Plugin Cards vs Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements

Plugin Cards lets you display WordPress 4.0 style cards with plugin information for any plugin that lives on the wordpress.org repository. All of the custom queries that are possible using the wordpress.org API are possible with this plugin, including queries for plugins by: Slug Author Tag Search term Brose terms: popular, new, & beta A wordpress.org user’s favorites list Any other custom query you pass in via an included filter This plugin uses the same wordpress.org API that your wp-admin uses when you are searching for new plugins, and it uses as much of the admin CSS and core functionality as possible to bring you a purposefully stock experience. I have also included a number of filters in the plugin that allow you to customize everything. You can use a custom query, include custom fields not shown by default, use custom icons, use custom plugin urls, add to or override the information shown in each section of the output, override the entire output with your own, and more. This plugin is on Github and I encourage feature requests and pull requests. Features Query the wordpress.org plugin repo by all methods supported by the wordpress.org API, including by slug, author, tag, popular, new, beta, user’s favorites, and search term Cards match the design introduced in WordPress 4.0 Uses the wordpress.org API to get plugin information Caches results to minimize hits on the API Default fields include plugin name, icon, description, author link, star rating, active install count, last updated and compatible up to Uses SVG plugin icon if available, then retina icon if available, then regular icon Uses the WP native Dashicons for the star ratings Intelligently Responsive Easily customize the look of the cards with CSS Easily customize the functionality of the entire plugin with provided filters With Plugin Cards you can easily display a custom list of plugins for any purpose. Usage This plugin adds a shortcode [plugin_cards] that you can use to display the plugin cards anywhere on your site. The following parameters can be used to create your query: [plugin_cards slug="easy-digital-downloads"] [plugin_cards author="markjaquith"] [plugin_cards user="matt"] // Displays user's favorites list [plugin_cards tag="slider"] [plugin_cards browse="popular"] [plugin_cards browse="new"] [plugin_cards browse="beta"] [plugin_cards search="gallery"] Note: The wordpress.org API only supports querying by one parameter at a time, so currently only one parameter can be included in the shortcode to build the query. If this ever changes I will add support for querying by multiple parameters to this plugin. Note: The parameter is required for the shortcode to work. Simply using [plugin_cards] will result in a silent fail. You can also set the max number of results using the max_results parameter like this: [plugin_cards max_results="10" browse="popular"] Advanced Usage This plugin includes a number of filters that you can use to customize the display of the cards and add plugin information to the cards. I recommend reading through the code if you really want to understand how the filters can be used. Here are some examples: Use a custom query function custom_plugin_cards_query( $custom_query_args, $atts = array(), $fields = array() ) { // Show the 10 most popular plugins with only certain fields returned $custom_query_args = array( 'per_page' => 10, 'browse' => 'popular', 'fields' => array( 'banners' => true, 'icons' => false, 'reviews' => true, 'rating' => true, 'num_ratings' => true, 'downloaded' => false, 'active_installs' => false, 'short_description' => false, 'sections' => true, 'downloadlink' => true, 'last_updated' => true, 'homepage' => true, ) ); return $custom_query_args; } add_filter( 'plugin_cards_api_query_args', 'custom_plugin_cards_query', 10, 3 ); Then you’d have to use one of the output filters and some CSS to get the new fields to show on the page. There is a lot that is possible with the plugin_cards_api_query_args filter, too much to cover here, but the key is setting the right main query param and setting the fields that you want returned. Use custom URLs function custom_plugin_card_urls( $plugin_url, $plugin = null ) { // Point URLs to a custom endpoint based on the plugin slug $plugin_url = 'https://domain.com/custom-plugins/' . esc_attr( $plugin->slug ); // Change the URL of a specific plugin if ( 'woocommerce' === $plugin->slug ) { $plugin_url = 'http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce/'; } return $plugin_url; } add_filter( 'plugin_cards_plugin_url', 'custom_plugin_card_urls', 10, 2 ); The complete list of simple filters that work exactly like plugin_cards_plugin_urls is: plugin_cards_plugin_url plugin_cards_plugin_name plugin_cards_short_description plugin_cards_plugin_author There are also some advanced filters that allow you to override the HTML output of entire sections, including: plugin_cards_plugin_icon plugin_cards_action_links plugin_cards_plugin_rating plugin_cards_last_updated plugin_cards_install_count plugin_cards_plugin_compatibility These filters can be used like this: Use custom plugin icons function custom_plugin_card_icons( $plugin_icon, $plugin = null, $plugin_url = '' ) { // Replace all plugin icons with kittens $plugin_icon = ' '; // Replace the icon for a specific plugin if ( 'equal-height-columns' === $plugin->slug ) { $plugin_icon = ' '; } return $plugin_icon; } add_filter( 'plugin_cards_plugin_icon', 'custom_plugin_card_icons', 10, 3 ); There is also one special filter plugin_cards_cache_expiration that allows you to set how long you want the results of the API request to be cached. The default is 2 hours (expressed as number of seconds). If you want a hook added just let me know. Pull requests are welcome on Github.

Building new pages with Gutenberg? Explore VovaBlocks, a focused collection of native marketing and content blocks from the creator of Shortcodes Ultimate. View VovaBlocks → About Shortcodes Ultimate Shortcodes Ultimate is a WordPress shortcode plugin for adding tabs, accordions, buttons, FAQs, sliders, carousels, lightboxes, columns, boxes and other reusable content elements without coding. It is ideal for site owners who want richer content layouts and practical UI elements without switching to a full page builder. Use Shortcodes Ultimate in the Block Editor, Classic Editor, widgets and template files. Generate shortcodes visually, preview the result before inserting it, and reuse the same elements across posts, pages and existing shortcode-based content. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of WordPress sites, Shortcodes Ultimate helps you replace multiple single-purpose UI plugins with one maintained toolkit. Explore live examples What you can build With Shortcodes Ultimate, you can quickly add common WordPress content elements such as: Accordions and FAQ sections Responsive tabs CTA buttons and download buttons Boxes, notes and callouts Columns and layout helpers Sliders and carousels Lightboxes for images and custom content Post lists and dynamic content blocks Spoilers, toggles and expandable content Media embeds and visual content blocks Instead of installing a separate plugin for every small content element, Shortcodes Ultimate gives you one maintained toolkit for everyday WordPress content tasks. Works with modern and classic WordPress workflows Shortcodes Ultimate works with the Block Editor, Classic Editor, widgets and template files. You can insert shortcodes manually, use WordPress shortcode blocks or use the built-in shortcode generator to configure elements visually. This makes the plugin useful for: Site owners who want to improve content without coding Bloggers and affiliate publishers who need reusable CTA and content blocks Agencies and freelancers maintaining multiple WordPress sites Developers who want shortcode-friendly output in templates Existing sites with older content that already uses shortcodes Why use Shortcodes Ultimate? 50+ ready-to-use WordPress shortcodes Visual shortcode generator Live preview Works with the Block Editor and Classic Editor Shortcodes can be used in posts, pages, widgets and template files Responsive elements that work with your theme Built-in Custom CSS editor Developer-friendly hooks and documentation Free version available on WordPress.org Pro version available for advanced shortcodes, extra styles and premium support Why shortcodes still matter in WordPress The WordPress Block Editor is great for visual content editing, but shortcodes are still useful when you need portable, reusable content elements that work across different parts of a WordPress site. Shortcodes are especially helpful when you want to: Reuse the same content element in many posts or pages Add dynamic content inside widgets or templates Maintain older WordPress sites that already use shortcodes Work across Classic Editor and Block Editor workflows Add content elements without switching to a full page builder Keep common UI elements available through a simple text-based syntax Shortcodes Ultimate is designed for these practical workflows. It gives you a large collection of ready-made shortcodes and a visual generator, so you do not need to write shortcode syntax manually unless you want to. Free and Pro The free version of Shortcodes Ultimate includes a large collection of useful shortcodes for everyday WordPress content tasks. Shortcodes Ultimate Pro adds advanced shortcodes, additional styles, Content Slider, Pricing Table, Testimonials, Shortcode Creator, Elementor support and premium support. Compare Free and Pro Useful links Documentation Live Examples Pro features Support