Installing & Using the WordPress Plugin

What's a WordPress Plugin?

Plugins are little bits of code that you can insert into websites built with WordPress CMS. They can do all sorts of things to extend the functionality of your site. Our Artful.ly plugin allows you to sell tickets and/or take donations on your WordPress site. It does the same thing our widgets do but is specially designed to work on WordPress sites.

Where This Plugin Will and Won't Work

Our plugin works on websites that use WordPress as a content management system but are hosted through a paid host. If your site is hosted on wordpress.com you cannot use this plugin. The WordPress.com commercial hosting service does not allow users to install JavaScript so our plugin and widget cannot be used on theses sites. Link to the Artful.ly Storefront from your site, instead. 

Confused? Read more...

Basically, there are two WordPress products:

1. WordPress CMS, a content management system
2. WordPress.com, a blog host

WordPress CMS is web software that allows you to create a website and manage the content on it.  To use WordPress, you need to first find a webhost such as Bluehost, DreamHost, or Laughing Squid. That's where your website lives. Then you install WordPress on your hosted site and start designing it and filling it with content. This is when you can install an Artful.ly plugin. Learn more about WordPress CMS at www.wordpress.org. 

If you do not need the flexibility of a full web host, WordPress offers free blogs on WordPress.com. Blogs hosted on WordPress.com do not support plugins of any kind so you cannot install Artful.ly ticketing or donation tools on those sites. WordPress.com hosted blogs usually have URL that includes "wordpress.com". Learn more about WordPress hosted blogs at www.wordpress.com.

Because WordPress.com hosted blogs are limited, most organizations pay for site hosting and just use the CMS. This allows for great flexibility in design, custom URLs, and access to features like plugins. If you're reading this, I suspect your organization is planning to do this, too, and you should have no problems using the Artful.ly plugins.

Installing the Plugin

1. Login to your WordPress site as an administrator.
2. On the left-hand dashboard menu, click "Plugins."
3. Click "Add New."
4. In the search box, search for "Artful.ly."
5. Under "Artful.ly Widget" click "Install Now.”
6. After WordPress tells you the plugin was successfully installed, click "Activate Plugin."

Current Version = 1.1

The current WordPress plugin version is 1.1. If you are not running this version, please upgrade now (see directions below).

Using the Plugin to Sell Tickets

1. Log into your Artful.ly account.
2. Make sure you have activated the Paid Ticketing Kit.
3. Create an event and publish tickets for that event.
4. Select Share & Sell from the side menu on your event, then choose WordPress Plugin.
5. Copy the Event ID number on this page. (You can also find your event ID number at the end of the URL on your event set up pages it looks like this "https://www.artful.ly/events/60". The number 60 is ID number for that event.).

6. In WordPress, on the page where you want ticket information to be displayed, insert [art-event id="eventID"] and replace “eventID” with the ID number you copied from Artful.ly.

   

Using the Plugin to Take Donations

1. Log into your Artful.ly account .
2. Activate a donation kit. If you are a 501(c)(3), add the 501(c)(3) Donation Kit. If you are fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, connect to Fractured Atlas to activate your Sponsored Donation Kit.
3. On your Artful.ly Account Administration page, copy your Organization ID number. You'll also see this ID number listed on the Wordpress Plugin page in the Share & Sell menu for each Event.
4. In WordPress, on the page where you the want the donation field to be displayed, insert [art-donation id="organizationID"] and replace “organizationID” with the number you copied.

Updating Your Plugin (Version 1.1)

We make improvements to the WP plugin as needed. If you have having problems with a plugin, please make sure you are running the latest version which is 1.1 (as of October 2015). To update your plugin:

1. Login to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Go to "Plugins."
3. Below the Artful.ly plugin, there should be an alert that says version 1.1 is available, click the "Upgrade" link there. 
4. If you don't see an alert for the Artful.ly plugin, navigate to another page of your admin panel then go back to the Plugin page--that should force the alert to appear. Proceed with the upgrade. 

5. After you upgrade the plugin to version 1.1, it will take WordPress approximately 10 minutes to clear it's cache and then anywhere you have Artful.ly short codes displayed should update accordingly.

   

Rate It!

Help us spread the word about this plugin by rating it in the WordPress Plugin Directory. If you don't already have a WordPress.org account, you'll need to create one. Making one just takes a second, will give you access to additional WordPress support, and help you connect with other WordPress users. Rate the plugin here and thanks!