It can automatically calculate pricing by the exchange rate, or you can also manually set it for each currency. It also includes a country switcher widget which enables users to change country and currency on their own. This plugin works well with multilingual WordPress sites.
TimeZoneCalculator allows you to calculate time difference among different timezones. You can select the timezones that you want to display and then add it to your WordPress sidebar using a sidebar widget.
The plugin also comes with shortcodes which enables you to display time with timezone calculator on any page or post.
Date Calculator is a simple plugin that allows you to calculate dates and display them using shortcodes. You can calculate dates by adding or subtracting days. You can also use a simple shortcode to display today’s date.
Repayment Calculator and Loan Application form is a flexible WordPress plugin that can be used for a number of businesses. It allows users to select a loan amount, term, and calculate their monthly payments.
It comes with a number of styles with borders, colors, and backgrounds. It can be used with any currency and comes with the loan application form as well.
The CC BMI Calculator is a simple body mass index calculator that can be used on health and fitness websites. It allows users to enter their height and weight information to see their body mass index score.
The plugin allows you to choose different styles by changing colors however using this feature requires you to add a link to the plugin author website. It is available in both imperial and metric systems, so you can also choose which unit will be used as the default option.
We hope this article helped you discover the best calculator plugins for WordPress. You may also want to see our list of must have WordPress plugins for business websites.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
We are often asked by users whether they should install a WordPress plugin or add code to their theme’s functions.php file? Some users believe that adding code is always the better method for performance, but that’s actually not true. In this article, we will explain the pros and cons of WordPress plugin vs functions.php file and which method is better.
Installing WordPress Plugins vs Custom Code in Functions.php File
You will often find two solutions to add something to your WordPress site. You can either install a WordPress plugin or add a code snippet to your theme’s functions.php file.
Both methods will do the same thing, and they are both correct. However, many users want to know which one is better for WordPress speed and performance.
Some users feel concerned about installing too many plugins, and how it may affect their website speed and WordPress security. Others worry that adding custom code can break their website, and they may not be able to easily fix it.
Let’s compare both solutions to figure out which one is better for WordPress performance.
Pros and Cons of functions.php File
Functions file in WordPress allows theme developers to define custom functionality for their theme. This file acts like a giant WordPress plugin and can be used to add any other custom code snippets you may want to add to your website.
Here are the advantages of adding custom code to your theme’s functions.php file.
Pros
You can easily use built-in theme editor in admin area to edit functions.php file
You can copy and paste all code snippets in one file
You get a chance to study the code and learn how it works
However, there are also some disadvantages of using functions.php file to save all your custom functionality.
Cons
Your custom code will not work if you switch themes
Unless you are using a child theme, updating your theme will overwrite functions.php file
It becomes harder to understand where theme code ends and where your custom code begins
Some code snippets can be too large and need additional scripts and styles
Understanding Limitations of WordPress Functions File
Adding code snippets to your functions.php file will have the exact same impact on performance, that a WordPress plugin with the same code would have otherwise.
Not all functionality and features you need can be added to the functions.php file. For example, a custom code may need additional scripts and stylesheets to work properly.
We believe that the theme’s functions.php file should be used for what it’s intended purpose was: theme based functionality added by developers.
Pros and Cons of Installing WordPress Plugins
WordPress plugins are like apps for your WordPress website. They contain code that hooks itself to the core WordPress software to provide more features and functionality.
Here are some advantages of using a WordPress plugin instead of adding code to your functions file.
Pros
A WordPress plugin doesn’t depend on your theme
If it is the same code, then it would have the same performance impact as functions file
It is easier to disable, update, or reinstall as needed
Easier to manage as you know what each plugin does from its description
Now, we are not saying that installing all WordPress plugins is good. There are some disadvantages as well.
Cons
You will have to install updates for another plugin
Plugin author could abandon the plugin in the future specially if it’s free
You wouldn’t get to practice with the code
WordPress Plugin vs Functions File – Which One is Better?
If there is a WordPress plugin with the same code, then we believe that using a plugin is a better choice.
In terms of performance, it does not matter where the code runs. Whether it loads from functions.php file or as a separate plugin, if it is the same code, then it will have the same performance impact.
Managing separate plugins is much easier than editing a single large functions file. Adding random code snippets in the same file even when they are not related or dependant on each other makes things complicated.
If you choose a plugin, then you can benefit from future updates which may improve performance, fix bug, or patch security vulnerability.
When Should I Add Code to Functions.php File?
If the functionality you are trying to add is not available as a plugin and the code snippet is really simple, then you can add it to your theme’s functions file.
Another possible scenario is when you are adding functionality that is related to your WordPress theme or child theme. For example, creating new image sizes, showing dates, adding custom code before or after content, and more.
If you often add custom code snippets to your website, then there are even better ways to do that. You can save them in a site-specific WordPress plugin or use Code Snippets plugin to organize all your custom code.
We hope this article helped you understand WordPress plugin vs functions.php file and which one is better. You may also want to see our beginner’s guide on how to choose the best WordPress plugins for your website.
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