Documentation
Announcements documentation
How to set up and use Announcements: install, settings, shortcodes and fixes for common problems.
Overview
Announcements shows dated notices such as holiday hours or closures. You schedule them ahead of time and they appear and disappear on their own.
Where to find it: Announcements, in the main WordPress menu.
What you need
- WordPress 6.2 or newer
- PHP 7.4 or newer
Install
- With The Vault (easiest): open The Vault in your WordPress menu, find Announcements and click Install. It is installed and activated for you.
- By hand: download it free from the plugin page, then go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the zip and activate it.
Updates arrive automatically from wpwizards.com, like plugins from WordPress.org.
Quick start
- Add an announcement. Go to Announcements → Add new. Give it a title and write the message.
- Set the schedule. Choose Starts and Ends. Both dates are included, in your site’s time zone. Use the same date twice for a one-day notice, or leave Ends empty to keep it running.
- Choose where it shows. Under Announcements → Settings, pick the automatic banner at the top of every page, or place
[announcements]where you want it.
Settings
Announcement
| Starts / Ends | The first and last day it shows. |
|---|---|
| Button text and Button link | An optional button. Links to other websites open in a new tab. |
| Status | Live, Scheduled, Ended, Not published or Needs a start date, shown in the list. |
Where announcements show
| Automatic banner | Shows live announcements at the top of every page. It uses your theme’s wp_body_open hook. |
|---|---|
| Shortcode | Place it in a Text, Code or Shortcode block. Works with any theme or page builder, including Divi. |
Look
| Style | Full-width bar or Rounded card. |
|---|---|
| Background, Text, Button | Colors. |
| Show the announcement title | Shows the title above the message. |
| Let visitors close it | It stays closed for that visitor until the announcement changes. |
Shortcodes
[announcements]
Shows the announcements that are live today.
| Attribute | Values | What it does |
|---|---|---|
style |
text | Overrides the Style setting for this one spot. |
Place a shortcode in a Divi Text or Code module, a Shortcode block, or a widget.
Troubleshooting and questions
Nothing shows on the site.
Check that the announcement is published, that today falls between Starts and Ends, and that either the automatic banner is on or the shortcode is on the page.
The automatic banner does not appear with my theme.
Some older themes do not include the wp_body_open hook. Use the shortcode instead.
What time does an announcement start and end?
At midnight in the time zone set under Settings → General.
Get help
Stuck on something this page does not cover? Contact us and tell us which plugin and version you are on. Need it to do something it does not do yet? We build custom plugins too.
