ZillaLikes

A modern, lightweight like button plugin for WordPress. Let visitors like your posts and pages with a single click — no account required.

Features

• Like / unlike toggle — users can like and unlike posts
• No jQuery dependency — vanilla JavaScript with optimistic UI updates
• REST API powered — clean endpoints with nonce-based security
• Batched hydration — a single API call loads all like states on page load, cache-friendly
• Persistent tracking — custom database table tracks likes per user (logged-in) or per IP (guests)
• Accessible — semantic <button> elements with aria-label attributes
• Customizable — disable CSS, set postfix labels, exclude specific posts
• Widget included — display your most liked posts in any sidebar
• Shortcode & template tag — place the like button anywhere

Requirements

• WordPress 5.9+
• PHP 7.4+

Installation

1. Download or clone this repository into wp-content/plugins/zilla-likes/
2. Activate the plugin through Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. The database table is created automatically on activation
4. Configure settings under Settings → ZillaLikes

Usage

Automatic

By default, the like button is appended to posts and pages automatically. Control this behavior in Settings → ZillaLikes.

Shortcode

Use the shortcode in any post or page editor:

[zilla_likes]

Target a specific post by ID:

[zilla_likes id="42"]

Template Tag

Place the like button directly in your theme templates:

<?php if (function_exists('zilla_likes')) zilla_likes(); ?>

Pass a specific post ID:

<?php zilla_likes(42); ?>

Settings

Navigate to Settings → ZillaLikes in the WordPress admin.

REST API

All endpoints are under the zilla-likes/v1 namespace. Nonce authentication is handled automatically via X-WP-Nonce headers.

Toggle a like

POST /wp-json/zilla-likes/v1/like/{post_id}

Response:

{
  "count": 5,
  "liked": true,
  "postfix": "Likes"
}

Get like state for a single post

GET /wp-json/zilla-likes/v1/likes/{post_id}

Response:

{
  "count": 5,
  "liked": false,
  "postfix": "Likes"
}

Batch get like states

GET /wp-json/zilla-likes/v1/likes?ids=1,2,3

Response:

{
  "1": { "count": 5, "liked": true, "postfix": "Likes" },
  "2": { "count": 0, "liked": false, "postfix": "Likes" },
  "3": { "count": 1, "liked": false, "postfix": "Like" }
}

Batch requests are capped at 100 IDs.

Widget

A ZillaLikes – Most Liked widget is available under Appearance → Widgets. It displays a ranked list of your most liked posts.

Widget options:

• Title — widget heading
• Description — optional text above the list
• Number of posts — how many to show (1–20)
• Show like count — display the count next to each post title

Custom Styling

Disable the built-in CSS in settings, then target these classes:

/* The button */
.zilla-likes { }

/* Liked state */
.zilla-likes.is-liked { }

/* Loading state (during API call) */
.zilla-likes.is-loading { }

/* The heart SVG */
.zilla-likes-icon { }

/* The numeric count */
.zilla-likes-count { }

/* The postfix label */
.zilla-likes-postfix { }

File Structure

zilla-likes/
├── zilla-likes.php          # Plugin entry point and template tag
├── src/
│   ├── Plugin.php            # Main plugin class, hooks, lifecycle
│   ├── Settings.php          # Admin settings page and options
│   ├── LikeHandler.php       # Like logic, DB queries, rendering
│   ├── RestApi.php           # REST API endpoints
│   └── Widget.php            # Most liked posts widget
├── assets/
│   ├── js/
│   │   └── zilla-likes.js   # Vanilla JS – hydration, toggle, UI
│   └── css/
│       └── zilla-likes.css  # Default button and animation styles
└── languages/                # Translation files

Uninstallation

When the plugin is deleted through the WordPress admin, it cleans up after itself:

• Drops the wp_zilla_likes database table
• Removes the zilla_likes_settings option
• Deletes all _zilla_likes post meta entries

License

GPLv2 or later.