Shop the Post Introduction and Overview
Our Shop the Post plugin serves two purposes:
- Manage your product library and build shopping widgets directly in WordPress.
- Display shopping widgets alongside post summaries on the home page, most archive blog feeds, and above the post footer on individual blog posts.
This plugin is compatible with any WordPress theme, including those not built by us, and it also works with any affiliate program.
With the plugin, you have full control over your product links — so you can link anywhere you like. And, readers can see and interact with your widgets from the Home Page, without having to click into posts! The plugin field allows you to choose from your product library, and can also accept HTML or shortcodes from other affiliate platforms.
Please read on for more FAQs about Shop the Post:
- General Questions
- Working with Shop the Post plugin
- Affiliate-specific Questions
- Miscellaneous Questions
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q: HOW DOES THE PLUGIN WORK?
The EmPress Shop the Post plugin adds a new section to your WordPress admin area to manage your Shop the Post product library. Use the Shop the Post block in your blog posts to add products from your library to shopping widgets, or product carousels. You also have the option of displaying your products in a grid format.
You can upload your products once and use them in as many Shop the Post blocks as you like throughout your blog posts. Additionally, you can edit your product library at any time, and the Shop the Post blocks will automatically update across your site.
The plugin also includes a featured Shop the Post box, which allows you to display your shopping widget on the Home Page of your site, within archival blog feeds, and automatically at the end of a blog post. You have the option of selecting products from your library, or you can embed an affiliate widget code from your affiliate program, like those from LTK (formerly rewardStyle) or Collective Voice (formerly ShopStyle Collective).
Q: Can I upload links/products/images from any retailer into Shop the Post?
Yes, with the Shop the Post product library, you have full control over the products you add. The product library provides fields to upload an image of your choice and enter a custom URL. You can link anywhere you like — whether you have an affiliate link or not. Additionally, if you need to update your link in the future, you can simply edit the product in your library, and the Shop the Post blocks throughout your site will update accordingly.
Q: Will the plugin work with a theme not made by EmPress?
The product library and Shop the Post block works in any WordPress theme. A shortcode is available if you're not using the block editor.
Not all themes support displaying the featured Shop the Post box in post summaries as this is dependent on your theme code and vendor. However, the plugin does include a function you can add to your theme if you are comfortable editing code.
In the event you purchased it and it was not compatible with your site, just let us know! We offer a full refund on all purchases if requested within 14 days of the original purchase date.
Q: Is the plugin compatible with Gutenberg/WordPress block editor?
Yes, the plugin is compatible with the WordPress block editor and includes a Shop the Post block for adding product carousels and grids in your blog posts.
WORKING WITH SHOP THE POST PLUGIN
Q: How do I create shopping widgets in WordPress?
Start with this article, which discusses how to add products to your product library. Then read this article, which goes over how to use the Shop the Post block to create shopping widgets/product carousels in your blog posts with products from your product library.
Q: How do I create THIRD-PARTY AFFILIATE widgets or code for the Shop the Post plugin?
Please read this article, which discusses where to build LTK and Collective Voice codes, as well as alternate uses for Shop the Post.
Q: Can I CREATE/embed more than one widget within the FEATURED Shop the Post BOX plugin field?
Technically, yes, you can embed more than one widget code within the Shop the Post plugin field, though we think it would look a little odd.
If you're selecting products from your product library, you can only create one widget in the featured Shop the Post box using the Select Products field. However, you can add another widget from a third-party affiliate program in the widget code field.
Using the Select Products field and Widget Code field together, or adding multiple widgets into a single Shop the Post plugin field, will mean those slider widgets stack on top of each other, which might look overwhelming within your blog feeds. Here's an example of how it would look:
Give it a try, and see if you like the way it looks with your specific content!
Q: Can I embed more than one widget within a blog post using Shop the Post plugin?
Many customers ask about featuring multiple Shop the Post widgets within a single blog post.
You can add as many Shop the Post blocks with your blog post as you like.
Additionally, you can embed as many third-party affiliate widgets within a blog post as you wish — these do not interact with or impact the EmPress Shop the Post plugin. Use a Shortcode or HTML block to embed widget code from third-party affiliate programs.
For more help with embedding multiple affiliate widgets within a blog post, please read this Help Desk article.
Q: Does the Shop the Post plugin widget appear anywhere else within an EmPress theme, besides the Home Page?
Yes. In certain themes, Shop the Post code may also appear in archival blog feeds, such as on a category page. An example can be viewed here, in one of our Hayes theme demos—note that the "Shop" hover effect is active for the "Favorite Spring Perfumes" post on this Beauty category page, just as it is on the blog's Home Page.
If you have purchased and installed our Grid plugin, Shop the Post also integrates directly with Grid. Shopping widgets are viewable on all category pages utilizing Grid. View an example here.
Q: Can I change how the plugin output appears within my blog feeds?
We offer a number of free Code Hacks that can change the styling of the Shop the Post plugin. View them all here.
We do offer Code Hacks for specific themes that changes how your widget will display within blog feeds. Click here, then navigate to your theme name to see what free Code Hacks are currently available.
AFFILIATE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Q: I'm new to LTK. What's the difference between their Shop the Post widget and your Shop the Post plugin? Do I need both?
Within their Tools options, LTK offers a widget that is also named Shop the Post.
With this application, you can create widgets featuring your desired products, each with an attached affiliate link that is unique to your account. We offer limited instructions on how to build your widget within the LTK platform here, but if you need more assistance, please reach out directly to your LTK account representative or submit a support ticket via their Help Desk, as we're not able to offer support for their products.
Once your widget is built on the LTK Creator platform, you embed it with a WordPress shortcode (e.g. "[show_shopthepost_widget id="12345"]). You can paste this embed code in the Widget Code field of the featured Shop the Post box, in the footer of the blog post editor.
In other words: The LTK widget piece provides the actual product slider widget; the EmPress plugin piece provides a way for you to ensure your widget appears on the Home Page of your site. Without the EmPress Shop the Post plugin, readers must click into a post to view your featured widget.
Our Shop the Post plugin also gives you the option to manage your own product library and build shopping widgets directly in WordPress. This functionality is useful if you'd like to link to products that are not available on LTK. In this case, you would add the products to your product library, then select those products in your Shop the Post block in the post editor.
Q: I'm an LTK member. Why do I need to install the rewardStyle plugin in order to use the Shop the Post plugin?
The rewardStyle widgets plugin provides your theme with code so that it can read their widget shortcodes. Specifically, when you build an LTK Shop the Post widget and select "WordPress" as your platform, it will output a shortcode (e.g. "[show_shopthepost_widget id="12345"]). Without the rewardStyle plugin, WordPress does not know how to read this code or feed in your specific widgets.
The LTK plugin may be downloaded here. You may need to be logged in to the LTK Creator dashboard in order to view their help articles.
Q: Will Shop the Post work with Amazon Associates?
Yes, Shop the Post works with any affiliate program, including Amazon Associates. Amazon Associates does not include a built-in carousel/slider feature, and they do not appear to have plans to add one.
Instead of using the HTML code from Amazon, you'll want to add Amazon products to the Shop the Post product library. Upload a product thumbnail and add your affiliate link from Amazon. Then, as you create blog posts, you can add a Shop the Post block to create product carousels using the Amazon products you've uploaded to your product library.
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS
Q: Can Shop the Post be used for something other than shopping widgets?
Yes! Because Shop the Post can accept any HTML or shortcodes, you can certainly get creative with it. Here are some examples:
- A podcast shortcode: If you are using a plugin to play your latest podcast episode, you can embed the player shortcode into the Shop the Post field so readers can listen directly on your site. Here's an example.
- Write HTML text: Since Shop the Post accepts HTML text, if you know how to write this coding language, you can display links or other text. Here's an example:
*Note: again, you will need to know how to write and style HTML text and links to do this!
- Embed your favorite plugin shortcode: Have another idea for Shop the Post? So long as the plugin or service you're utilizing outputs what you want to display as a shortcode or HTML, you can do it!