GatherPress Tickets Block

Contributors: carstenbach & WordPress Telex
Tags: block, tickets, theater, events
Tested up to: 6.8
Stable tag: 0.1.1
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

A block variation of core/button for GatherPress event tickets, with post meta integration and intelligent URL fallback.

Description

The GatherPress Tickets Block registers a block variation of the WordPress core Button block, giving event organizers a dedicated ticket button that integrates with GatherPress event data — without reimplementing any button functionality.

Architecture

This plugin demonstrates the recommended pattern for extending core blocks via block variations. Instead of creating a custom block that duplicates core/button, it:

1. Registers a block variation of core/button with a custom class, default label, and a placeholder URL.
2. Adds an InspectorControls panel via the editor.BlockEdit filter, providing a "Ticket URL" field that stores its value in post meta.
3. Uses the render_block_core/button filter on the frontend to replace the placeholder URL with the resolved ticket URL from post meta (with fallback logic).

This means the variation inherits all core/button features for free: color, typography, border, border radius, spacing, width, alignment, and any future improvements to core/button.

Key Features

• Zero Duplication — Inherits all core/button styling controls and markup natively.
• Post Meta Integration — Stores the ticket URL in gatherpress_tickets_url post meta, available via the REST API.
• Intelligent Fallback Logic — Falls back to GatherPress venue website URL, then to a "Get tickets at the venue" message linking to the venue term archive.
• Frontend Render Filter — Uses render_block_core/button to inject the real URL at render time.
• Variation Detection — Uses isActive callback with a CSS class identifier (is-style-gatherpress-tickets).
• Admin Column — Displays a green check mark in the post list table when a ticket URL is set.
• Singleton Pattern — Plugin class uses the Singleton pattern for clean architecture.

Editor Experience

• Appears in the inserter as "GatherPress Tickets" with a ticket icon.
• Editable button with default label "Get Tickets".
• Full core/button controls: color, typography, border, spacing, width, alignment.
• Sidebar "Ticket Settings" panel with a URL field stored in post meta.

Frontend Behavior

• Renders a standard core/button anchor with the resolved ticket URL.
• Falls back to venue URL from GatherPress post meta.
• Falls back to the venue taxonomy term archive URL.
• Uses "Get tickets at the venue" as the button label for all fallback scenarios.
• Converts the link to a non-interactive <span> when no URL is available at all.

Installation

1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/telex-gatherpress-tickets directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins screen in WordPress.
3. Add the GatherPress Tickets block (found under the core Button variations) to any post or page via the block editor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why a block variation instead of a custom block?

Block variations extend existing core blocks without duplicating their code. This means you get all of core/button's features — current and future — for free. It's the WordPress-recommended approach for blocks that are conceptually the same as a core block but with customized defaults or additional behavior.

How does the URL fallback work?

The block stores a placeholder URL (#gatherpress-tickets) in the saved content. On the frontend, a render_block filter replaces this with the actual ticket URL from post meta. If no ticket URL is set, it falls back to:

1. The GatherPress venue website URL (from _gatherpress_venue post meta).
2. The venue taxonomy term archive URL (from the _gatherpress_venue taxonomy).
3. A non-interactive <span> element if no URL is available at all.

In all fallback cases, the button label is replaced with "Get tickets at the venue".

Can I customize the button appearance?

Yes. The variation inherits all core/button styling controls including colors, typography, border, border radius, spacing, width, and alignment.

Is the ticket URL available via the REST API?

Yes. The gatherpress_tickets_url meta field is registered with show_in_rest enabled.

Changelog

0.1.0

• Initial release as a core/button block variation with post meta integration and render filter.
• Intelligent three-tier fallback logic (ticket URL → venue website → venue term archive).
• Admin list table column with ticket URL indicator.

License

This project is licensed under the GPLv2 or later — see the GNU General Public License for details.