Shortcodes are some of the easiest ways to add custom content to your site. A shortcode = a shortcut. Instead of wasting time writing lots of lines of code to get something done, you can have it by simply using a single line. By copying this code wherever you want on your site, you’ll have the needed content live in a few seconds. This is where WordPress shortcodes plugins come into play.
Here are 7 of the best WordPress shortcodes plugins out there; both free and paid:
Free shortcode plugins for WordPress
Shortcodes Ultimate
Shortcodes Ultimate is the most popular solution among the free WordPress shortcodes plugins. Why is it so popular? Because it makes your life as a blogger a lot easier. It’s only a matter of seconds to have your custom content added to posts and pages. A nice thing about this plugin is that it has its shortcodes categorized by type: content, box, media, gallery, data etc., and it comes with an elegant way of highlighting the ones belonging to the same category.
All you need to do is to go to a page or post and click “Insert Shortcode”. From that point on, everything will just come naturally. It also provides a pretty large range of options for each shortcode you want to generate, all presented in an intuitive and user-friendly fashion. So, if you want a specific button, slider, note, video, lightbox or something like that to be ready in seconds, you’ll love Shortcodes Ultimate. And it does all this stuff for free.
Key features ⚙️
- 50+ professional-looking shortcodes.
- Premium add-ons: extra shortcodes, additional skins for plugin shortcodes, custom shortcodes.
- Fully responsive.
- Custom CSS editor.
- Custom widget.
- Gutenberg friendly.
- Translation ready.
Meks Flexible Shortcodes
Yet another free plugin that inserts great shortcodes into your content. After you take a look into it a bit, you start to get familiar with its interface and features pretty quickly.
The plugin comes bundled with a package of nice and useful elements that everybody might need on their site at some point. From columns, to tabs, buttons, and icons, to various highlights, progress bars, toggles, and more.
The plugin adds a shortcode generator panel to your WordPress interface, which lets you insert shortcodes via your WordPress editor with ease. Each shortcode can be customized using a few styling options that the plugin provides.
Key features ⚙️
- 12 shortcodes.
- Minimalist and simple user interface.
- Styling options for each shortcode tag.
- Compatible with any theme style and design.
Shortcode Addons
While this plugin was built to work seamlessly with all the popular page builders – like WPBakery, Divi, Beaver Builder, or Elementor – it works for general users, too. So, if you don’t use a page builder on your WordPress site, you can still add shortcodes with this plugin.
Shortcode Addons comes with a huge package of features and functionalities for your posts and pages, such as cool elements, templates, blocks, and pre-designs.
While it doesn’t provide lots of customization and shortcode options, the provided ones are just awesome. Some of the shortcodes you will find in this plugin include carousels, banners, buttons, contact forms, event widgets, icons, pricing tables, and much more.
Key features ⚙️
- 100+ shortcode elements.
- Thousands of add-ons, templates, and blocks .
- Compatible with page builders.
- User-friendly, visual interface.
WP Shortcode by MyThemeShop
A modern plugin, ready to set up in a few simple steps. Install it and go to the post or page where you want to add the shortcode. Click on the green plus icon in the toolbar and a list with all the options will drop down.
WP Shortcode is a good fit for people who are not looking for advanced shortcodes and settings because it offers a minimum of options. It actually adds simple shortcodes and allows only basic customizations of them. It provides simple buttons, video links, tabs, column layouts, spoiler warnings, Google Maps, and a few more things that you have to use the way they are by default. So, if you need only simple elements on your site, this plugin is lightweight, dead simple, and easy to set up.
Key features ⚙️
- Responsive.
- 24+ shortcodes included.
- Minimalist customization for each shortcode.
- Free support.
- Easy to set up, friendly, and intuitive.
Premium WordPress shortcodes plugins
Weather WordPress Shortcode & Widget
Kicking off the list of top premium WordPress shortcodes plugins, Weather WordPress Shortcode & Widget is a solution for those of you who want to display weather-related information on the website. It uses a minimalist design, which will make your pages and posts look beautiful. It comes with a simple shortcode format that you can customize further to match your preferences.
With this plugin, you can display various weather options, such as location, latitude, longitude, units, days, language, and update intervals. You can also add some styling options to each shortcode.
Key features ⚙️
- Fully localized and multilanguage support.
- Unlimited color options.
- OpenWeather & DarkSky custom APIs.
- Basic customization options.
Events Shortcodes & Templates Pro Addon
Events Shortcodes & Templates Pro Addon is another great and reliable premium plugin that provides a package of shortcodes for The Events Calendar plugin. Whatever functionality about events you want to add to your site, the plugin makes it easy for you.
This plugin is basically the premium version of its aforementioned free counterpart. If you want to display these event shortcodes on your WordPress website, you need to first install The Events Calendar plugin to be able to benefit from the shortcodes that the add-on provides.
Events Shortcodes & Templates Addon will make your site look just the way you want, and will have all it needs to keep your users involved with your events. Each shortcode has a large range of customization options, which can be easily managed from your dashboard.
Key features ⚙️
- Optimized for event schema SEO to show events in Google search results.
- 15+ premium templates.
- Shortcode builder & settings panel.
- Optimized for the WordPress block editor.
- Fully responsive.
Intense
This plugin has the name “Intense” for a reason. It’s not only for shortcodes but also for custom post types, animations, icons, and can also work as a page builder. This plugin alone can have a significant contribution to your site’s overall appearance.
The price of $31 also includes templates and snippets and a very friendly, intuitive interface. It has 100+ modern shortcodes: media, content, animations and effects, various layouts and sections, sliders, custom posts, coupons, counters, etc.
Key features ⚙️
- Mobile responsive.
- Optimized for speed.
- Over 100 shortcodes and 18+ custom post types.
- WPBakery Page Builder ready.
- Customizable templates and snippets.
WordPress shortcodes plugins: conclusion
Since the competition online is really tight, one strategy to get ahead is to find shortcuts – aka to streamline your processes so that you can create quality content fast.
Using shortcodes will help you save a lot of time by reducing hours to minutes.
To sum up, here’s the list of the top WordPress shortcodes plugins in just a few words:
- Shortcodes Ultimate – The free and friendly plugin that comes with a large package of highly customizable shortcodes. It’s good to have it on your site, just in case.
- Meks Flexible Shortcodes – Adds nice minimalist shortcodes in a simple way.
- Shortcode Addons – With a focus on the visual side of things, this plugin works great with all the page builders.
- WP Shortcode by MyThemeShop – A simple plugin offering minimalist custom options and shortcodes. It only comes with the basic functionalities.
- Weather WordPress Shortcode & Widget – Provides shortcodes to display weather on your website.
- Events Shortcodes & Templates – A variety of beautiful shortcodes to showcase events on your site. It’s a premium add-on for The Events Calendar plugin.
- Intense – The most complex plugin, coming with tons of awesome shortcodes and custom post types. Also works as a page builder.
What do you think about these time-saving WordPress shortcodes plugins? Is there any other great tool you know?
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!