Description
Virtual Candles transforms your WordPress site into a beautiful digital memorial space where visitors can:
- Light virtual candles with personal messages and dedications
- Send candles via email to share memories with others
- Watch candles burn for exactly 72 hours with realistic animations
- Display all candles in a chapel-friendly format on large screens
Key Features
🕯️ 12 Different Candle Animations – Candles gradually burn down over 72 hours with different GIF animations for each time period
📧 Email Sharing – Visitors can send lit candles to friends and family via email
📺 Chapel Display Mode – Special carousel view perfect for large screens in chapels or memorial spaces
🔄 Automatic Expiration – Candles automatically extinguish after 72 hours (with optional cron job)
📱 Fully Responsive – Works beautifully on all devices from smartphones to large displays
🔒 GDPR Compliant – Built-in privacy notices and consent checkboxes
🚀 No External Dependencies – Works standalone without requiring Contact Form 7 or other plugins
Perfect For
- Churches and religious organizations
- Memorial websites
- Funeral homes
- Remembrance pages
- Prayer request sites
- Virtual vigils
Available Shortcodes
[virtual_candles_create]– Display the “Light a candle” form[virtual_candles_send]– Display the “Send a candle” form[virtual_candles_display]– Show all burning candles in grid layout[virtual_candles_chapel]– Special carousel display for chapel screens
Technical Information
- Namespace: STstudio\VirtualCandles
- Custom Post Type: candle
- Database: Optional stats table for performance
- Cron: Hourly check for expired candles
- AJAX: Used for form submissions and loading more candles
Support
For support, feature requests, or bug reports:
- Email: hello@isla-stud.io
- Website: https://isla-stud.io
- Demo-Website: https://virtual-candles.wp-studio.dev/
Credits
- Developed by Saskia Teichmann
- Original concept for Kloster Königsmünster
- Candle animations included with permission
Installation
- Upload the
virtual-candlesfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to Candles Settings to configure your preferences
- Add shortcodes to your pages where you want the candle features to appear
Basic Setup
- Create a page for lighting candles and add
[virtual_candles_create] - Create a page for the candle display and add
[virtual_candles_display] - Optionally set up a cron job to automatically remove expired candles
Cron Job Setup (Optional)
For automatic removal of expired candles, set up a cron job to call:
https://your-domain.com/vc-cron/
FAQ
-
How long do the candles burn?
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Each candle burns for exactly 72 hours from the time it was lit. The candle animation changes over time to show the candle burning down.
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Can I change the burning duration?
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Currently, the 72-hour duration is fixed, but this may become configurable in a future update.
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Do I need Contact Form 7?
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No! This plugin works completely standalone without any external form plugins.
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How does the chapel display mode work?
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The chapel display mode shows all active candles in a continuously scrolling carousel, perfect for permanent displays in chapels or memorial spaces. It automatically updates to show new candles.
-
Can visitors remain anonymous?
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Yes, visitors can use pseudonyms or just first names when lighting candles.
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Is this plugin GDPR compliant?
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Yes, the plugin includes built-in consent checkboxes and privacy notices. You can customize the privacy text in the settings.
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How do I style the candles?
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The plugin comes with default styling, but you can override it with custom CSS in your theme.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Virtual Candles – Memorial Light Display” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Virtual Candles – Memorial Light Display” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.0.2
- Plugin Review Fixes: Replaced short generic prefixes (
vc_,ststudio_vcmld_) withvirtcan_to meet WordPress standards. - Security: Rigorous escaping of all template and shortcode outputs (
wp_kses_post, etc.). - Enqueuing: Removed inline javascript and css outputs, migrating styles to enqueued stylesheets and external scripts.
- Database: Altered the Custom Post Type to
virtcan_candleto prevent possible collisions.
2.0.0
Release date: January 2025
- Complete rewrite from the ground up with modern architecture
- Namespace implementation following WordPress coding standards
- Removed dependencies on Contact Form 7 and Advanced Custom Fields
- New chapel display mode with smooth carousel for large screens
- Improved performance with optimized queries and caching
- Enhanced security with nonces and proper sanitization
- Better UX with jQuery-powered forms and live preview
- Admin interface redesigned without external dependencies
- AJAX handling for smooth form submissions
- Responsive design improvements
- Translation ready with complete internationalization
1.1.5
- Legacy version (see old plugin for details)