[WordPress Elementor Trending Posts Shortcode] In conjunction with the Post Views Counter plugin, the following provides a "trending_posts" shortcode for use in displaying an Elementor Loop Template #elementor #wordpress

trending-posts-shortcode.php

<?php
/**
 * A shortcode for querying a set of trending posts from the Post Views
 * Counter plugin. Then it outputs those posts inside an Elementor Loop
 * Template that you specify.
 */
function trending_posts_shortcode($atts) {	
  $args = shortcode_atts([
    'template' => null,
    'limit'    => 5,
  ], $atts );

  // Query parameters
  $query_args = array(
    'order'          => 'DESC',
    'orderby'        => 'post_views',
    'suppress_filters'  => false,
    'fields'            => '', 
    'post_type'      => 'post',
    'post_status'    => 'publish',
    'posts_per_page' => intval($args['limit']), // Convert limit to integer
  );

  // The WP_Query
  $query = new WP_Query($query_args);

  // Output variable
  $output = '';

  // Check if the template ID is set and valid
  if ( ! empty( $args['template'] ) ) {
    if ($query->have_posts()) {
      while ($query->have_posts()) {
        $query->the_post();

        // Temporarily switch to the post specified by the ID
        global $post;
        $post = get_post(get_the_ID());

        // Output the Elementor template for each post
        ob_start();
		echo '<div style="margin-bottom: 1rem; border: 2px solid #98002E;">' . do_shortcode('[elementor-template id="' . $args['template'] . '"]') . '</div>';
        $output .= ob_get_clean();
      }
      wp_reset_postdata(); // Reset post data after the loop
    }
  } else {
    $output = '<p>Please specify a Template ID (' . $args['template'] . ').</p>';
  }

  return $output;
}

// Register the shortcode with WordPress
add_shortcode('trending_posts', 'trending_posts_shortcode');
?>