We’re excited to introduce Spinitron Player, a plugin designed to seamlessly integrate live radio streaming and playlist data into your WordPress site. Managing live radio content can be challenging with multiple tools needed. Spinitron Player simplifies this process by offering a straightforward solution that allows you to create a complete player UI effortlessly.
Plugin overview
Spinitron Player is designed for simplicity and functionality. All you need is your Spinitron API key and a livestream URL of your radio. Enter these into the plugin’s settings and customize the player with your own CSS. Our goal was to create a plugin with minimal styling, making it easier for developers and designers to match their websites without dealing with cumbersome stylesheets. Having experienced the drawbacks of overly complex plugins in the past, we saw the value in developing our own streamlined solution. We plan to add different UI options as needed in the future. By leveraging the Spinitron API, Spinitron Player efficiently fetches and displays live show and playlist information, making it a valuable tool for both developers and end-users.
Technical details
Spinitron Player leverages AJAX and JavaScript to deliver real-time data updates, ensuring users always receive the most current information. These technologies bypass browser and server caches by including a unique cache-busting parameter in each request to fetch live show data. This approach ensures that listeners get the latest track and show information without delays or outdated content, maintaining optimal performance.
Shortcodes
There are only two shortcodes you need to know about to use this plugin, and they don’t accept any parameters as of now:
- [spinitron_player] – For Spinitron live player interface.
- [spinitron_play_button] – For stream play button (optional).
For those who don’t need a livestream button, the primary shortcode can be used to display the UI with real-time show information alone. The plugin features a separate shortcode for the stream play button, allowing you to add a play button for the stream without displaying the current show. If you need multiple play buttons on the same page, they will all control a single stream, ensuring that multiple players don’t play simultaneously. Additionally, if your radio show doesn’t have an image set in Spinitron, you can provide a fallback image to ensure a consistent user experience.
See the plugin in action on two of our client college radio websites: KSJS and KSPC.
Third-Party Service Integration
This plugin makes use of the Spinitron API to fetch and display live radio show and playlist information. The integration with Spinitron’s services is essential for providing up-to-date content within the plugin.
- Spinitron Website: https://spinitron.com/
- Spinitron API Documentation: https://spinitron.github.io/v2api/
Legal and Privacy
Please review Spinitron’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to understand the data usage and legal considerations:
- Terms of Service: https://forum.spinitron.com/tos
- Privacy Policy: https://forum.spinitron.com/privacy
By using the Spinitron Player plugin, you agree to comply with these terms and acknowledge the data interactions with Spinitron’s services.
