Custom Etsy Widget Plugin

This plugin adds a sidebar widget that displays a grid of thumbnails linking to items in an etsy store. The user can select the number of rows and columns to display. The results are similar to Etsy Mini but since it doesn’t use flash or an iframe the theme sidebar style is inherited. Users can also customize the display by adding ‘etsy’ css class definitions to their theme style sheet.

You can choose to show the most recent items or a random set on each load.

This plugin has only been tested on linux, but I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t work on windows as well.

You can see it running at blog.cheyenneweil.com.

This plugin requires PHP5.

The term ‘Etsy’ is a trademark of Etsy, Inc. This application uses the Etsy API but is not endorsed or certified by Etsy, Inc.

1. Upload etsy-widget.php to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
3. Use the Etsy widget in your sidebars and click ‘[EDIT]’.
4. Enter your etsy shop name and the number of rows and columns to display.
5. Choose how items are chosen (Most Recent, or Random).
6. If desired, add custom styling to your theme for the ‘etsy’ css class, otherwise it will default to sidebar style rules.

1. 

   The admin interface.

2. 

   How it looks on the page.

Why not use the other etsy sidebar widget?

At the time I wrote this plugin another etsy sidebar widget was available. However, it didn’t meet my needs because it only allowed you to embed Etsy Mini code. Functionality which could just as easily be obtained with the default ‘Text’ widget.

Why not use Etsy Mini?

Etsy Mini uses an iframe or flash object. In either case there is no easy way to control the styling. Also, you must go to your etsy account to generate new code if you want to change the basic layout. This widget allows complete styling and an equivalent number of layout options in the widget configuration.

Does it cache the Etsy API call results?

Yes. By default, a json cache file is stored in the system temp directory. The cache is refreshed every 6 hours. You can change the cache location in the configuration window.

Why not use the wordpress object cache?

The wordpress object cache is not enabled by default. I choose not to use it because I wanted the plugin to be as easy as possible to install.

1.0.8

Fix optional link to store home page.

1.0.7

Clear the cache on activation. This solves a couple of problems. Most importantly if Etsy changes the API format the cache will be cleared automatically on upgrade. It’s also handy to be able to clear the cache manually by deactivating and reactivating the plugin.

You must use your shop name. An error will appear if an old version of the plugin was set to use you user id number. If this happens go to the widget configuration and change it.

1.0.6

Upgrade to use Esty API V2.

Removed invalid image size options.

1.0.5

Add option to change cache location. The default is to use whatever is returned by the php function sys_get_temp_dir (usually /tmp on unix systems).

1.0.4

Fixed bug in column layout. Older version wouldn’t render more than 2 columns.

1.0.3

Add admin option to choose image thumbnail size for display.

Set cache life to 6hrs to comply with etsy api requirements.

1.0.2

Fix a cache problem that would occur when showing the widget from multiple blogs installed as different users.

1.0.1

Add readme, comments, and documentation.