Using shortcodes in PHP

Question

I'm trying to use shortcode in my page, I'm starting with a simple test.

In functions.php:

function HelloWorldShortcode() {
    return '<p>Hello World!</p>';
}
add_shortcode('helloworld', 'HelloWorldShortcode');

In index.php:

[helloworld]

This doesn't produce <p>Hello World!</p>. Instead I just get the text [helloworld].

How can I get shortcodes to work in a PHP document?

Answer 1

Referering to the Shortcodes API you can do

echo do_shortcode('[helloworld]');

if your shortcode not in post. Or you can do

echo apply_filters('the_content', '[helloworld]');

but this will also bring other filters to work on your shorcode return html.

Answer 2

Use

echo do_shortcode( '[helloworld]' );

if you're going to use it in your template / PHP code.

Answer 3

Shortcodes are parsed through the function do_shortcode(). In some cases this function is applied as a callback automatically, for example when you are using the_content().

To invoke the shortcode parser use something like this:

echo do_shortcode( 'I want to say: [helloworld]' );

But I would not use a shortcode like this, calling the handler without do_shortcode() is faster and easier to read.