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Date & Time Shortcode

The [date] shortcode provides flexible date and time display functionality with support for multiple formats, date sources, and timezone customization.

Basic Usage​

[date]

Output: September 22, 2025

Parameters​

format​

Customize the date/time display format using PHP date format strings.

Default: F j, Y (September 22, 2025)

source​

Choose the date source to display.

Options:

  • current - Current date/time (default)
  • published - Post published date
  • modified - Post last modified date

timezone​

Override the default WordPress site timezone.

Example: America/New_York, Europe/London, Australia/Sydney

Format Examples​

Date Only​

[date]                           → September 22, 2025
[date format="l, F j, Y"]        → Monday, September 22, 2025
[date format="m/d/Y"]            → 09/22/2025
[date format="M j, Y"]           → Sep 22, 2025
[date format="Y-m-d"]            → 2025-09-22

Date with Time​

[date format="F j, Y g:i a"]     → September 22, 2025 10:41 pm
[date format="l, F j, Y H:i:s"]  → Monday, September 22, 2025 22:41:45
[date format="m/d/Y h:i A"]      → 09/22/2025 10:41 PM
[date format="Y-m-d H:i"]        → 2025-09-22 22:41

Time Only​

[date format="g:i a"]            → 10:41 pm
[date format="H:i:s"]            → 22:41:45
[date format="h:i A"]            → 10:41 PM

Special Formats​

[date format="c"]                → 2025-09-22T22:41:45+00:00 (ISO 8601)
[date format="r"]                → Mon, 22 Sep 2025 22:41:45 +0000 (RFC 2822)
[date format="U"]                → 1758593305 (Unix timestamp)

Source Examples​

Current Date/Time​

[date]                           → Current date
[date format="F j, Y g:i a"]     → Current date and time

Post Published Date​

[date source="published"]                    → Post publish date
[date source="published" format="M j, Y"]   → Sep 22, 2025
[date source="published" format="F j, Y \a\t g:i a"] → September 22, 2025 at 10:41 pm

Post Modified Date​

[date source="modified"]                     → Post last modified date
[date source="modified" format="M j, Y"]    → Sep 22, 2025
[date source="modified" format="F j \a\t g:i a"] → September 22 at 10:41 pm

Timezone Examples​

Custom Timezones​

[date timezone="America/New_York"]           → Eastern Time
[date timezone="America/Los_Angeles"]        → Pacific Time
[date timezone="Europe/London"]              → GMT/BST
[date timezone="Australia/Sydney"]           → Australian Eastern Time

Combined Parameters​

[date source="published" format="l, F j, Y g:i a" timezone="America/New_York"]
→ Monday, September 22, 2025 6:41 pm (if site is UTC)

Common Use Cases​

Service Times​

Sunday Service: [date format="l \a\t g:i a"]

Output: Sunday Service: Monday at 10:41 pm

Event Dates​

Published on [date source="published" format="F j, Y"]

Output: Published on September 22, 2025

Last Updated​

Last updated: [date source="modified" format="M j, Y \a\t g:i a"]

Output: Last updated: Sep 22, 2025 at 10:41 pm

© [date format="Y"] Your Church Name

Output: © 2025 Your Church Name

Full Timestamp​

Generated on [date format="l, F j, Y \a\t g:i:s a T"]

Output: Generated on Monday, September 22, 2025 at 10:41:45 pm UTC

PHP Date Format Reference​

Common Format Characters​

CharacterDescriptionExample
Y4-digit year2025
y2-digit year25
FFull month nameSeptember
MShort month nameSep
mMonth with leading zeros09
nMonth without leading zeros9
jDay without leading zeros22
dDay with leading zeros22
lFull day nameMonday
DShort day nameMon
g12-hour without leading zeros10
G24-hour without leading zeros22
h12-hour with leading zeros10
H24-hour with leading zeros22
iMinutes41
sSeconds45
aam/pm lowercasepm
AAM/PM uppercasePM

Escaping Text​

Use backslashes to include literal text in your format:

[date format="l, F j, Y \a\t g:i a"]
→ Monday, September 22, 2025 at 10:41 pm

Error Handling​

The shortcode includes built-in error handling:

  • Invalid source: Falls back to current
  • Invalid timezone: Falls back to WordPress site timezone
  • Invalid format: Falls back to default format (F j, Y)
  • Missing post data: Falls back to current time when using published or modified outside of post context

Notes​

  • The shortcode respects your WordPress site's timezone settings by default
  • Post dates are retrieved in GMT and converted to the specified timezone
  • All output is properly escaped for security
  • The shortcode works in posts, pages, widgets, and template files where shortcodes are processed