Add Google+ Hangouts Event Countdown in WordPress
Most bloggers announce events to readers through Tweets, sharing it on Google+, blog articles, Facebook and email newsletters. You can use Google+ Hangouts to organize online events with your blog readers.
The steps below will guide you through adding a widget to the sidebar of your blog, displaying the Google+ Hangout Event with a countdown timer using the Yakadanda Google+ Hangout Events plugin.
We recommend backing up WordPress from within the WordPress Dashboard before adding or activating a new plugin.
Step 1: Install Yakadanda Google+ Hangout Events Plugin
- Log into the WordPress Dashboard.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, click Plugins.
- Click Add New.
- Search for Yakadanda Google Hangout Events.
- Click Install Now.
- Click Activate Now.
Step 2: Get Google API Keys
- Go to the Google APIs Console. You will need to sign in if you have not already done so.
- Click Create Project.
- From the left navigation menu, click on Services.
- Switch the Calendar API button to On.
- On the next page, check the box to agree to Google's Terms of Service and click Accept.
Step 3: Create OAuth 2.0 Client ID
- From the left navigation menu of the Google APIs Console, click API Access.
- Click Create an OAuth 2.0 client ID (blue button).
- In the pop-up box, you will need to enter the following information:
- Product name
- Product logo (ignore if you do not have a logo to use)
- Home page URL (where WordPress is installed)
- Click Next.
- On the next screen, select the radio button for Web application.
- Under Your Site or hostname, click the drop-down menu to use http:// instead of the default https:// and enter the URL of the oauth2callback.php file (located inside Yakadanda Google Hangout Events plugin directory.)
For example:
www.example.com/wp-content/plugins/yakadanda-google-hangout-events/oauth2callback.php
Replace example.com with the actual domain where WordPress has been installed. - Click Create client ID.
Step 4: Connect Google API to Yakadanda plugin:
- From the WordPress Dashboard, click Settings > Google+ Hangout Events.
- Under Yakadanda Google+ Hangout Events, click Edit.
- In the Calendar ID box, enter the email address of the Google+ account you will be using to create Hangout events.
- Input your API Key, Client ID and Client Secret using the information found on the Google API Console page.
- Click Save and Connect.
- On the next page, click Allow Access.
Step 5: Add Google+ Hangout Events Widget to WordPress Sidebar
- From the WordPress Dashboard, click Appearance > Widgets.
- Click on Google+ Hangout Events widget and drag it over to the sidebar menu on the right side of the page.
- Enter a title for the event.
- Modify the author, display and display countdown settings as desired.
- Click Save.
Now, when you refresh the blog page, you should be able to view the Google+ Hangout Events Countdown widget!