Shortcodes are one of the most useful yet often misunderstood features of WordPress. They allow you to easily add complex elements like forms, sliders and more without having to know PHP or edit theme files.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll share the must-know tips for leveraging shortcodes in WordPress.
Contents
- What Are Shortcodes and Why Are They Useful?
- A Brief History of Shortcodes
- The Pros and Cons of Using Shortcodes
- Examples of Common Shortcodes in WordPress
- Understanding the Shortcode API
- Best Practices for Using Shortcodes
- Debugging Tips for Broken Shortcodes
- Tutorials for Creating Your Own Shortcodes
- Popular Shortcode Plugins
- Using Shortcodes in Sidebars and Widgets
- Limitations and Alternatives to Shortcodes
- Final Thoughts
What Are Shortcodes and Why Are They Useful?
Shortcodes are essentially tiny snippets of code that let you insert elements into your content with simple bracketed tags.
For example, adding a contact form can be done with a shortcode like:
[contact-form-7 id="5" title="Contact Form"]
When you add a shortcode into the WordPress editor like this, it will render the associated output. In this case, inserting the contact form.
This is much simpler than having to hardcode the form HTML and PHP yourself every time you want to add it.
Shortcodes act as a meta-language on top of WordPress content. They provide an abstraction layer that handles the complexity behind the scenes.
This makes them perfect for things like:
- Contact forms
- Galleries / image sliders
- Pricing tables
- Interactive maps
- YouTube / Vimeo embeds
- Toggles / tabs
- Alert boxes
- Buttons
- And much more…
Plugins and themes provide their own shortcodes to offer these kinds of advanced functions in a simplified way.
A Brief History of Shortcodes
Shortcodes emerged in WordPress around 2007, with the Contact Form 7 plugin one of the first to really leverage them.
Prior to shortcodes, complex modules like forms had to be hardcoded into theme template files. This meant less flexibility and reusability.
As more plugin developers adopted the shortcode approach, it became an easy way to give users more functionality without code.
In 2013, shortcodes were merged into the WordPress core, starting with WordPress version 3.6. This made them available everywhere – posts, pages, sidebars, widgets etc.
Today, shortcodes power some of the most popular plugins like TablePress, Grade Gravity Forms, and more. They are a staple tool for any WordPress developer.
The Pros and Cons of Using Shortcodes
Shortcodes offer many benefits, but also come with some downsides to keep in mind.
Why You Should Use Shortcodes
- They‘re easy – No coding required to add complex elements
- Reusable – Insert the same shortcode anywhere to reuse elements
- Abstracted – Shortcode handles the complexity behind the scenes
- Wide support – Used by plugins, themes, core features
- Flexible – Display shortcodes conditionally or even within other shortcodes
Potential Shortcode Disadvantages
- No editing UI – Shortcodes don‘t come with custom controls for editing content within them. You‘re relying on the plugin/theme UI.
- Theme reliance – If your theme doesn‘t support a shortcode, it may not work properly or at all.
- Technical debt – Overusing shortcodes can make migrating/rebranding sites more difficult in the future.
So in summary, shortcodes are very useful in the right contexts but they shouldn‘t necessarily be the go-to solution for every advanced need.
Examples of Common Shortcodes in WordPress
To see how others are using shortcodes, here are some of the most popular examples found in plugins and themes:
Contact Forms
Plugins like Contact Form 7, Ninja Forms, Gravity Forms, WPForms all use shortcodes to embed the forms.
[contact-form-7 id="5" title="Contact form 1"]
Media Galleries and Sliders
Gallery and slider plugins often use shortcodes to embed albums and carousels.
Pricing Tables
For pricing grids and comparison tables, a shortcode can display the complex layout.
[pricing-table highlight="off" highlight-color="#ff0000"]
Buttons
Add colorful CTA buttons with a simple shortcode.
[button text="Click Here!" color="#1E90FF" url="http://example.com"]
Alert Boxes
Display notification messages and alerts to your visitors.
[warning]This is important[/warning]
Tabs
Shortcodes allow easy toggling between content in tabs.
[tabs] [tab title="Tab 1"]Content goes here[/tab] [tab title="Tab 2"]Tab 2 content[/tab] [/tabs]
This just scratches the surface of what‘s possible with shortcodes! Many plugins in the WordPress repository use them to enable complex modules.
Understanding the Shortcode API
Shortcodes work via the WordPress shortcode API. This allows plugins and themes to register their own shortcode handlers.
Here is a basic example of registering a shortcode in functions.php:
// Shortcode callback function
function my_shortcode_callback( $atts, $content = null ) {
return ‘<div>‘ . $content . ‘</div>‘;
}
// Register shortcode with WordPress
add_shortcode( ‘my-shortcode‘, ‘my_shortcode_callback‘ );To use this shortcode:
[my-shortcode]Hello world![/my-shortcode]
The above will output:
<div>Hello world!</div>
When the shortcode is encountered in content, WordPress passes it to the callback function which returns the associated output.
Shortcode attributes allow you to customize the output:
[my-shortcode color="blue"]Hello![/my-shortcode]
The callback function can access attributes:
function my_shortcode_callback( $atts, $content = null ) {
$atts = shortcode_atts(
array(
‘color‘ => ‘red‘,
),
$atts
);
return ‘<div style="color:‘ . $atts[‘color‘] . ‘">‘ . $content . ‘</div>‘;
}Now the shortcode can be used like:
[my-shortcode color="blue"]Blue text[/my-shortcode]
This allows for highly customizable shortcode implementations.
Best Practices for Using Shortcodes
Shortcodes are powerful but they should be used properly to avoid common issues. Here are some best practices to follow:
-
Avoid overusing shortcodes – Only use where necessary, not for simple formatting like bold or italic text.
-
Keep them general purpose – Shortcodes that are too niche won‘t be reusable or portable.
-
Use selective shortcodes – For site-specific elements, use a plugin instead of a theme shortcode.
-
Plan for transitions – If removing a shortcode, have a plan to update old content.
-
Add fallback content – When a shortcode fails, return something meaningful for visitors.
-
Write documentation – Ensure shortcode usage is properly documented for users.
-
Validate attributes – Scrub user attributes for security and prevent abuse.
-
Follow WordPress coding standards – For consistency and best compatibility.
-
Minimal processing in shortcode – Avoid resource intensive operations; offload to AJAX.
Debugging Tips for Broken Shortcodes
Sometimes shortcodes end up broken after migrating sites or changing themes. Here are some debugging tips:
Find shortcodes used in your content
Use a plugin like Shortcoder or run a MySQL query to find posts containing a certain shortcode. This makes it easy to update them.
Replace broken shortcodes in bulk
Doing a find and replace in the MySQL database lets you replace one shortcode with another across all content.
Return a default message
If a shortcode fails, have it return a readable message:
function sc_callback() {
// Shortcode logic
return ‘<p>Shortcode no longer exists.</p>‘;
}Remove unused shortcodes
Deregister shortcodes you‘re no longer using in your theme‘s functions.php file to prevent errors.
Tutorials for Creating Your Own Shortcodes
Let‘s go through a few examples of how you can create custom shortcodes for your sites:
Simple Shortcode Displaying Text
This shortcode will output the encoded message:
// Shortcode callback
function secret_message_callback() {
return ‘The treasure is buried under the ...‘;
}
// Register shortcode
add_shortcode( ‘secret-message‘, ‘secret_message_callback‘ );Use it in a post:
[secret-message]
Shortcode Enclosing Other Content
This shortcode will wrap any content between the tags in a styled <div>:
function highlighted_callback( $atts, $content = null ) {
return ‘<div class="highlighted">‘ . $content . ‘</div>‘;
}
add_shortcode( ‘highlighted‘, ‘highlighted_callback‘ );Use it in a post:
[highlighted]This content will be styled in a box.[/highlighted]
Shortcode with Attributes
This shortcode accepts a color attribute:
function colored_box_callback( $atts, $content = null ) {
$atts = shortcode_atts(
array(
‘color‘ => ‘blue‘
),
$atts
);
return ‘<div style="background-color:‘ . $atts[‘color‘] . ‘;">‘ . $content . ‘</div>‘;
}
add_shortcode( ‘colored-box‘, ‘colored_box_callback‘ );Use it in a post:
[colored-box color="green"]Green box[/colored-box]
Nested Shortcodes
Shortcodes can be nested inside each other:
[row]
[column cols="6"]Left column[/column]
[column cols="6"]Right column[/column]
[/row]The column shortcode only needs to output its column content. The row shortcode handles arranging them properly.
This allows for very advanced layouts with shortcodes.
Popular Shortcode Plugins
Let‘s look at some of the top plugins in the WordPress repository that use shortcodes:
- TablePress – For displaying complex data tables.
- Contact Form 7 – The most popular contact form plugin.
- Gravity Forms – Advanced user-friendly form builder.
- Gallery Block – Responsive photo galleries.
- Syntax Highlighter – Embed code snippets with highlighting.
- Smash Balloon Instagram Feed – Show Instagram images.
- WordPress Shortcode Plugin – Collection of useful shortcodes.
These plugins show the flexibility that well-built shortcodes provide. When you need to go beyond the basics, leverage shortcodes.
Using Shortcodes in Sidebars and Widgets
Shortcodes can also be used inside sidebar text widgets. This allows you to add advanced elements without editing PHP files.
To enable shortcodes in widgets, add this to functions.php:
add_filter( ‘widget_text‘, ‘do_shortcode‘ );
Now any registered shortcodes will work inside text widgets!
Shortcodes are also sometimes used in sidebars for ads or announcements:
`register_sidebar( array(
‘name‘ => ‘Alert‘,
‘before_widget‘ => ‘[notice]‘,
‘after_widget‘ => ‘[/notice]‘
) );`
Then a shortcode [notice]Important message![/notice] can populate the widget.
Limitations and Alternatives to Shortcodes
For all their benefits, shortcodes do come with some limitations:
- No editing UI – Shortcodes can‘t be edited visually, only via attributes.
- No live previews – Changes only show after publishing content.
- Basic styling control – Mostly rely on author stylesheets.
- Site lock-in – Extensive use of shortcodes inhibits migration.
Some alternatives to shortcodes include:
Gutenberg Blocks
The built-in editor comes with a robust block system and API for creating rich, editable content modules.
Custom Post Types
For complex site structures, a custom post type with associated fields can add more entities with custom data.
Embed Blocks
The WordPress 5.0 embed block system provides site-wide embedding tools with more features than shortcodes.
Custom Meta Boxes
For one-off data collection, custom meta boxes attached to posts, pages, etc may suffice vs shortcodes.
So in summary – shortcodes still have their place, but now live alongside more modern and editable content options in WordPress.
Final Thoughts
Shortcodes remain one of the most useful tools for both users and developers in WordPress. They abstract away complexity and provide quick access to site features.
However, overusing shortcodes can sometimes cause more harm than good. Use them strategically where they really enhance or simplify the user experience.
Hopefully these tips give you a well-rounded look at shortcodes – from basics to advanced usage and even alternatives. They will continue adding value in WordPress for years to come.
