Theme Integration

Theme Integration

Integrating the wp-show-user-role-frontend snippet into your WordPress site allows you to display a logged-in user's role anywhere shortcodes are supported. You can implement this via your theme's functions file or by creating a lightweight custom plugin.

Method 1: Using functions.php (Recommended for Quick Setup)

The most common way to add this functionality is by appending the snippet to your active theme's functions.php file.

1. Navigate to your WordPress installation directory.
2. Go to /wp-content/themes/your-active-theme/.
3. Open functions.php in a code editor.
4. Copy the contents of app.php from this repository and paste it at the bottom of the file:

// Add the User Role Shortcode
add_shortcode('user_role', 'get_current_user_role');

function get_current_user_role() {
    if( is_user_logged_in() ) {
        $user = wp_get_current_user();
        $roles = ( array ) $user->roles;
        return $roles[0]; // Returns the primary role
    } else {
        return 'Guest'; // Returns for non-logged-in users
    }
}

Note: If you are using a third-party theme, it is highly recommended to use a Child Theme. This prevents your changes from being overwritten when the parent theme is updated.

Method 2: Site-Specific Plugin (Best Practice)

If you want the functionality to persist even if you change your theme, create a site-specific plugin.

1. Navigate to /wp-content/plugins/.
2. Create a new folder named wp-show-user-role.
3. Inside that folder, create a file named wp-show-user-role.php.
4. Add the following code:

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: WP Show User Role
 * Description: Displays the current user's role via shortcode.
 * Version: 1.0
 */

add_shortcode('user_role', function() {
    if( is_user_logged_in() ) {
        $user = wp_get_current_user();
        $roles = (array) $user->roles;
        return current($roles);
    }
    return '';
});

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard > Plugins and click Activate.

Displaying the User Role

Once the code is integrated, you can display the user role in two ways:

1. In the Block Editor or Widgets

Simply add the shortcode block or a text block and type: [user_role]

2. In Theme Template Files (PHP)

If you are editing a theme template (like header.php or sidebar.php), use the do_shortcode function:

<?php echo 'Your role is: ' . do_shortcode('[user_role]'); ?>

Technical Details

• Hook: add_shortcode
• Tag: user_role
• Return Type: string
• Logic: The snippet fetches the $user->roles array. By default, it returns the first role assigned to the user. If the user is not logged in, it returns an empty string or "Guest" depending on your custom implementation of the snippet.