Updated: September 26, 2024
When working with WordPress, developers often need to display dynamic content, such as the current date and time. Instead of hardcoding this information, using a shortcode for PHP date and time functions can streamline your workflow. This approach makes it easy to display the date and time in various formats throughout your site without needing to update it manually.
How to Use the PHP Current Date and Time Shortcode
A PHP shortcode for displaying the current date and time allows for simple integration into posts, pages, or templates. WordPress shortcodes are an efficient way to insert reusable code without requiring in-depth knowledge of PHP. In this case, you will need to use the shortcode [vwdatetime display="parameters"], where the parameter refers to the specific PHP date and time format you’d like to display.
For instance, using the shortcode [vwdatetime display="Y-m-d"] will show the current year, month, and day, formatted like “2024-09-19”. This shortcode dynamically updates to reflect the current date each time the page is loaded, without further intervention.
Common Parameters for Date and Time
PHP provides many formatting options for displaying dates and times. Here are some of the most commonly used parameters:
- d: Day of the month with leading zeros, such as “01” through “31.”
- D: Shortened day of the week, like “Mon” or “Tue.”
- Y: A four-digit year, for example, “2024.”
- H: Hour in 24-hour format, with leading zeros, such as “00” through “23.”
- i: Minutes, formatted with leading zeros, from “00” to “59.”
These parameters can be combined within a single shortcode to create complex date and time formats. For example, [vwdatetime display="l, F j, Y h:i:s A"] outputs the full name of the day, month, day of the month, year, hour (in 12-hour format), minutes, seconds, and AM/PM notation. This might display as “Thursday, September 19, 2024 08:30:00 AM.”
Handling Custom Text with Shortcodes
One useful feature of shortcodes is that you can mix date and time formats with custom text. This flexibility allows you to create personalized statements like, “Today is [vwdatetime display='l'], the [vwdatetime display='jS'] day of the month.”
However, it’s important to avoid conflicts where text characters overlap with shortcode parameters. For example, inserting Today is the z day of o. without escaping the ‘z’ and ‘o’ would result in PHP trying to interpret them as date parameters, causing an error. To avoid this, break the string into multiple shortcodes, like so: Today is the [vwdatetime display="z"] day of [vwdatetime display="Y"].
Custom Plugin or Theme Integration
For advanced users, this functionality can be directly integrated into a WordPress theme by adding custom PHP code. You can copy the following code into your theme’s functions.php file to create a new shortcode:
function build_viawebs_plugins_cpdt_shortcode( $atts ){
$args = shortcode_atts(array(
'display' => 'Y',
), $atts);
$d = $args["display"];
return date($d);
}
add_shortcode( 'vwdatetime', 'build_viawebs_plugins_cpdt_shortcode');
This function registers the shortcode and uses the date() function to output the date or time format based on the parameter provided. Once integrated, you can call [vwdatetime display="parameter"] anywhere within your site to display the current date or time.
The use of shortcodes in WordPress enhances flexibility, allowing dynamic content like the current date and time to be displayed in posts and pages. By leveraging PHP’s built-in date and time functions and WordPress shortcodes, you can ensure that your site’s content remains up-to-date automatically. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or new to WordPress, implementing these shortcodes can simplify your work and improve the user experience on your site.