Want a WordPress site-specific plugin?

A site-specific plugin enables you to add code snippets to your WordPress site without depending on your theme.

This post will explain how to construct a WordPress plugin that is particular to a website and its significance.

What is a WordPress site-specific plugin?

Using a site-specific WordPress plugin, you may add all customization snippets independent of a theme.

WordPress tutorials often need you to add code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin while working on your website.

WordPress does not provide a site-specific plugin by default. You must design your own before installing and activating it.

Why Create a WordPress Plugin for a Specific Website?

As previously said, you will often encounter tutorials containing code that you may add to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.

These custom codes may be used to create different post kinds, taxonomies, shortcodes, and many other website enhancements.

Whenever you put the custom code to your theme’s functions file, it will be removed if you update or switch themes. You may build a child theme and store your code in the child theme’s functions file. However, your code will be lost if you change themes.

A site-specific WordPress plugin lets you add theme-independent custom code snippets to your WordPress website. It is an independent WordPress plugin, which means you are free to update or change your theme.

In light of this, let’s examine how to add custom code using a site-specific plugin. We will reveal two methods for doing this, and you may select the one that works best for you.

Create a WordPress site-specific plugin manually.

We recognize that this may seem complicated to novices, but we will do our best to simplify it for you.

Please create a new folder on your desktop and give it the name of your website, for instance, my website-plugin.

Now open a simple text editor on your PC, such as Notepad or TextEdit. Please create a new file named my website-plugin.php and store it in the plugins folder on your desktop.

Your plugin file must have a certain header code for WordPress to identify it as a plugin.

Install WordPress site-specific plugin

This strategy is suggested for all users due to its simplicity.

First, you must compress the folder containing your site-specific plugins.

Windows users may choose to Send to – the Compressed (zip) folder by right-clicking the plugin folder.

Right-clicking Mac users must choose “Compress my website-plugin.”

Once you have the plugin’s zip file, go to Plugins > Add New in the WordPress administration area.

Then, click the “Upload Plugin” button.

Next, choose the zip file you prepared earlier by clicking the ‘Choose File’ button, and then click the ‘Install Now button.

The plugin will now be uploaded and installed by WordPress. You must click the activate button to begin utilizing your site-specific plugin after it has been submitted.

Upload your WordPress plugin over FTP.

This approach does not need the creation of a zip file. The plugin will be uploaded through FTP.

Establishing a connection to your website using an FTP client would be best.

Navigate to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder under the remote site column once connected. Next, you must pick the folder containing your site-specific plugins and upload it to your website.

Your FTP client will now upload the folder containing site-specific plugins to your WordPress site. Installs the plugin on the website.

Nevertheless, you must activate the plugin before using it. You may do this by navigating to the ‘Plugins’ page inside your WordPress admin area and then clicking the ‘Activate’ link beside the plugin you want to activate.

That is it. Your site-specific plugin is now activated and ready for usage.

Your Site-Specific Plugin: Adding Custom Code Snippets

There are two methods to modify and add custom code snippets to your plugin.

The first technique involves using the WordPress administration panel. Visit the Plugins » Editor page.

You will receive a warning window and must click the ‘I understand button to proceed. Alternatively, go to the second technique described below to alter the files more securely.

Choose your site-specific plugin from the ‘Select plugin to modify’ drop-down menu.

You may insert code snippets into the plugin file once the editor loads it.

To save your changes, click the “Update File” button after you are finished.

If anything is missing from your code or it has the potential to destroy your website, the plugin editor will reverse your changes immediately.

Nevertheless, if the editor fails and the white screen of death appears, you may use FTP to modify your plugin file and reverse the modifications.

The second option involves editing the plugin file directly through FTP. Go to the plugin’s directory using your FTP client. Select View/Edit file with a right-click on the plugin’s file.

Additionally, you may download the plugin file to your computer, alter it, and then re-upload it.

Utilizing the WPCode Plugin

This solution is easier and allows you to handle your code snippets in WordPress using WPCode more effectively.

• Installing and activating the free WPCode plugin on your website is the first step.
• After activation, your WordPress admin menu will get a new menu item named “Code Snippets.” This link leads to a website where you can manage your custom codes.
• To add your first piece of code, click the “Add new” button.
• This will take you to the page titled “Add Snippet.” You may choose a code snippet from the pre-made library or enter your code.
• To add new code, click the ‘Use snippet’ button next to the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option.
• Now you can assign your code snippet a title. This might be anything that aids in deciphering the code.
• After that, you may copy and paste your code into the area provided. Additionally, you must pick PHP Snippet from the Code Type drop-down menu on the right.
• You may include code-related remarks in the ‘Basic info’ area.
• Use this space to explain what this code does, where you discovered it, and why you are adding it to your website. This will remind “future you” why “past you” inserted this code.
• You also can tag your code snippets, which may assist arrange them by subject and usefulness.
• Additionally, the plugin enables you to choose how to execute the code snippet. You may pick the ‘Auto Insert’ technique in the ‘Insertion’ section to automatically insert and run code on your site.
• You can choose the admin area, front-end, or everything. If uncertain, maintain the default “Run Everywhere” option.
• Alternatively, you may choose the ‘Shortcode’ technique, which does not automatically insert the snippet. After saving the snippet, you will get a shortcode that can be manually inserted anywhere on your site.
• Additionally, depending on the criteria, you can utilize the ‘Smart Conditional Logic’ section to display or conceal auto-inserted snippets.
• You may, for instance, load code snippets exclusively for logged-in users, load PHP code snippets only on specified page URLs, and display code snippets depending on the kind of page.
• Click the ‘Save Snippet’ button after toggling the switch from ‘Inactive’ to ‘Active.’
• Click the ‘Save Snippet’ button if you want to save the code snippet without activating it.
• Upon saving and activating a code snippet, it would become immediately active on your website if you picked this way of insertion.