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The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block

By Event Calendar Newsletter

E-commerce & Shopping /

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Review - In-Depth Analysis

Easily display and promote events with customizable lists using shortcodes and blocks. Integrates with The Events Calendar Plugin.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.11/10

User Rating

4.7/5 (based on 101+ reviews)

Active Installations

10,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block plugin allows you to display your events in a customizable list on your WordPress site. It integrates seamlessly with The Events Calendar Plugin, offering a shortcode, a WordPress block, and widgets for Elementor and Bricks.

This plugin enables you to showcase your events by adding a block in the Gutenberg editor or using a shortcode in any post, page, or widget. You can filter events by various criteria, including categories and dates, giving you full control over how your events are displayed.

With the Pro version, you gain access to additional designs, filtering options, and premium support, enhancing your event management capabilities. This plugin is ideal for non-profits, businesses, and anyone looking to promote events effectively on their website.

Comparing to Alternatives

The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block is a popular choice for adding event calendar functionality with shortcode and block support. It competes with several other event calendar plugins offering various features and integrations.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Highly rated with a 4.7 average from over 100 reviews
Easy to use and set up, praised for user-friendliness
Responsive developer support
Integrates well with The Events Calendar plugin providing shortcode and block functionality
Offers flexibility in displaying event listings within themes

Weaknesses

Has had medium severity security vulnerabilities in past versions, though fixed in recent updates
Security risk score is moderate (5/10), indicating some historical concerns
Some users may require advanced features found in other event management plugins
Limited direct complaints but security history may concern cautious users

User Sentiment Analysis

With an overwhelming majority of 5-star and 4-star reviews, users generally express high satisfaction with the plugin's ease of use and functionality. Negative reviews are minimal and do not highlight significant issues.

Positive highlights

'Very easy to Use Looks great' - brandlge
'Easy to use and set up' - calummcgonigle
'Intuitive and packed full of features' - opuselite
'Super einfach einzubauen.. Danke' - bhonerchen
'I especially appreciate how responsive the developer is' - vmgenie

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Past security vulnerabilities related to stored cross-site scripting
Moderate security risk score may concern security-conscious users
No significant user-reported functional weaknesses in recent reviews

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who want an easy-to-use, well-supported shortcode and block plugin to extend The Events Calendar functionality with flexible event display options.

Not ideal for

Users who prioritize maximum security assurance or require advanced event management features beyond shortcode and block display may want to consider alternatives or ensure they keep the plugin updated.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers essential shortcode and block features to display events from The Events Calendar plugin, providing good value for basic event display needs.

Pro version

The pro version typically includes advanced features such as additional shortcode options, enhanced customization, and priority support, offering more flexibility and functionality for professional use.

Final Verdict

The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block is a highly rated and user-friendly plugin that effectively extends The Events Calendar with shortcode and block capabilities. Its ease of use and responsive developer support make it a strong choice for users needing flexible event display options.

However, users should be aware of its moderate security risk history, which has been addressed in recent updates. Those requiring advanced event management or heightened security may want to evaluate alternatives, but for most users, this plugin offers excellent value and functionality.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block plugin.

event management

events calendar

shortcode plugin

Screenshots

FAQ

Here’s the full list of shortcode and block options you can use to customize how your events display:

Basic shortcode: [ecs-list-events]
cat – Show events from an event category [ecs-list-events cat='festival'] or specify multiple categories [ecs-list-events cat='festival, workshops']
limit – Total number of events to show. Default is 5. [ecs-list-events limit='3']
order – Order of the events to be shown. Value can be ‘ASC’ or ‘DESC’. Default is ‘ASC’. Order is based on event date. [ecs-list-events order='DESC']
date – To show or hide date. Value can be ‘true’ or ‘false’. Default is true. [ecs-list-events eventdetails='false']
venue – To show or hide the venue. Value can be ‘true’ or ‘false’. Default is false. [ecs-list-events venue='true']
excerpt – To show or hide the excerpt and set excerpt length. Default is false. [ecs-list-events excerpt='true'] //displays excerpt with length 100
excerpt=’300′ //displays excerpt with length 300
thumb – To show or hide thumbnail image. Default is false. [ecs-list-events thumb='true'] //displays post thumbnail in default thumbnail dimension from media settings.
thumbsize – Specify the size of the thumbnail. [ecs-list-events thumb='true' thumbsize='large']
thumbwidth / thumbheight – Customize the thumbnail size in pixels [ecs-list-events thumb='true' thumbwidth='150' thumbheight='150']
message – Message to show when there are no events. Defaults to ‘There are no upcoming events at this time.’
viewall – Determines whether to show ‘View all events’ or not. Values can be ‘true’ or ‘false’. Default to ‘true’ [ecs-list-events cat='festival' limit='3' order='DESC' viewall='false']
contentorder – Manage the order of content with commas. Default to title, thumbnail, excerpt, date, venue. [ecs-list-events cat='festival' limit='3' order='DESC' viewall='false' contentorder='title, thumbnail, excerpt, date, venue']
month – Show only specific month (in YYYY-MM format). Type 'current' for displaying current month only or 'next' for next month. [ecs-list-events cat='festival' month='2024-06']
past – Show Outdated Events. [ecs-list-events cat='festival' past='yes']
key – Hide events when the start date has passed [ecs-list-events cat='festival' key='start date']
orderby – Change the ordering to the end date [ecs-list-events orderby="enddate"]

With The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro you also get the following options:

design – Shows improved design by default. Set to ‘standard’ for the regular one, ‘compact’ for a more compact listing, ‘calendar’ for a monthly calendar view, ‘columns’ to show a horizontal/columns/photo view, or ‘grouped’ to group events by day
filter bar – Allow the user to filter the events shown (ie. by category, state/province, country, venue, etc)
pagination – Allow the user to view additional pages of events
days – Specify how many days in the future, for example [ecs-list-events days="1"] for one day or [ecs-list-events days="7"] for one week
tag – Filter by one or more tags. Use commas when you want to filter by multiple tags.
id – Show a single event, useful for displaying details of the event on a blog post or page
location (city, state/province, country) – Display events by location. Use commas when you want to include events from multiple (ie. country=’United States, Canada’)
description – Use the full description instead of the excerpt of an event in the listing
raw_description – Avoid filtering any HTML (spacing, links, bullet points, etc) in the description
raw_excerpt – Avoid filtering any HTML (spacing, links, etc) in the excerpt
featured only – Show only events marked as “featured”
date – Show only events for a specific day [ecs-list-events date='2024-04-16']
year – Show only events for a specific year [ecs-list-events year='2024']
date range – Show only events between certain days [ecs-list-events fromdate='2024-05-31' todate='2024-06-15']
timeonly – To show just the start time of the event. [ecs-list-events timeonly='true']
offset – Skip a certain number of events from the beginning, useful for using multiple shortcodes on the same page (with ads in between) or splitting into columns
custom design – Create one or more of your own using shortcode variables or templates for use with the shortcode
hiderecurring – To only show the first instance of a recurring event, set to ‘true’

Get The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro

Put this in the template where you want the events list to display:

<?php echo do_shortcode("[ecs-list-events]"); ?>

Contributors and developers

“The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Brian Hogg

Event Calendar Newsletter

Pro version Free Version Docs

WPS

7.11

Very Good

Pro version

Ratings

4.7 out of 5 | 101

Version

4.0.0

Last updated

1 month ago

Active installations

10,000+

WordPress version

7.1.3 or higher

PHP version

7.4 or higher

Languages

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The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (101)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (2)

Previous Versions

WPS

7.11

Other plugins you might like

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Event Tickets Manager for WooCommerce

Event Espresso – Event Registration & Ticketing Sales

Events Manager – Zoom Integration

Super Simple Event Calendar

My Tickets – Accessible Event Ticketing