Adds a shortcode to display the current year or a year range, perfect for copyright statements.
This is a plugin which adds a simple shortcode to display the current year or a dynamic year range, particularly useful for copyright statements at the bottom of your website.
Its most basic usage is [year], which will display the current year. If you provide a starting year with the 'from' parameter, it will expand into a date range when the 'from' year is before the current year.
If [year] is used by another plugin, then it uses the fallback [runthings_year] which can be customised with the runthings_current_year_shortcode_tag filter. You can see the active shortcode tag in it entry in the installed plugins page.
- Display current year with
[year] - Create a dynamic year range with
[year from="2020"] - Abbreviated year format with
[year from="2020" mode="short"], which shows "2020-25" (if the current year is 2025) - Automatic fallback shortcode
[runthings_year]if another plugin already uses the 'year' shortcode - Filter (
runthings_current_year_shortcode_tag) to set your own shortcode
Assuming the current year is 2025:
[year]displays "2025"[year from="2025"]displays "2025" (since it's the current year)[year from="1983"]displays "1983-2025"[year from="2020" mode="short"]displays "2020-25" (shortened current year)[year from="1995" mode="short"]displays "1995-2025" (not shortened because centuries differ)
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/runthings-current-year-shortcodedirectory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. - Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress.
- Use the
[year]shortcode in your posts, pages, or widgets.
This filter allows customization of the shortcode tag used by the plugin.
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
$tag |
string |
The shortcode tag to be registered. Defaults to 'year' or 'runthings_year' if conflicted. |
add_filter('runthings_current_year_shortcode_tag', 'custom_year_shortcode_tag');
function custom_year_shortcode_tag($tag) {
return 'my_custom_year';
}If another plugin already uses the [year] shortcode, this plugin will automatically use [runthings_year] instead to avoid conflicts.
On the Plugins admin page, you'll see the active shortcode listed in the plugin's row.
Yes! This shortcode works perfectly in footer widgets, custom footer code, or anywhere else shortcodes are supported in your theme.
When using a date range with years in the same century (e.g., 2020-2025), the 'short' mode will abbreviate the end year to just the last digits (2020-25), creating a cleaner look for your copyright statements.
-
Using the shortcode in a footer widget
-
Plugin info showing the active shortcode
-
Help tab with usage examples
- Move scripts and styles into external files
- Update year examples to 2025
- Added fallback shortcode runthings_year if year is taken
- Added
runthings_current_year_shortcode_tagfilter to customise the shortcode - Added contextual help tab to plugins page
- Added usage examples link to plugins page
- Added active shortcode info to plugins page
- Prepare for WordPress.org repository
- Update year examples to 2024
- Update year examples to 2023
- Added license
- Updated plugin meta
- Added readme file
- Initial public release
- Internal release
Built by Matthew Harris of runthings.dev, copyright 2021-2025.
Visit runthings.dev for more WordPress plugins and resources.
Contribute or report issues at GitHub repository.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html.
Icon - Calendar by Qadeer Hussain, from Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/calendar/ (CC BY 3.0)
Icon - legal by hanis tusiyani, from Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/legal/ (CC BY 3.0)