WordPress shortcodes are simple but powerful tools in your WordPress toolbox yet they get very little attention. Shortcodes were added in WordPress 2.5 as an easy way to create macros for use in your content. WordPress.com has a wide array of shortcodes available to it’s users right out of the box. WordPress.org users can make use of the Shortcode API and a large number of plugins to add shortcode support to their site.
The real beauty of shortcodes is in how they enable WordPress users to take control of their content to produce professional grade sites in a fraction of the time. There is a large selection of free and premium themes that provide a suite of shortcodes to extend default functionality and empower users.
This session will cover some themes and plugins using shortcodes in both useful and creative ways as well as the pros and cons of using shortcodes in WordPress. We will also go over some basic PHP code to see how shortcodes are constructed to get a better understanding of how they can be used.
Start playing with shortcodes now with these plugins and code snippets:
