PayPal is a great payment processor that allows anyone to send you money, which you can then send directly to your bank account. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to make a WordPress plugin allowing you to generate a Buy Now button, using a variable shortcode.
The main shortcode will have a default value of $50 USD, with the Large size, though you'll be able to overwrite this every time you enter the shortcode; this is known as a variable shortcode.
So, let's get started!
Create a new directory in wp-content/plugins called paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode, and within that, create a file called paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode.php.
In order for WordPress to know that this is a plugin, you need to add the following header information to the beginning of your new PHP file.
<?php /** * Plugin Name: PayPal Buy Now Button Shortcode * Plugin URI: http://www.samberson.com * Description: A simple PayPal Buy Now button plugin with shortcode. * Version: 1.0.0 * Author: Sam Berson * Author URI: http://www.samberson.com * License: GPL-3.0+ * License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html * Domain Path: /lang * Text Domain: paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode */
You'll now begin by creating a new function with attributes, called paypal_buy_now_shortcode( $atts ), and opening up the function.
/**
* Generates the markup for the shortcode on the public site.
*/
function paypal_buy_now_shortcode( $atts ) {Next, you'll set up the plugin's options, and add an array containing the default shortcode attributes.
$options = get_option( 'paypal_buy_now_options' );
$atts = shortcode_atts(
array(
'amount' => '50',
'currency' => 'USD',
'size' => 'SM'
),
$atts
);
extract( $atts );You're now going to set the output for the front-end of the shortcode, which is a standard HTML form, with some PHP included in it, which will transmit the form data such as the PayPal ID, amount, currency, and button size. You'll also close off the new function, which you created before.
return '<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<div class="paypal-donations">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="' . $options['paypal_user_id'] . '">
<input type="hidden" name="amount" value="' . $amount . '">
<input type="hidden" name="rm" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="' . $currency . '">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_' . $size . '.gif" name="submit" alt="' . __( 'PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online.', 'paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode' ) . '">
<img alt="" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</div>
</form>';
}Finally, you'll initialise the function as a shortcode by using the add_shortcode() function, which is built in to WordPress. Essentially, you're saying that the shortcode will be [buy_now], using the paypal_buy_now_shortcode function.
add_shortcode( 'buy_now', 'paypal_buy_now_shortcode' );
Next, you'll add the paypal_buy_now_user_id function, and its options, which will allow an HTML input field to display in the back end.
/**
* Generates the markup for the PayPal user id.
*/
function paypal_buy_now_user_id() {
$options = get_option( 'paypal_buy_now_options' );
echo "<input name='paypal_buy_now_options[paypal_user_id]' type='email' value='{$options['paypal_user_id']}'/>";
}With the paypal_buy_now_register_settings function, you'll be registering the settings fields in the back end, and giving their data names. In this case, you're registering the settings, adding the section to the back end, and then initializing the PayPal Id field.
/**
* Registers settings page and fields.
*/
function paypal_buy_now_register_settings() {
register_setting( 'paypal_buy_now_settings', 'paypal_buy_now_options' );
add_settings_section( 'paypal_buy_now_section', '', null, __FILE__ );
add_settings_field( 'paypal_user_id', __( 'PayPal Id', 'paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode' ),'paypal_buy_now_user_id', __FILE__, 'paypal_buy_now_section' );
}Similar to what you did earlier with the shortcode initialization, you're going to add the paypal_buy_now_register_settings function as an action in the admin area.
add_action( 'admin_init', 'paypal_buy_now_register_settings' );
The paypal_buy_now_options_page function will allow you to add the HTML required to display the form correctly in the back end. After adding the function, you'll create the HTML structure, with an opening div and h2, and then the form with the fields you initialized earlier.
/**
* Generates the markup for the options page.
*/
function paypal_buy_now_options_page() {
?>
<div class="wrap">
<h2><?php _e( 'PayPal Buy Now Shortcode Settings', 'paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode' ); ?></h2>
<form method="post" action="options.php" enctype="multipart/form-data">
<?php
settings_fields( 'paypal_buy_now_settings' );
do_settings_sections( __FILE__ );
?>
<p class="submit">
<input type="submit" class="button-primary" name="submit" value="<?php _e( 'Save Changes', 'paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode' ); ?>">
</p>
</form>
</div>
<?php
}Now, the paypal_buy_now_add_settings_menu function will allow you to create a new menu / page in the back end, and define what the various titles should be.
/**
* Adds menu item to the settings.
*/
function paypal_buy_now_add_settings_menu() {
$title = __( 'PayPal Buy Now Shortcode', 'paypal-buy-now-button-shortcode' );
add_options_page( $title, $title, 'administrator', __FILE__, 'paypal_buy_now_options_page');
}
add_action( 'admin_menu', 'paypal_buy_now_add_settings_menu' );You've now successfully created the plugin, but how do you use it? Well, it's very simple.
If you use the main shortcode on its own, like below, you'll see a large button, which when clicked will set the amount as $50 USD.
[buy_now]
You can then use the different attributes you set up to alter the button. So you can set the size to either small ('SM'), or large ('LG').
[buy_now size=LG]
Then, the currency code can be set as any of the recognised PayPal currencies, such as USD or GBP.
[buy_now currency=GBP size=LG]
Finally, you'll set the amount as a numerical value, such as 100, or 40. Remember not to include the currency symbol in the amount variable.
[buy_now amount=150 currency=GBP size=LG]
One final point I should make is that because there are default values set already, you don't need to set all three variables each time; you could simply change one or two of them, if need be.
That's it! You've now created a new plugin which allows you to create a PayPal Buy Now button, using a variable shortcode. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below!
Create Modern Vue Apps Using Create-Vue and Vite
/
5Pros and Cons of Using WordPress
/
-4How to Fix the “There Has Been a Critical Error in Your Website” Error in WordPress
/
1How To Fix The “There Has Been A Critical Error in Your Website” Error in WordPress
How to Create a Privacy Policy Page in WordPress
/
7WordPress Website Maintenance Guide For Beginners
/
6How Long Does It Take to Learn JavaScript?
/
-1How Long Does it Take to Learn JavaScript
/
1The Best Way to Deep Copy an Object in JavaScript
/
-2
4
-6Adding and Removing Elements From Arrays in JavaScript
/
-1Create a JavaScript AJAX Post Request: With and Without jQuery
/
85 Real-Life Uses for the JavaScript reduce() Method
/
-10How to Enable or Disable a Button With [removed] jQuery vs. Vanilla
/
2How to Enable or Disable a Button With [removed] jQuery vs Vanilla
/
-3Confirm Yes or No With JavaScript
/
-3How to Change the URL in [removed] Redirecting
/
-415+ Best WordPress Twitter Widgets
/
-227 Best Tab and Accordion Widget Plugins for WordPress (Free & Premium)
/
1121 Best Tab and Accordion Widget Plugins for WordPress (Free & Premium)
/
-1130 HTML Best Practices for Beginners
/
-731 Best WordPress Calendar Plugins and Widgets (With 5 Free Plugins)
/
625 Ridiculously Impressive HTML5 Canvas Experiments
/
-4
1How to Implement Email Verification for New Members
/
2How to Create a Simple Web-Based Chat Application
/
630 Popular WordPress User Interface Elements
/
-4Top 18 Best Practices for Writing Super Readable Code
/
3Best Affiliate WooCommerce Plugins Compared
/
-1018 Best WordPress Star Rating Plugins
/
1410+ Best WordPress Twitter Widgets
/
320+ Best WordPress Booking and Reservation Plugins
/
5Working With Tables in React: Part Two
/
-4Best CSS Animations and Effects on CodeCanyon
/
-1630 CSS Best Practices for Beginners
/
4How to Create a Custom WordPress Plugin From Scratch
/
510 Best Responsive HTML5 Sliders for Images and Text… and 3 Free Options
/
-516 Best Tab and Accordion Widget Plugins for WordPress
/
-518 Best WordPress Membership Plugins and 5 Free Plugins
/
325 Best WooCommerce Plugins for Products, Pricing, Payments and More
/
210 Best WordPress Twitter Widgets
1 /
1512 Best Contact Form PHP Scripts for 2020
/
-420 Popular WordPress User Interface Elements
/
-210 Best WordPress Star Rating Plugins
/
-412 Best CSS Animations on CodeCanyon
/
112 Best WordPress Booking and Reservation Plugins
/
120 Best WordPress Calendar Plugins and Widgets
/
-212 Elegant CSS Pricing Tables for Your Latest Web Project
/
724 Best WordPress Form Plugins for 2020
/
-214 Best PHP Event Calendar and Booking Scripts
/
-2Create a Blog for Each Category or Department in Your WooCommerce Store
/
28 Best WordPress Booking and Reservation Plugins
/
-18Best Exit Popups for WordPress Compared
/
20Best Exit Popups for WordPress Compared
/
-611 Best Tab & Accordion WordPress Widgets & Plugins
/
-1012 Best Tab & Accordion WordPress Widgets & Plugins
1 /
1New Course: Practical React Fundamentals
/
3Short Course: Better Angular App Architecture With Modules
/
3Preview Our New Course on Angular Material
/
4Object-Oriented PHP With Classes and Objects
/
3Best Practices for ARIA Implementation
/
-3Accessible Apps: Barriers to Access and Getting Started With Accessibility
/
-4Dramatically Speed Up Your React Front-End App Using Lazy Loading
/
1915 Best Modern JavaScript Admin Templates for React, Angular, and Vue.js
/
-1515 Best Modern JavaScript Admin Templates for React, Angular and Vue.js
/
219 Best JavaScript Admin Templates for React, Angular, and Vue.js
/
3New Course: Build an App With JavaScript and the MEAN Stack
/
12Hands-on With ARIA: Accessibility Recipes for Web Apps
/
910 Best WordPress Facebook Widgets
13 /
-5Hands-on With ARIA: Accessibility for eCommerce
/
6New eBooks Available for Subscribers
/
-6Hands-on With ARIA: Homepage Elements and Standard Navigation
/
10
-8Site Accessibility: Getting Started With ARIA
/
4How Secure Are Your JavaScript Open-Source Dependencies?
/
-1New Course: Secure Your WordPress Site With SSL
/
-3Testing Components in React Using Jest and Enzyme
/
-9Testing Components in React Using Jest: The Basics
/
-515 Best PHP Event Calendar and Booking Scripts
/
-1Create Interactive Gradient Animations Using Granim.js
/
10How to Build Complex, Large-Scale Vue.js Apps With Vuex
1Examples of Dependency Injection in PHP With Symfony Components
/
-6Set Up Routing in PHP Applications Using the Symfony Routing Component
1 /
11A Beginner’s Guide to Regular Expressions in JavaScript
/
13Introduction to Popmotion: Custom Animation Scrubber
/
-6Introduction to Popmotion: Pointers and Physics
/
-10New Course: Connect to a Database With Laravel’s Eloquent ORM
/
-5How to Create a Custom Settings Panel in WooCommerce
/
-12Building the DOM faster: speculative parsing, async, defer and preload
120 Useful PHP Scripts Available on CodeCanyon
3 /
51How to Find and Fix Poor Page Load Times With Raygun
/
1Introduction to the Stimulus Framework
/
-12Single-Page React Applications With the React-Router and React-Transition-Group Modules
/
2
812 Best Contact Form PHP Scripts
1 /
-5Getting Started With the Mojs Animation Library: The ShapeSwirl and Stagger Modules
/
1Getting Started With the Mojs Animation Library: The Shape Module
/
-4Getting Started With the Mojs Animation Library: The HTML Module
/
4Project Management Considerations for Your WordPress Project
/
-88 Things That Make Jest the Best React Testing Framework
/
3Creating an Image Editor Using CamanJS: Layers, Blend Modes, and Events
/
-2New Short Course: Code a Front-End App With GraphQL and React
/
1Creating an Image Editor Using CamanJS: Applying Basic Filters
/
-14Creating an Image Editor Using CamanJS: Creating Custom Filters and Blend Modes
/
-3Challenge: Create a To-Do List in React
1 /
1Deploy PHP Web Applications Using Laravel Forge
/
-2Getting Started With the Mojs Animation Library: The Burst Module
/
6
-1010 Things Men Can Do to Support Women in Tech
/
1A Gentle Introduction to Higher-Order Components in React: Best Practices
/
-4Challenge: Build a React Component
/
-4A Gentle Introduction to HOC in React: Learn by Example
/
5A Gentle Introduction to Higher-Order Components in React
/
-6Creating Pretty Popup Messages Using SweetAlert2
/
5Creating Stylish and Responsive Progress Bars Using ProgressBar.js
/
1818 Best Contact Form PHP Scripts for 2022
/
-3How to Make a Real-Time Sports Application Using Node.js
/
-1Creating a Blogging App Using Angular & MongoDB: Delete Post
/
-16Set Up an OAuth2 Server Using Passport in Laravel
/
1Creating a Blogging App Using Angular & MongoDB: Edit Post
/
-2Creating a Blogging App Using Angular & MongoDB: Add Post
/
-1Introduction to Mocking in Python
/
-1Creating a Blogging App Using Angular & MongoDB: Show Post
/
9Creating a Blogging App Using Angular & MongoDB: Home
/
8
3Creating a Blogging App Using Angular & MongoDB: Login
/
13Creating Your First Angular App: Implement Routing
/
12Persisted WordPress Admin Notices: Part 4
/
-4Creating Your First Angular App: Components, Part 2
/
4Persisted WordPress Admin Notices: Part 3
/
4
8Persisted WordPress Admin Notices: Part 2
/
-3Create Your First Angular App: Storing and Accessing Data
/
3Persisted WordPress Admin Notices: Part 1
/
-3Error and Performance Monitoring for Web & Mobile Apps Using Raygun
/
6Using Luxon for Date and Time in JavaScript
7 /
-6How to Create an Audio Oscillator With the Web Audio API
/
-4How to Cache Using Redis in Django Applications
/
220 Essential WordPress Utilities to Manage Your Site
/
-6Introduction to API Calls With React and Axios
/
18Beginner’s Guide to Angular 4: HTTP
/
12Rapid Web Deployment for Laravel With GitHub, Linode, and RunCloud.io
/
9Beginners Guide to Angular 4: Routing
/
-9Beginner’s Guide to Angular 4: Components
/
2Creating a Drop-Down Menu for Mobile Pages
/
6Introduction to Forms in Angular 4: Writing Custom Form Validators
/
510 Best WordPress Booking & Reservation Plugins
/
-1Getting Started With Redux: Connecting Redux With React
/
15Getting Started With Redux: Learn by Example
/
16Getting Started With Redux: Why Redux?
/
9Understanding Recursion With JavaScript
/
-3How to Auto Update WordPress Salts
/
-7How to Download Files in Python
/
-3
-22Eloquent Mutators and Accessors in Laravel
1 /
18
-11
1310 Best HTML5 Sliders for Images and Text
/
6Site Authentication in Node.js: User Signup
/
-4Creating a Task Manager App Using Ionic: Part 2
/
1Creating a Task Manager App Using Ionic: Part 1
/
1
4Introduction to Forms in Angular 4: Template-Driven Forms
/
-224 Essential WordPress Utilities to Manage Your Site
/
-225 Essential WordPress Utilities to Manage Your Site
/
-11Get Rid of Bugs Quickly Using BugReplay
1 /
-16Manipulating HTML5 Canvas Using Konva: Part 1, Getting Started
/
610 Must-See Easy Digital Downloads Extensions for Your WordPress Site
/
-122 Best WordPress Booking and Reservation Plugins
/
-6Understanding ExpressJS Routing
/
-715 Best WordPress Star Rating Plugins
/
12Inheritance and Extending Objects With JavaScript
/
-9Introduction to the CSS Grid Layout With Examples
1 /
1
7Performant Animations Using KUTE.js: Part 5, Easing Functions and Attributes
/
-9Performant Animations Using KUTE.js: Part 4, Animating Text
/
-14Performant Animations Using KUTE.js: Part 3, Animating SVG
/
-9New Course: Code a Quiz App With Vue.js
/
-1Performant Animations Using KUTE.js: Part 2, Animating CSS Properties
/
3
8Performant Animations Using KUTE.js: Part 1, Getting Started
/
110 Best Responsive HTML5 Sliders for Images and Text (Plus 3 Free Options)
/
-3Single-Page Applications With ngRoute and ngAnimate in AngularJS
/
-13Deferring Tasks in Laravel Using Queues
/
-5
4Site Authentication in Node.js: User Signup and Login
/
11Working With Tables in React, Part Two
/
-16Working With Tables in React, Part One
/
6How to Set Up a Scalable, E-Commerce-Ready WordPress Site Using ClusterCS
/
-4New Course on WordPress Conditional Tags
/
2TypeScript for Beginners, Part 5: Generics
/
1
-13Building With Vue.js 2 and Firebase
6 /
11
-8
-1Best Unique Bootstrap JavaScript Plugins
/
-9
-4Essential JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks You Should Know About
/
7
2Vue.js Crash Course: Create a Simple Blog Using Vue.js
/
-13Build a React App With a Laravel RESTful Back End: Part 1, Laravel 5.5 API
/
4API Authentication With Node.js
/
-5Beginner’s Guide to Angular: HTTP
/
7Beginner’s Guide to Angular: Routing
/
-4Beginners Guide to Angular: Routing
/
-5Beginner’s Guide to Angular: Services
/
4How to Create a Custom Authentication Guard in Laravel
/
5Learn Computer Science With [removed] Part 3, Loops
/
-4Build Web Applications Using Node.js
/
1Learn Computer Science With [removed] Part 4, Functions
/
4Learn Computer Science With [removed] Part 2, Conditionals
/
14Learn Computer Science With [removed] Part 1, The Basics
/
-4Create Interactive Charts Using Plotly.js, Part 5: Pie and Gauge Charts
/
-9Create Interactive Charts Using Plotly.js, Part 4: Bubble and Dot Charts
/
18Create Interactive Charts Using Plotly.js, Part 3: Bar Charts
/
-13Awesome JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks You Should Know About
/
-4Create Interactive Charts Using Plotly.js, Part 2: Line Charts
/
-8Bulk Import a CSV File Into MongoDB Using Mongoose With Node.js
/
-5Build a To-Do API With Node, Express, and MongoDB
/
-7Getting Started With End-to-End Testing in Angular Using Protractor
/
9TypeScript for Beginners, Part 4: Classes
/
-10Object-Oriented Programming With JavaScript
/
610 Best Affiliate WooCommerce Plugins Compared
/
8Stateful vs. Stateless Functional Components in React
/
10Make Your JavaScript Code Robust With Flow
/
-5Build a To-Do API With Node and Restify
/
7Testing Components in Angular Using Jasmine: Part 2, Services
/
2Testing Components in Angular Using Jasmine: Part 1
/
-2Creating a Blogging App Using React, Part 6: Tags
/
-11React Crash Course for Beginners, Part 3
/
2React Crash Course for Beginners, Part 2
/
10React Crash Course for Beginners, Part 1
/
2Set Up a React Environment, Part 4
1 /
8Set Up a React Environment, Part 3
/
-12New Course: Get Started With Phoenix
/
-10Set Up a React Environment, Part 2
/
2Set Up a React Environment, Part 1
/
1Command Line Basics and Useful Tricks With the Terminal
/
5How to Create a Real-Time Feed Using Phoenix and React
/
-7Build a React App With a Laravel Back End: Part 2, React
/
2Build a React App With a Laravel RESTful Back End: Part 1, Laravel 9 API
/
-6Creating a Blogging App Using React, Part 5: Profile Page
/
-5Pagination in CodeIgniter: The Complete Guide
/
23JavaScript-Based Animations Using Anime.js, Part 4: Callbacks, Easings, and SVG
JavaScript-Based Animations Using Anime.js, Part 3: Values, Timeline, and Playback
Learn to Code With [removed] Part 1, The Basics
/
510 Elegant CSS Pricing Tables for Your Latest Web Project
/
-8Getting Started With the Flux Architecture in React
/
-3Getting Started With Matter.js: The Composites and Composite Modules
/
4Getting Started With Matter.js: The Engine and World Modules
/
1410 More Popular HTML5 Projects for You to Use and Study
/
-24Understand the Basics of Laravel Middleware
/
-6Iterating Fast With Django & Heroku
/
8Creating a Blogging App Using React, Part 4: Update & Delete Posts
/
4Creating a jQuery Plugin for Long Shadow Design
/
-10How to Register & Use Laravel Service Providers
2 /
-13Unit Testing in React: Shallow vs. Static Testing
/
4Creating a Blogging App Using React, Part 3: Add & Display Post
/
16Creating a Blogging App Using React, Part 2: User Sign-Up
20 /
-6Creating a Blogging App Using React, Part 1: User Sign-In
/
99 More Popular HTML5 Projects for You to Use and Study
/
17Creating a Grocery List Manager Using Angular, Part 2: Managing Items
/
8Dynamic Page Templates in WordPress, Part 3
/
-1Angular vs. React: 7 Key Features Compared
/
5Creating a Grocery List Manager Using Angular, Part 1: Add & Display Items
/
3New eBooks Available for Subscribers in June 2017
/
6Create Interactive Charts Using Plotly.js, Part 1: Getting Started
/
1133 Popular WordPress User Interface Elements
/
2New Course: How to Hack Your Own App
/
-11How to Install Yii on Windows or a Mac
/
5What Is a JavaScript Operator?
/
-5How to Register and Use Laravel Service Providers
/
8
waly Good blog post. I absolutely love this…