Building an Event Calendar Plugin for WordPress
Posted on 18th June 2023
The WordPress platform is very versatile and flexible. It can be used for a simple blog or a complex website. One of the things that makes WordPress so popular is the vast array of plugins available for it. Plugins are small pieces of software that add functionality to a WordPress site. There are plugins for almost anything you can think of, and one of the most popular types of plugins is calendar plugins.
There are many reasons you might want to add a calendar to your WordPress site. Perhaps you have a blog about events and need to showcase them in a calendar format. Or maybe you run a website for a school or organization and need to keep track of events. Whatever the reason, there are a few things you need to know about building a calendar plugin for WordPress.
The first thing to consider is what type of calendar you want to create. There are two main types of calendars: those that display events and those that allow users to add events. Each type has its own set of features and requirements.
If you want to create a calendar that simply displays events, you will need to find a way to get the events into the calendar. This can be done manually, but it is often easier to use an existing plugin or service that provides event data. Once you have the events in the calendar, you will need to format them so they look good and are easy to read.
If you want to create a calendar that allows users to add events, you will need to provide a form for users to fill out. This form will need to include fields for the event title, date, time, location, and other pertinent information. Once the form is submitted, the event will need to be added to the calendar.
Once you have decided what type of calendar you want to create, you will need to choose a WordPress plugin that meets your needs. There are many calendar plugins available, so take some time to browse the options and find one that has the features you need.
Once you have chosen a plugin, you will need to install it on your WordPress site. Most plugins can be installed from the WordPress plugin directory. However, some plugins may need to be installed manually.
After the plugin is installed, you will need to activate it. Once the plugin is activated, you will be able to access the settings page for the plugin. Here you can configure the plugin to meet your needs.
Once the plugin is configured, you will need to add the calendar to your WordPress site. This can be done by adding a shortcode to a post or page. Alternatively, you can use a widget to add the calendar to your sidebar.
Building a calendar plugin for WordPress is a relatively simple process. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind to ensure that your plugin works as intended. By following these tips, you can create a calendar plugin that meets your needs and provides a great way to keep track of events on your WordPress site.
The final step is to add the event calendar to your WordPress site. You can do this by adding a shortcode to a post or page.
To add the calendar to a post or page, edit the post or page in the WordPress editor. In the content editor, click on the + symbol and select the Shortcode block.
In the Shortcode block, enter the shortcode [event-calendar].
Publish or update the post or page to view the calendar on your site.
You can also add the calendar to a sidebar widget. To do this, go to the Appearance > Widgets page in the WordPress admin.
Find the Event Calendar widget and add it to the sidebar.
The calendar will now appear in the sidebar of your WordPress site.
That’s it! You’ve now created a simple event calendar plugin for WordPress.
There are a few things you can do to improve the plugin. For example, you could add support for recurring events, or allow users to submit events to the calendar.
If you want to learn more about plugin development, take a look at the WordPress Codex.
Building an Event Calendar Plugin for WordPress
In the previous article, we looked at how to create a WordPress plugin that would display an event calendar. In this article, we will add some features to our plugin so that it is more user-friendly.
We will start by adding a way to select the events that should be displayed on the calendar. We will do this by adding a checkbox to each event in the admin area. Then we will add a setting to the plugin so that the user can choose to display only events that have been checked.
Next, we will add a way to filter the events by category. We will do this by adding a dropdown to the plugin settings page. Then we will write some code to display only the events that are in the selected category.
Finally, we will add a way to export the events as an iCalendar file. This will allow users to subscribe to the calendar and have the events automatically added to their own calendar application.
Adding a way to select the events that should be displayed
We will start by adding a checkbox to each event in the admin area. To do this, we will need to edit the event form template. This template is located in the /views/admin/ event-form.php file.
At the top of the file, we will add a new checkbox field:
<input type="checkbox" name="_is_public" id="_is_public" value="1" _is_public, 1 ); ?> />
This will add a new field to the event form where the user can choose whether or not to display the event on the calendar.
Next, we will need to update the event data when the form is saved. To do this, we will add the following code to the save_event() method in the /models/event.php file:
if ( isset( $_POST[‘_is_public’] ) ) { $this->_is_public = 1; } else { $this->_is_public = 0; }
This code will update the event data with the new value of the _is_public field.
Now that we have added the checkbox field and updated the event data, we can add a setting to the plugin so that the user can choose to display only events that have been checked.
To do this, we will add a new setting to the /views/admin/settings.php file:
<input type="checkbox" name="_show_public_only" id="_show_public_only" value="1" />
This will add a new setting to the plugin settings page where the user can choose to display only public events.
Finally, we will need to update the plugin so that it only displays public events when the setting is enabled. To do this, we will add the following code to the get_events() method in the /models/event.php file:
if ( get_option( ‘_show_public_only’, 0 ) == 1 ) { $args[‘meta_query’][] = array( ‘key’ => ‘_is_public’, ‘value’ => 1, ); }
This code will add a new meta_query to the get_events() method. This query will only return events that have the _is_public field set to 1.
Adding a way to filter the events by category
In the previous section, we added a way to select the events that should be displayed on the calendar. In this section, we will add a way to filter the events by category.
We will start by adding a dropdown to the plugin settings page. This dropdown will allow the user to select the category that they want to view. To do this, we will add the following code to the /views/admin/settings.php file:
<option value="term_id; ?>” term_id ); ?>> name; ?>
This code will add a new setting to the plugin settings page where the user can choose the category that they want to view.
Next, we will need to update the plugin so that it only displays events from the selected category. To do this, we will add the following code to the get_events() method in the /models/event.php file:
if ( get_option( ‘_event_category’, 0 ) > 0 ) { $args[‘cat’] = get_option( ‘_event_category’, 0 ); }
This code will add a new cat parameter to the get_events() method. This parameter will only return events that are in the selected category.
Adding a way to export the events as an iCalendar file
In the previous section, we added a way to filter the events by category. In this section, we will add a way to export the events as an iCalendar file.
This will allow users to subscribe to the calendar and have the events automatically added to their own calendar application.
To do this, we will need to add a new route to the /routes/events.php file:
$app->get( ‘/events/ical’, ‘export_ical’ );
This route will call the export_ical() method when the user visits the /events/ical URL.
Next, we will need to create the export_ical() method. This method will generate an iCalendar file and output it to the user. To do this, we will add the following code to the /controllers/events.php file:
public function export_ical() { header( ‘Content-Type: text/calendar; charset=utf-8’ ); header( ‘Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=”calendar.ics”‘ ); echo “BEGIN:VCALENDAR
“; echo “VERSION:2.0
“; echo “PRODID:-//hackeryou//NONSGML Events//EN
“; foreach ( $this->get_events() as $event ) { echo “BEGIN:VEVENT
“; echo “DTSTART:” . $event->_start_date->format( ‘YmdTHis’ ) . ”
“; echo “DTEND:” . $event->_end_date->format( ‘YmdTHis’ ) . ”
“; echo “SUMMARY:” . $event->post_title . ”
“; echo “DESCRIPTION:” . $event->post_content . ”
“; echo “END:VEVENT
“; } echo “END:VCALENDAR
“; }
This code will generate an iCalendar file and output it to the user.
Now that we have added the ability to export the events as an iCalendar file, we can add a link to the calendar page so that users can subscribe to the calendar.
To do this, we will add the following code to the /views/site/calendar.php file:
<a href="”>Subscribe to Calendar
This code will add a link to the calendar page that will allow users to subscribe to the calendar.
Conclusion
In this article, we have added some features to our WordPress plugin that will make it more user-friendly. We have added a way to select the events that should be displayed on the calendar. We have also added a way to filter the events by category. Finally, we have added a way to export the events as an iCalendar file.
