Description
Juniustech Gold Price Calculator fetches live gold prices, converts them to CHF, and displays an interactive karat price table on any page.
Features:
- Hourly automatic price updates (WordPress cron), with a one-hour cache
- 9 gold alloys (999 to 333)
- Additional kg rows for silver-plated items and tin (CHF/kg editable in settings)
- Combined TOTAL (CHF) across grams and kilograms
- Configurable surcharge per gram (default: 0.50 CHF)
- Shortcode:
[gold_price_calculator] - Shows the last known price if the API is temporarily unavailable
- Inquiry form that emails the gram/karat and kg breakdown
- Responsive table design
External services
This plugin connects to external APIs to retrieve live gold spot prices and
currency exchange rates. This is required because the calculator shows
up-to-date values instead of static prices.
Requests run on the server with wp_remote_get. No personal data, no visitor
information and no site content is transmitted by this plugin.
-
Gold API (https://api.gold-api.com/price/XAU) — gold price in USD. Used when
no custom JSON URL is set. Terms: https://gold-api.com/ Privacy: the request
contains only the metal symbol path (XAU). -
Frankfurter (https://api.frankfurter.dev/) — USD to CHF conversion. Used to
convert the gold USD price to CHF. Terms: https://www.frankfurter.dev/
The request contains only currency codes (USD, CHF). -
Alpha Vantage (https://www.alphavantage.co/query) — optional fallback when
the sources above fail, or when the site owner has entered an API key.
The request contains lookup parameters (metal/currency codes) and the site
owner’s own API key. Terms: https://www.alphavantage.co/terms_of_service/
Privacy: https://www.alphavantage.co/privacy/ -
Optional custom JSON URL (settings) — if the site owner enters a URL, that
host is requested first. Only the URL they configured is contacted.
A request is sent when cached price data expires and a page containing the
calculator is loaded, when WordPress cron runs the hourly update, and when an
administrator saves settings or clicks Refresh now.
Installation
- Upload the
juniustech-gold-price-calculatorfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu
- Go to Settings Gold Price Calculator and click Refresh now (an API key is optional)
- Optionally enter an Alpha Vantage API key or a custom gold JSON URL
- Add
[gold_price_calculator]to any page or post
FAQ
-
Where do I get an API key?
-
An API key is optional. Free gold and FX sources are used first.
If you still want Alpha Vantage as a fallback: https://www.alphavantage.co/support/#api-key
The key is entered in the plugin settings. No API key is bundled with the plugin.
-
How often is the price updated?
-
Prices are cached for at least one hour (WordPress transient) and refreshed hourly via WordPress cron. Use Refresh now in settings for a manual update.
-
What shortcode do I use?
-
[gold_price_calculator]
-
Does this plugin send visitor data to Alpha Vantage?
-
No. Requests run on the server with
wp_remote_get. Visitor data is not sent. Alpha Vantage is only contacted as a fallback, and then only with lookup parameters and the site owner’s API key.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Juniustech Gold Price Calculator” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Juniustech Gold Price Calculator” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.2.2
- Fixed kg prices (Versilbert, Messer, ZINN) can be changed in Settings Gold Price Calculator
1.2.1
- Restored a working price fetch chain: optional JSON URL, free gold + CHF conversion, then Alpha Vantage
- Alpha Vantage API key is optional
- Admin shows the last fetch error instead of a generic “check the API key” message
1.2.0
- Added fixed CHF/kg rows in the same gold table (Versilbert 90/100, Versilberte Messer, ZINN)
- Inquiry email lists quantity with g or kg
- Improved mobile table layout
1.1.0
- WordPress.org release as a standalone juniustech product
- Removed third-party branding and the Frankfurter dependency
- Alpha Vantage is the sole external service; API key is supplied in settings
- Price data is cached with a one-hour transient