Title: WebberZone Link Warnings
Author: Ajay
Published: மார்ச் 6, 2026
Last modified: செப்டம்பர் 13, 2026
---
நீட்சிகளை தேடுங்கள்
# WebberZone Link Warnings
By [Ajay](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ajay/)
[பதிவிறக்கு](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/webberzone-link-warnings.1.6.1.zip)
* [Details](https://ta.wordpress.org/plugins/webberzone-link-warnings/#description)
* [Reviews](https://ta.wordpress.org/plugins/webberzone-link-warnings/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://ta.wordpress.org/plugins/webberzone-link-warnings/#installation)
* [Development](https://ta.wordpress.org/plugins/webberzone-link-warnings/#developers)
[உதவி](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/webberzone-link-warnings/)
## விளக்கம்
WebberZone Link Warnings helps you warn users when links open in a new window or
take them to external websites. It adds accessible indicators, confirmation dialogs,
or redirect screens — helping you align with accessibility best practices without
rewriting your content.
WebberZone Link Warnings uses a two-layer approach to process links across your
entire site. For post content, it uses WordPress’s native `WP_HTML_Tag_Processor`
class to efficiently parse and modify links at render time. Server-side filters
also process widget output, navigation menus, comment text, and block-theme template
parts when their General settings are enabled. A lightweight JavaScript scan handles
remaining theme output after the page loads and applies the same rules. Your stored
content remains untouched — the plugin only alters rendered output and does not
interfere with REST API responses or admin editing screens.
### Why warn users about external links?
* `target="_blank"` can disorient screen reader users
* Sudden context changes impact usability
* Accessibility audits often recommend user warnings
* Agencies and site owners often need documented user warnings during accessibility
reviews
### Key features
* **Multiple Warning Methods**: Choose from inline indicators, modal dialogs, or
redirect screens — or combine them
* **Flexible Scope**: Target external links only, or external links plus all `target
="_blank"` links
* **Customizable Indicators**: Configure visual icons, text, or screen reader-only
warnings
* **Modal Dialog**: Show a confirmation dialog before users navigate to external
sites with keyboard navigation and focus management
* **Dismissible Modals**: Let repeat visitors tick “Don’t show again” so the modal
is skipped for a session or for a set number of days, per destination domain
or sitewide
* **Redirect Screen**: Display an intermediate page with a configurable countdown
before external navigation
* **Force External**: Add a class to any link or wrapper element to force it to
be treated as external — useful for tracking URLs or redirects that use internal
paths
* **Automatic Link Attributes**: Add `nofollow`, `sponsored`, `ugc`, `noopener`,`
noreferrer` and `target="_blank"` to external links, affiliate links, or both—
no post edits needed
* **Affiliate Link Marking**: Flag a link or container with a class and give affiliate
links their own attributes
* **Domain Exclusions**: Allow trusted domains to treat them as internal links
* **Sitewide Coverage**: Server-side filters process widget output, navigation
menus, comment text, and block-theme template parts, while the JavaScript scan
covers remaining theme output
* **Post Type Control**: PHP-side processing is scoped to configured post types;
JS scanning covers the full page regardless
* **Built to support accessibility best practices for external link behaviour in
WordPress**: Adds screen reader text, ARIA attributes, and keyboard-friendly
modal confirmations
* **Setup Wizard**: Get started quickly with a guided setup wizard on first activation
* **Template Override**: Override the redirect screen template in your theme for
full design control
* **RTL Support**: Full right-to-left language support for all frontend and admin
styles
* **Multisite Compatible**: Network activate and configure per-site settings
* **Privacy Focused**: Does not collect personal data or send link data to third-
party services
* **Performance Optimized**: Uses WordPress’s native `WP_HTML_Tag_Processor` class
to process links at display time
* **Developer-Friendly**: Filters and actions allow developers to customize behavior,
exclude domains, and output
> This plugin assists with user awareness of external navigation. It does not automatically
> make your website fully accessible or legally compliant.
### How it works
After activation, the setup wizard guides you through the initial configuration.
You can also configure the plugin at **Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings**.
**Warning Methods:**
* Inline indicators only (visual and/or screen reader text)
* Modal dialog (JavaScript-based confirmation)
* Redirect screen (intermediate page with countdown)
* Combined approach (inline + modal)
* Combined approach (inline + redirect)
**Link Scope:**
* External links only
* External links and all `target="_blank"` links
**Visual Indicators:**
* Icon only ()
* Text only (customizable)
* Icon + text
* None (screen reader only)
**Advanced Settings:**
* Custom modal messages and button text
* Modal frequency, dismissal scope and “Don’t show again” label
* Custom redirect page content and countdown duration
* Link attributes for external and affiliate links (`nofollow`, `sponsored`, `ugc`,
open in a new tab, `noopener`, `noreferrer`)
* Affiliate link class and wrapper class (defaults: `wzlw-affiliate`, `wzlw-affiliate-
wrapper`)
* Domain exclusion list
* Post type selection
* Force-external class name (default: `wzlw-force-external`)
### GDPR
WebberZone Link Warnings doesn’t collect personal data or send information to external
services — making it GDPR-friendly by default.
You remain responsible for your site’s overall GDPR compliance.
### Contribute
WebberZone Link Warnings is also available on [Github](https://github.com/WebberZone/webberzone-link-warnings).
So, if you’ve got a cool feature you’d like to implement in the plugin or a bug
you’ve fixed, consider forking the project and sending me a pull request.
Bug reports are [welcomed on GitHub](https://github.com/WebberZone/webberzone-link-warnings/issues).
Please note that GitHub is _not_ a support forum, and issues that aren’t suitably
qualified as bugs will be closed.
### Translations
WebberZone Link Warnings is available for [translation directly on WordPress.org](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/webberzone-link-warnings).
Check out the official [Translator Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/plugin-theme-authors-guide/)
to contribute.
### Other Plugins by WebberZone
WebberZone Link Warnings is one of the many plugins developed by WebberZone. Check
out our other plugins:
* [Contextual Related Posts](https://wordpress.org/plugins/contextual-related-posts/)–
Display related posts on your WordPress blog and feed
* [Top 10](https://wordpress.org/plugins/top-10/) – Track daily and total visits
to your blog posts and display the popular and trending posts
* [WebberZone Snippetz](https://wordpress.org/plugins/add-to-all/) – The ultimate
snippet manager for WordPress to create and manage custom HTML, CSS or JS code
snippets
* [Knowledge Base](https://wordpress.org/plugins/knowledgebase/) – Create a knowledge
base or FAQ section on your WordPress site
* [Better Search](https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-search/) – Enhance the default
WordPress search with contextual results sorted by relevance
* [Auto-Close](https://wordpress.org/plugins/autoclose/) – Automatically close
comments, pingbacks and trackbacks and manage revisions
* [Popular Authors](https://wordpress.org/plugins/popular-authors/) – Display popular
authors in your WordPress widget
* [Followed Posts](https://wordpress.org/plugins/where-did-they-go-from-here/) –
Show a list of related posts based on what your users have read
## Screenshots
[⌊External link with icon indicator⌉⌊External link with icon indicator⌉[
External link with icon indicator
[⌊Modal dialog warning before navigation⌉⌊Modal dialog warning before navigation⌉[
Modal dialog warning before navigation
## Installation
#### WordPress install (the easy way)
1. Navigate to Plugins > Add New
2. Search for “WebberZone Link Warnings”
3. Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”
#### Manual install
1. Upload the `webberzone-link-warnings` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
3. Go to Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings to configure
## அடிக்கடி கேட்கப்படும் கேள்விகள்
### Does this plugin affect SEO?
Out of the box, no. WebberZone Link Warnings only modifies how links are displayed
to users and never alters the `href` attribute or link structure.
If you enable the **Link Attributes** settings under Settings > WebberZone Link
Warnings > Advanced, the plugin will add `rel` and `target` attributes to matching
links, which is a deliberate SEO signal that you control. Attributes on links inside
post content are written server-side and are present in the HTML that search engines
download. Attributes on links elsewhere on the page — navigation menus, widgets,
footers and other theme output — are applied by the JavaScript scan after the page
loads, so they are only visible to crawlers that execute JavaScript.
### Is it accessible?
Yes. The plugin adds screen reader text, ARIA attributes, and (for modal mode) keyboard
navigation and focus management.
### Does it work with multilingual sites?
Yes. WebberZone Link Warnings is translation-ready. It uses standard WordPress translation
functions and works with popular multilingual plugins such as WPML and Polylang.
### Does this work with page builders?
Yes. Post content is processed via standard WordPress filters (`the_content` and`
the_excerpt`). In addition, a JavaScript scan runs after the page loads and processes
any links not already handled by PHP — including output generated by page builders,
theme templates, navigation menus, and widgets.
### Can I customize the redirect screen template?
Yes. Copy the template file to `your-theme/webberzone-link-warnings/redirect-screen.
php` to override the default redirect screen with your own design.
### How can I force an internal link to be treated as external?
Add the class `wzlw-force-external` directly to the `` tag:
```
Partner link
```
To force all links inside a container, add `wzlw-force-external-wrapper` to the
wrapper element instead:
```
```
Both class names are configurable under Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings > Advanced.
### How do I add rel=”nofollow” or rel=”sponsored” automatically?
Go to Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings > Advanced and use the **Link Attributes**
section. Tick any combination of `rel="nofollow"`, `rel="sponsored"`, `rel="ugc"`,“
Open in a new tab”, `rel="noopener"` and `rel="noreferrer"` under **External Links**,**
Affiliate Links**, or both.
Attributes already on your links are kept. A link that carries `rel="me author"`
becomes `rel="me author nofollow"` rather than losing its original values, and a
link that already has `rel="NoFollow"` is not given a second copy — matching ignores
case.
```
noopener and `noreferrer` are only added to links that actually open in a new tab, either because the link already has `target="_blank"` or because you enabled the new-tab option. Every option is off by default and nothing is added unless you tick it — the plugin has never rewritten `rel` on your links before this version.
```
They are deliberately separate options. Current browsers already imply `noopener`
for `target="_blank"`, so ticking it mainly satisfies security scanners and older
browsers and costs you nothing. `noreferrer` is the one with a behavioural cost:
it also stops the referrer being sent, so leave it unticked for affiliate links
if your merchant relies on the referrer for attribution.
### How do I mark affiliate links?
Add the class `wzlw-affiliate` directly to the `` tag:
```
Buy now
```
To mark every link inside a container, add `wzlw-affiliate-wrapper` to the wrapper
element instead:
```
```
Affiliate links receive both the **External Links** and **Affiliate Links** attribute
sets. Both class names are configurable and accept comma-separated values under
Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings > Advanced.
Note that marking a link as an affiliate link also treats it as external for warning
purposes, exactly like the force-external class. An internal cloaked URL such as`/
go/product/` will show your configured modal, redirect screen or indicator, and
a domain on your exclusion list will show a warning if you also give the link an
affiliate class.
### How can I prevent icons from appearing on specific links?
Add the class `wzlw-no-icon` to any link where you don’t want an icon to appear.
For example:
```
Link without icon
```
This suppresses the visual indicator (icon and/or text). The modal or redirect warning
still applies if your warning method includes one. Screen reader text and ARIA attributes
are still added.
To exclude all links inside a wrapper element (e.g. a navigation block or card),
add the class `wzlw-no-icon-wrapper` to the containing element:
```
```
All links inside that wrapper will have their visual indicators suppressed.
### Can I customize the icon that appears?
Yes. Go to Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings > Display tab and find the “Icon
Style” dropdown. You can choose from several preset icons:
* Arrow (North-East) – default
* Arrow (Right)
* ⬈ Arrow (Up-Right)
* ⧉ External Link Symbol
* 🔗 Link Emoji
* 🌐 Globe Emoji
- Asterisk
* Custom (enter your own)
**Using Custom Icons:** Select “Custom” and enter any Unicode symbol or emoji in
the “Custom Icon” field. Examples: , ⇗, 🔗, 🌐, *, +
### Can visitors stop the modal from showing every time?
Yes. Go to Settings > WebberZone Link Warnings > Display and set “Modal Frequency”
to either “Once per browser session” or “Once every N days”. The modal then shows
a “Don’t show again” checkbox. When a visitor ticks it and clicks Continue, the
dismissal is remembered and the link behaves like a normal link on later clicks.
“Dismissal Scope” controls how far that goes. “Per destination domain” suppresses
the modal for the domain the visitor dismissed and leaves every other external link
alone. “All external links” suppresses it everywhere on the site.
Dismissals live in the visitor’s browser, in `sessionStorage` for the session option
and `localStorage` for the N days option. No cookies are set and nothing is stored
against a user account, so the setting is per browser rather than per person. Clearing
site data resets it.
The default is “Always show the modal”, which is the behaviour from earlier versions.
### Does this modify my database content?
No. The plugin only alters rendered output. Your stored content remains unchanged.
### What happens if I deactivate the plugin?
Your links return to their original state. The plugin doesn’t modify your content
in the database — it only changes how links are displayed.
### Where do I report security bugs found in this plugin?
Please report security bugs found in the source code of the WebberZone Link Warnings
plugin through the [Patchstack Vulnerability Disclosure Program](https://patchstack.com/database/vdp/a72edb1c-fea7-41b5-a0a1-fbc9308e3a80).
The Patchstack team will assist you with verification, CVE assignment, and notify
the developers of this plugin.
## Reviews
### [Wow. This is an amazing accessbility and UX enhancement](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wow-this-is-an-amazing-accessbility-and-ux-enhancement/)
[Ronald Huereca](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ronalfy/) மார்ச் 13, 2026 1 reply
II needed a plugin to highlight external links on my site, have a nice appearance,
and be accessible and not hinder the user. This plugin is perfect for that purpose.
I configured it to show an inline icon and a modal dialogue. The dialogue is great
because it allows a user to stay on the site if desired and prevents accidental
click-throughs. Perhaps in a later version, you can persist a small cookie and add
a checkbox to skip the modal (from the user's perspective). The icons on the links
look great. I changed mine to a dark background and white foreground, using one
of the supplied plugin icons. It looks great on buttons and also regular links.
I'm pleased that you can enable/disable this for post types. And the domain exclusions
are a nice feature. I did add some custom CSS as I thought the icon was a little
too bunched up. body .wzlw-icon { padding: 5px; border-radius: 4px;} Thanks for
the great plugin Ajay.
[ Read all 2 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/webberzone-link-warnings/reviews/)
## பங்களிப்பாளர்கள் & உருவாக்குனர்கள்
“WebberZone Link Warnings” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.
பங்களிப்பாளர்கள்
* [ Ajay ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ajay/)
* [ WebberZone ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/webberzone/)
[Translate “WebberZone Link Warnings” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/webberzone-link-warnings)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/webberzone-link-warnings/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/webberzone-link-warnings/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/webberzone-link-warnings/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/webberzone-link-warnings/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.6.1
Release date: 13 September 2026
**Fixed**
* Redirect screens triggered deprecated header and footer template notices on block
themes and other themes without `header.php` or `footer.php`.
#### 1.6.0
Release date: 6 September 2026
Release post: https://webberzone.com/announcements/
link-warnings-v1-6/
**Added**
* Added warnings for configured downloadable file extensions, including files hosted
on the current site.
* Added Downloadable File Extensions, Download Modal Title, and Download Modal
Message settings.
* Added a distinct download indicator icon and ignored query strings and fragments
when matching file extensions.
* Added server-side processing for widgets, navigation menus, comments, and block-
theme template parts, with all four sources enabled by default under General
> External Content.
**Changed**
* Marked excluded domains in the markup so the JavaScript scan honored the same
exclusions as PHP.
* Stopped activation from writing a duplicate copy of the default settings.
**Security**
* Hardened modal and redirect scripts against malformed link markup and mismatched
destination URLs.
**Fixed**
* External links without a scheme, such as `//example.com/page`, were treated as
internal and received no warning.
* Redirect destinations containing `&`, `#`, or `+` failed signature checks and
sent visitors to the home page.
* Force-external links and internal `target="_blank"` links sent visitors to the
home page instead of the redirect warning screen.
* No-icon, force-external, or affiliate wrappers containing an `