[Plugin: Flattr] Feature request: add a ShareDaddy button instead

So after having some fun with the Flattr plugin and finally getting it to work, here is a suggestion.

Since the launch of JetPack, which includes ShareDaddy, this has been one of the most “standard” ways of adding sharing/liking buttons. Through https://tools.flattr.net/wordpress/ it’s possible to add the appropriate ShareDaddy button code for a WordPress.com-hosted blog. The magic seems to be simple to follow:

• First, the following URL is called: https://site-url-domain.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=sharing&create_new_service=true&name=Flattr&url=https%3A%2F%2Fflattr.com%2Fsubmit%2Fauto%3Fuser_id%3DFlattr-user-ID%26url%3D%25post_url%25%26title%3D%25post_title%25%26description%3D%25post_excerpt%25%26language%3Den_GB%26tags%3D%25post_tags%25%26category%3Dtext&icon=https%3A%2F%2Fflattr.com%2F_img%2Ficons%2Fflattr_logo_16.png
• This opens a popup with the following data:

• Service name: Flattr
• Sharing URL: https://flattr.com/submit/auto?user_id=Flattr-user-ID&url=%post_url%&title=%post_title%&description=%post_excerpt%&language=en_GB&tags=%post_tags%&category=text
• Icon URL: https://flattr.com/_img/icons/flattr_logo_16.png

• When clicking the “Create Share Button” this will generate the appropriate ShareDaddy button code for Flattr, and you can use it normally

This certainly works well under WordPress.com.

I’ve obviously tried to replicate the URLs for a self-hosted blog, using the above settings. They work fine (so long as you take care of the ampersands in the URL)!

So I tested this on my main blog: left the Flattr plugin active (so that it correctly feeds whatever it has to feed to Flattr.com), but added the button code for ShareDaddy under JetPack. It works fine!

Advantages: Just one single point where the WP filters are called to place buttons at the end of the articles; a single way to arrange all sharing buttons; less Javascript and visual cluttering; easier to deal with HTML/CSS to get everything looking “just right” (without needing to edit the template). Also, as said, ShareDaddy under JetPack is quickly becoming the norm, except on very specifically-tailored WP themes.

Disadvantages: You can only get a static button this way (unless I’m missing something), so the nice feature that the JS-based Flattr button uses to show how much flattring was received will not be there. On the other hand, the Twitter/Facebook ShareDaddy buttons are certainly able to display that, so I guess it’s just a question of time to find a trick to replicate their code as well, without needing to hard-code anything on JetPack’s PHP files.

I still think it’s a nice add-on to have on your plugin. In fact, in theory all you need to place is the above link that will automatically generate a new service (mind the ampersands though!) as an option (eventually looking up first if ShareDaddy is already installed/configured). Very easy to do!

https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/flattr/