what is link shortcut?
Ever want your own shortcuts without mucking about with permalink structures? The Link Shortcut plugin allows you to create short (random numbers and letters, or short words) URLs under your blog’s domain that redirect (301 or 302, your choice) a user to other pages, either in your site or on another site.
In other words, instead of sending this url to the author’s plugin page:
http://www.husani.com/ventures/wordpress-plugins/linkshortcut/
This shortcut could be created simply by installing this plugin and adding a link, via the same traditional WordPress UI we all know and love:
http://www.husani.com/link123
You can also specify a specific “subdirectory” to be present in all Link Shortcut URLs: yourblog/go/_STRING_, for example.
All PHP is separated into logical classes and files, and all XHTML is standards-compliant. Plugin-specific tables created during activation are removed during deactivation, with data backup in case of upgrade.
how is link shortcut installed?
- Upload the Link Shortcut plugin to your blog (YOURBLOG/wp-content/plugins) and activate it using the Wordpress plugin admin screen.
- Click “Link Shortcuts” in the left-hand menu and manage your links.
donate
If you appreciate this plugin, I’d appreciate a donation. Click the big button to donate via PayPal.
Very interesting plugin. Just downloaded it, and will check it out in the upcoming days..
Works great, thank you
looks like tinyurl in wordpress !
kpsofts — yep, that’s exactly what it is. thought it would be nice to have a central location for all tinyurl-style URLs, and to let people brand their URLs with their website name.
this looks great. i do have one question though: if i deactivate the plugin, what happens to all the links in posts? are they then all improper, non-working links, or do they revert to whatever the real link is?
SmockLady — not sure I understand the question. The plugin doesn’t automatically make short URLs from your posts, you’ll have to manually add them in the admin system. That’s because you can make short links to *any* URL, not just posts or pages within your website. The links are stored in the plugin’s table and do not connect in any way to your existing posts/pages data. Be aware, though, that deactivating the plugin will remove those manually-created links.
Quick question… It seems like it only allows an 8 character word. Is it possible to have longer words / phrases? Also, is it possible to create a sub directory such as …com/go/link12345 or /recommends/….
Thanks.
…Robin
Robin — just sent you an email. Great ideas, thanks for the feedback. Stay tuned for a new version.
Great, but having this as a 302 sucks for SEO purposes… how do I change the shortened url redirect to a 301 instead of a 302?
[...] I checked the server header generated by the URL… which was a 302. I immediately asked the plugin author if he could change the redirect from a 302 to a 301 for SEO reasons, but I’m also impatient. [...]
Nice plugin but agree with Rae
Needs a 301 redirect for seo purposes
I don’t disagree, that’s what multiple-releases are for.
At some point soon I’ll release a version that contains a setting w/redirect type. Until then, Rae’s workaround is perfectly cool.
Thanks Husani for creating this plugin.
Just installed it.
I had a feature request: let me track the number of times a link has been clicked on.
This one feature would mean I don’t have to use services like bit.ly at all…
Not sure how hard it will be for you to add this feature though… its just a suggestion to make it the ultimate link shortcut plugin!
Thanks.
Hi…! This rocks. You rock. Thank you for sharing and helping people out. I send you a virtual beer