A shortcode is a WordPress-specific code that lets you do nifty things with very little effort. Shortcodes can embed files or create objects that would normally require lots of complicated, ugly code in just one line. Shortcode = code shortcut!
Every shortcode is wrapped in two square brackets [ ]. You can add shortcodes to any page or post by first inserting the Shortcode block. This guide will show you how!
In this guide
To add the Shortcode block, click on the + Block Inserter icon and search for “shortcode”. Click it to add the block to the post or page.
Alternatively, you can type your shortcode inside two square brackets. For example, the shortcode can be used to embed any public YouTube video into any page or post.
Or type /shortcode and press enter:
For more, visit our detailed instructions on adding blocks.
When you first add the Shortcode block into your post or page, it will look like this:
Type your shortcode into the box provided or paste it from the available shortcodes. In this example, the shortcode is added in the box to display posts by date.
In your post or page preview, the posts will be displayed in order of date:
Below you’ll find a list of all the shortcodes available on your WordPress.com site. In addition, many third-party plugins (which you can install on the WordPress.com Business and Ecommerce plans or our legacy Pro plan) use shortcodes too – consult your plugins documentation to learn about that plugin’s shortcodes.
[archiveorg]embeds a video from The Internet Archive. » Full instructions[dailymotion]embeds a DailyMotion video. » Full instructions[flickr]embeds a Flickr video. » Full instructions[kickstarter]embeds a Kickstarter video. » Full instructions[ted]embeds a TED Talks video. » Full instructions[twitchtv]embeds a Twitch.tv stream. » Full instructions[vimeo]embeds a Vimeo video. » Full instructions[wpvideo]embeds a VideoPress video. » Full instructions[youtube]embeds a YouTube video. » Full instructions
[8tracks]embeds music from 8tracks. » Full instructions[audio]displays uploaded audio file as an audio player.» Full instructions[bandcamp]embeds music from Bandcamp. » Full instructions[playlist]displays a playlist for uploaded uploaded audio files.» Full instructions[soundcloud]embeds audio from SoundCloud. » Full instructions[spotify]embeds music from Spotify. » Full instructions
[instagram]embeds an image from Instagram. » Full instructions[presentation]embeds a slideshow presentation. » Full instructions[scribd]embeds a document/file from Scribd. » Full instructions[slideshare]embeds a slideshow from Slideshare.net. » Full instructions- [vr] embeds 360° photos and panoramas for use with VR headsets. » Full instructions
Useful shortcodes for adding a blog archive index, contact form, polls, and more.
[archives]displays an archive index of your blog posts. » Full instructions[beermenus]embeds a menu from BeerMenus. » Full instructions[blog_subscription_form]embeds a subscription form allowing people to sign up for email updates » Full instructions[code]or[sourcecode]preserves the formatting of source code. » Full instructions[contact-form]adds a contact form to your page. » Full instructions[display-posts]lets you list posts of a specific category, author, or tag » Full instructions[gist]embeds GitHub Gist code snippets. » Full instructions[gravatar]shows a Gravatar image from an email address. » Full instructions[list-pages]lets you list pages, sibling pages, and child pages. » Full instructions[portfolio]embeds Portfolio projects. » Full instructions[quiz]embeds a multiple choice quiz» Full instructions[recipe]formats a recipe with basic metadata and an option to print. » Full instructions[rss]embeds RSS feed from a specified URL, e.g. a news feed. » Full instructions[sitemap]generates a sitemap of your site’s pages » Full instructions[tlkio]adds a Tlk.io channel to your post or page. » Full instructions[twitter-timeline]embed a Twitter timeline. » Full instructions[upcomingevents]displays an iCalendar Feed URL in a list. » Full instructions[wufoo]embeds a Wufoo form. » Full instructions
