Where Next Developer platform for Where Next

Where Next Connect™ WordPress Plugin

The official WordPress plugin adds Where Next Connect metadata to your attraction pages, making them compatible with the Where Next app, validator and import tools.

Best for: WordPress websites, attraction blogs, tourism directories, family day-out sites and venue listings.

What the plugin does

  • Outputs official wherenext:* meta tags into the page source.
  • Adds a configurable “Open in Where Next” / “Save to Where Next” button.
  • Supports automatic field mapping from post title, featured image, taxonomies and custom fields.
  • Allows manual overrides per post.
  • Supports structured pricing and opening times.
  • Works with the Where Next Validator.
  • Supports native share and deep-link based import flows.

Why use the WordPress plugin?

The plugin writes metadata directly into the HTML source of your page. This makes it compatible with the current Where Next app importer, which reads the original page HTML and extracts Where Next Connect tags.

This is the recommended implementation for WordPress sites.

Installation

  1. Download the latest WordPress plugin ZIP from the Downloads page.
  2. In WordPress Admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
  3. Upload the ZIP file.
  4. Activate the plugin.
  5. Go to Settings → Where Next Connect.
  6. Configure the field mappings for your site.

Download Plugin →

Field Mapping

The plugin can map Where Next fields to existing WordPress data sources.

Where Next Field Example Source Description
name Post Title The name of the attraction or place.
website Custom field The official website URL.
category Taxonomy The attraction category, such as Castle, Beach, Farm or Theme Park.
coverImageUri Featured Image The image shown in the Where Next app.
address Custom field The postal address.
postcode Custom field The postcode or ZIP code.
membershipProvider Custom field Membership provider such as Merlin or English Heritage.
openingTimes Custom field Structured opening hours.
price Custom field Structured pricing table.

Supported Metadata

The plugin currently supports the following Where Next Connect fields:

  • version
  • name
  • source
  • source-url
  • category
  • website
  • booking-url
  • cover-image-uri
  • image
  • address
  • postcode
  • city
  • county
  • country
  • latitude
  • longitude
  • what3words
  • phone
  • membership-provider
  • price
  • price-type
  • adult-price
  • child-price
  • family-price
  • parking-cost
  • price-notes
  • pricing-source
  • pricing-confidence
  • carer-pricing-type
  • carer-price
  • opening-times
  • indoor-outdoor
  • parking
  • age-suitability
  • notes

Structured Pricing

Structured pricing should use the following format: 

Adult|£29.95;Child|£19.95;Family|£79.95

The Where Next app can split this into Adult, Child and Family pricing fields during import.

Structured Opening Times

Opening times should use the following format: 

Monday|10:00 - 17:00;Tuesday|10:00 - 17:00;Wednesday|10:00 - 17:00;Thursday|10:00 - 17:00;Friday|10:00 - 18:00;Saturday|09:00 - 18:00;Sunday|09:00 - 18:00

Example Output

<meta name="wherenext:version" content="1.0">
<meta name="wherenext:name" content="Portchester Castle">
<meta name="wherenext:category" content="Castle">
<meta name="wherenext:website" content="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portchester-castle/">
<meta name="wherenext:membership-provider" content="English Heritage">
<meta name="wherenext:opening-times" content="Monday|10:00 - 17:00;Tuesday|10:00 - 17:00">
<meta name="wherenext:price" content="Adult|£10.20;Child|£5.10;Family|£25.50">

Import Button

The plugin can display a button on compatible pages allowing visitors to open or save the location in the Where Next app.

The button may be added using the shortcode: 

[where_next_button]

Validation

After configuring the plugin, test your pages using the official validator.

Open Validator →

Live Demo

A live WordPress demo site is available here:

Open WordPress Demo →

Recommended Workflow

  1. Install and activate the plugin.
  2. Configure default field mappings.
  3. Open a place page on your site.
  4. View page source and confirm wherenext:* tags are present.
  5. Run the URL through the validator.
  6. Test importing the page into the Where Next app.