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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

  1. Log into the WordPress Dashboard.
  2. From the left-hand navigation menu, click  Plugins.
  3. Click Add New.
  4. Search for Yakadanda Google Hangout Events.
  5. Click  Install Now.
  6. Click Activate Now.

Step 2: Get Google API Keys

  1. Go to the Google APIs Console. You will need to sign in if you have not already done so.
  2. Click Create Project.
  3. From the left navigation menu, click on Services.
  4. Switch the Calendar API button to On.
  5. 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

  1. From the left navigation menu of the Google APIs Console, click API Access.
  2. Click Create an OAuth 2.0 client ID (blue button).
  3. 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)
  1. Click Next.
  2. On the next screen, select the radio button for Web application.
  3. 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.
  4. Click Create client ID.

Step 4: Connect Google API to Yakadanda plugin:

  1. From the WordPress Dashboard, click Settings > Google+ Hangout Events.
  2. Under Yakadanda Google+ Hangout Events, click Edit.
  3. In the Calendar ID box, enter the email address of the Google+ account you will be using to create Hangout events.
  4. Input your API Key, Client ID and Client Secret using the information found on the Google API Console page.
  5. Click Save and Connect.
  6. On the next page, click Allow Access.

Step 5: Add Google+ Hangout Events Widget to WordPress Sidebar

  1. From the WordPress Dashboard, click Appearance > Widgets.
  2. Click on Google+ Hangout Events widget and drag it over to the sidebar menu on the right side of the page.
  3. Enter a title for the event.
  4. Modify the author, display and display countdown settings as desired.
  5. Click Save.

Now, when you refresh the blog page, you should be able to view the Google+ Hangout Events Countdown widget!