{"id":128580,"date":"2014-04-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=128580"},"modified":"2014-04-30T10:04:30","modified_gmt":"2014-04-30T14:04:30","slug":"wordpress-shortcode-plugins-for-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wordpress-shortcode-plugins-for-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Free WordPress Shortcode Plugins for Improving the Design of Your Posts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s been a veritable explosion of really good design-related shortcode plugins of late.<\/p>\n<p>These plugins make it easy to spice up your Posts or Pages and give them very professional-looking elements such as columns, tabbed boxes, pricing tables, special headers, and much more.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the improvement in these plugins of late, other plugins that haven\u2019t evolved with the times have been left in the dust. Or even if they&#8217;ve added such things as the Bootstrap icon library (as some below have), they haven&#8217;t improved in other areas.<\/p>\n<p>And so rather than include a number of plugins that didn\u2019t really stack up so well, we\u2019re just going to include those that did stack up well.<\/p>\n<p>Here are several good options.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dev-tutorial-list\"><li class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item\"><header class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__header\"><h3 class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__title\">WordPress Shortcodes Plugin \u2014 Shortcodes Ultimate<\/h3><\/header><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/wordpress-shortcodes-plugin-600x197.png\" class=\"attachment-ratio-large size-ratio-large\" alt=\"WordPress Shortcodes Plugin \u2014 Shortcodes Ultimate image\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__image --><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__content\"><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/shortcodes-ultimate\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WordPress Shortcodes Plugin<\/a> has an awe-inspiring range of shortcodes for you to use, as well as an impressive number of icons to add to different elements. On top of that, the ability to control the shortcodes or the icons (i.e. change size, color, position, etc.) is also impressive.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the number of shortcodes and the control you get, it also lets you preview your shortcodes before inserting them.<\/p>\n<p>Another nice thing this plugin does is give some examples of the shortcodes along with their code for those with less experience.<\/p>\n<p>It has over 800K downloads and a solid 5-star review.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><span class=\"embed-youtube-lazy-id dev-hidden\">DR2c266yWEA<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__content --><footer class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__footer\"><p>Interested in WordPress Shortcodes Plugin \u2014 Shortcodes Ultimate?<\/p><div class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__cta\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/shortcodes-ultimate\/\" class=\"dui-btn dui-btn--sm dui-btn--brand dev-btn--Info & Download\">Info & Download<\/a><\/div><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__cta --><\/footer><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__footer --><\/li><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item --><li class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item\"><header class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__header\"><h3 class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__title\">CPO Shortcodes<\/h3><\/header><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"194\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cpo-featured-600x194.jpg\" class=\"attachment-ratio-large size-ratio-large\" alt=\"CPO Shortcodes image\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__image --><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__content\"><p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/cpo-shortcodes\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CPO Shortcodes<\/a> plugin has several basic shortcodes that you might expect to find, such as columns and boxes.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it\u2019s a little frustrating to work with. It often inserts shortcodes into your post without allow you to make any choices first, such as choosing a color or a size.<\/p>\n<p>The shortcodes themselves sometimes come with spaces for these types of things, but there\u2019s no explanation for any of it.<\/p>\n<p>It would be effortless to leave this plugin off the list (as we\u2019ve left others off the list); however, it did come with a few elements that make it different. And so for those elements, you may want to consider it.<\/p>\n<p>One of those elements is a \u201csection background,\u201d which will put a colored background of your choice all the way across your page. It should be noted that if you have a sidebar present, it will also cover that (which is something you don\u2019t want, of course), and so you would only want to use it on full-width pages.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-grid cgrid-row\">\n<div class=\"cgrid-col cgrid-col-span-full\">\n<p>It also has a shortcode for a team members section. Essentially it lets you put in an image, a name, a title, some text, and then links to social sites.<\/p>\n<p>CPO Shortcodes has 4K downloads and a 3.5-star review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__content --><footer class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__footer\"><p>Interested in CPO Shortcodes?<\/p><div class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__cta\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/cpo-shortcodes\/\" class=\"dui-btn dui-btn--sm dui-btn--brand dev-btn--Info & Download\">Info & Download<\/a><\/div><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__cta --><\/footer><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__footer --><\/li><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item --><li class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item\"><header class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__header\"><h3 class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__title\">Shortcoder<\/h3><\/header><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/shortcoder-600x197.png\" class=\"attachment-ratio-large size-ratio-large\" alt=\"Shortcoder image\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__image --><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__content\"><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/shortcoder\/\" target=\"_blank\">Shortcoder plugin<\/a> allows for HTML, JavaScript, and other shortcode snippets.<\/p>\n<p>One great feature of this plugin is that you can customize the snippets&#8217; parameters. Plus, you can change values when using them. Along with that, you can change the WordPress parameters.<\/p>\n<p>There are also multiple editor options, including code, visual, and text modes.<\/p>\n<p>All shortcode is used across the board. It&#8217;s updated in all locations on a WordPress site where the shortcode is used.<\/p>\n<p>Shortcoder is an attractive, highly rated, and popular option.<\/p>\n<p>It has 80K installations and a nice 5-star review.<\/p>\n<\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__content --><footer class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__footer\"><p>Interested in Shortcoder?<\/p><div class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__cta\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/shortcoder\/\" class=\"dui-btn dui-btn--sm dui-btn--brand dev-btn--Info & Download\">Info & Download<\/a><\/div><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__cta --><\/footer><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__footer --><\/li><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item --><li class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item\"><header class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__header\"><h3 class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__title\">Meks Flexible Shortcodes<\/h3><\/header><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/meks-flexible-shortcode-600x197.png\" class=\"attachment-ratio-large size-ratio-large\" alt=\"Meks Flexible Shortcodes image\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__image --><section class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__content\"><p>With the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/meks-flexible-shortcodes\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Meks Shortcodes<\/a> plugin, you&#8217;re able to add shortcodes that will fit your design.<\/p>\n<p>There are shortcodes for columns, buttons, icons, social icons, highlights, drop caps, separators, progress bars, pull quotes, tabs, toggles, and accordions.<\/p>\n<p>This plugin has some really attractive features that make it a great go-to plugin to use for shortcodes.<\/p>\n<p>With 30K installations and a 5-star review, it&#8217;s definitely worth checking out.<\/p>\n<\/section><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__content --><footer class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__footer\"><p>Interested in Meks Flexible Shortcodes?<\/p><div class=\"dev-tutorial-list__item__cta\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/meks-flexible-shortcodes\/\" class=\"dui-btn dui-btn--sm dui-btn--brand dev-btn--Info & Download\">Info & Download<\/a><\/div><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__cta --><\/footer><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item__footer --><\/li><!-- end dev-tutorial-list__item --><\/ul><!-- end dev-tutorial-list -->\n<h2>Overall View<\/h2>\n<p>To my mind, the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/shortcodes-ultimate\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WordPress Shortcodes<\/a> plugin was the hands-down winner here. Although some of the other plugins were very good, this plugin really goes both deep and wide with what it offers.<\/p>\n<p>That being said, there are several possibilities here, and you should be able to easily determine which one will suit your WordPress site the best.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These plugins give you an easy way to spice up your posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84404,"featured_media":194721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"blog_reading_time":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_tutorials_categories":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[38,1081],"tutorials_categories":[],"class_list":["post-128580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plugins","tag-design","tag-shortcodes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128580"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194706,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128580\/revisions\/194706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128580"},{"taxonomy":"tutorials_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tutorials_categories?post=128580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}