{"id":4521,"date":"2019-11-15T02:32:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/?p=4521"},"modified":"2026-03-10T10:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:07:10","slug":"wordpress-do_shortcode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/my\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","title":{"rendered":"How to use WordPress do_shortcode"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extending site functionality is easy with the help of shortcodes. To place them on any part of your website, you can use the WordPress do_shortcode<\/strong> function. Here, we will show you how to apply it. So, let’s start by exploring the basics of WordPress shortcodes.<\/p>

Download all in one WordPress cheat sheet<\/a><\/p>

\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

What Exactly is Shortcode?<\/h2>

Shortcode is a snippet of code, which allows you to execute a function like displaying content<\/strong>. For example, if you create a slider using the MetaSlider<\/a> plugin, you need to embed the plugin’s shortcode into your site to show the slider.<\/p>

However, you can only embed it on the site’s body<\/strong> or widget<\/strong>. Otherwise, the content won’t show up. To solve this problem, you can use WordPress do_shortcode<\/strong> function. It allows you to embed the shortcode anywhere you want – including the header. Here’s how it looks:<\/p>

<?php echo do_shortcode( '[your shortcode goes here]' ); ?><\/pre>
To apply this function, you need to access and tweak the theme files<\/strong>. Don’t forget to make a full website backup of your WordPress site<\/a> and use the WordPress child theme<\/a> beforehand to avoid data loss if something goes wrong.<\/p>
How to Use WordPress do_shortcode?<\/h2>
Now, let’s try adding a shortcode using WordPress do_shortcode<\/strong>. For instance, let’s assume you want to include a slider<\/strong> in your theme’s header <\/strong>using MetaSlider – make sure you’ve installed the plugin<\/a>. However, you don’t have any widget for the header area.<\/p>
So, you need to embed the shortcode of the slider to the theme’s header file<\/strong>. To do so, use the following steps:<\/p>
    \n
  1. Click on MetaSlider <\/strong>on the left sidebar of the WordPress admin dashboard<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Copy<\/strong> the shortcode at the bottom right of the page.
    \"metaslider<\/li>\n<\/ol>
    If you notice, the MetaSlider’s shortcode is already inside the WordPress do_shortcode<\/strong> function. You can then proceed with editing the theme’s header<\/strong> file by accessing your hosting provider’s file manager<\/strong> or an FTP client <\/strong><\/a>like FileZilla<\/a>.<\/p>
    The following steps will show you how to edit theme files with Hostinger’s File manager – it can be applied in an FTP client<\/strong> as well:<\/p>
      \n
    1. Access your hPanel<\/strong> and click on File Manager<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Go to the public_html <\/strong>folder and navigate to wp-contents -> themes<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Find and access your currently<\/strong> active theme<\/strong> folder.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Open header.php<\/strong>, then scroll down the page and put the do_shortcode <\/strong>function above the <\/header> <\/strong>tag.
      \"metaslider<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Save<\/strong> and check how your website looks.
      \"result<\/li>\n<\/ol>
      Sometimes, editing theme core files can break your WordPress template. To solve it, you should alter the CSS to make your website look better. Check our tutorials on how to inspect elements<\/a> with Chrome and download CSS cheatsheet<\/a>.<\/p>
      \"\"<\/a><\/figure>
      Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>
      Now you’ve learned how to use shortcodes and display them using the WordPress do_shortcode <\/strong>function. Just put it into the theme’s file, and you’re ready to go! Don’t forget to backup your site before editing the file to avoid the risk of losing data.<\/p>
      Do you have any questions regarding the topic? Drop a comment below!<\/p>
      \n                    
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      \n      Add PHP to WordPress<\/a><\/p>\n                <\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      Extending site functionality is easy with the help of shortcodes. To place them on any part of your website, you can use the WordPress do_shortcode function. Here, we will show you how to apply it. So, let’s start by exploring the basics of WordPress shortcodes. What Exactly is Shortcode? Shortcode is a snippet of code, […]<\/p>\n
      Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"WordPress do_shortcode: What It Is and How to Use It","rank_math_description":"Extend your site's functionality through WordPress do_shortcode function. In this article, we will show you how to apply it!","rank_math_focus_keyword":"wordpress do_shortcode","footnotes":""},"categories":[22632],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wordpress"],"hreflangs":[{"locale":"en-US","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"pt-BR","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/br\/tutoriais\/como-usar-do-shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"fr-FR","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/fr\/tutoriels\/do_shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"es-ES","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/es\/tutoriales\/usar-do_shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"id-ID","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/id\/tutorial\/do_shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"en-UK","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/uk\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"en-MY","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"en-PH","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ph\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"es-MX","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/mx\/tutoriales\/usar-do_shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"es-CO","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/co\/tutoriales\/usar-do_shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"es-AR","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ar\/tutoriales\/usar-do_shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"pt-PT","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/pt\/tutoriais\/como-usar-do-shortcode-wordpress","default":0},{"locale":"en-IN","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/in\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"en-CA","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"en-AU","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/au\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0},{"locale":"en-NG","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ng\/tutorials\/wordpress-do_shortcode","default":0}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4521"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126517,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4521\/revisions\/126517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}