# User Manual – Internal Link Visualizer Main Page

This document presents, in a clear and instructional style, every feature visible on the main page of the Internal Link Visualizer plugin. It is intended as a training aid to help users get comfortable with the graphical interface for analyzing internal links.

## Understand the overall context

The main page of the plugin is a single dashboard that brings together every key piece of information you need to analyze your WordPress site's internal linking. The interface is organized as a sequence of blocks, each dedicated to a specific role: global statistics, immediate actions, customizable settings, and an interactive graph visualization. You get a complete overview to optimize your internal linking strategy.

Overview of the Internal Link Visualizer main page.

## Header and information badges

The header area shows the Internal Link Visualizer title along with two badges:

- Version badge – quickly indicates which plugin version is installed on your site.
- “Smart Cache” badge – confirms that the plugin uses a caching system to speed up graph rendering.

If system messages are available (errors or configuration confirmations), they appear directly below this area.

Header with information badges.

## “Statistics” block

This block summarizes the global state of your site's link structure:

- Total Links – the total number of links detected and analyzed on your site.
- Internal Links – how many internal links point to your own pages.
- External Links – links pointing to external sites.
- Posts with Links – the number of pieces of content (posts, pages) containing at least one outbound link.

A text line indicates the date and time of the latest successful scan. This information is essential to confirm whether the data reflects the current state of your site.

Statistics block showing the global metrics.

## “Actions” block

This area gathers the main controls for interacting with the plugin:

- Generate / Refresh Visualization – starts the site analysis and generates the link graph. The button displays a progress indicator during processing.
- 🐛 DEBUG Generate – diagnostic button visible only in development mode, for technical testing.
- Settings – shows or hides the settings panel to free up screen space.

Success or error notifications appear directly below these buttons, and a progress bar is shown during long operations.

Actions block with progress bar.

## “Sitemap Settings” block

### Legend

The color-coded legend helps you quickly interpret the graph: homepage, pages, posts, categories/tags, external domains, and pages without inbound links (orphans). Each content type has its own color to improve readability.

Graph color legend.

### Main options

- Only Main Cluster – hides isolated subgraphs so you can focus on the primary cluster.
- Show Labels – keeps or hides labels to lighten the view on large graphs.
- Exclude category/tag links (show true orphans) – advanced filter that ignores taxonomy auto-generated links, exposing the pages that are truly orphaned.

### Layout settings

- Grouping Strength (slider 0 → 2, step 0.1) – adjusts the attractive force between nodes. Higher values bring related items closer together.
- Sitemap Type – dropdown to filter the display: all links, internal only, internal outbound, internal inbound, or external links only.
- Layout Mode – choose between a dynamic layout (nodes organize themselves automatically) or a concentric layout (organized into hierarchical circles).

Sitemap Settings panel with options and controls.

## Advanced settings

The “Advanced Settings” block is collapsed by default to keep the interface uncluttered. Once expanded, it lets you adjust:

- Scan Batch Size – how many pieces of content are analyzed simultaneously. Lower the value if your server is slow, raise it to speed up scanning on a powerful server.
- Content Options – enable this option to include custom fields (ACF, metadata) when searching for links.

Remember to click Save Advanced Settings to store your changes.

Expanded Advanced Settings panel.

## Layout controls

A row of buttons lets you control the graph display in real time:

- Play – restarts the graph animation if you previously paused it.
- Pause – freezes the graph to make reading and analysis easier.
- Fit View – automatically adjusts the zoom to display every element on screen.
- Reset Layout – restores the initial layout, useful after manually moving elements.
- Disperse Nodes – reorganizes elements to reduce overlap and improve readability.

Graph layout control buttons.

## “Visual Sitemap” section

This is the heart of the interface: an interactive graph representing the link structure of your site. Each point (node) represents a page, post, category, or external domain, and the lines between them symbolize the links.

### Graph toolbar

- Search nodes... – instantly find a specific element in your graph by typing its name.
- Export JSON / Export CSV / Export PNG – export your graph in different formats for use in other tools or for archiving.
- Full Screen – switch to full-screen mode for a more comfortable and detailed analysis.

Visual Sitemap graph toolbar.

### Graph interactions

- Click on an element – opens an information panel (title, content type, number of inbound and outbound links).
- Hover with the mouse – highlights outbound links in blue and inbound links in green to clarify connections.
- Drag and drop – move elements manually to better organize your view and isolate specific areas.
- Zoom and pan – use the mouse wheel to zoom and click-drag to move around the graph.

Visual Sitemap graph with concentric layout.
Tip: the red elements arranged in a ring represent external domains (sites you link to). Their circular organization keeps the view readable even when your site contains many outbound links.

## Footer and system information

The footer displays useful data such as the installed plugin version and the date of the latest data update. These details let you quickly verify that you are using the most recent version and that your data is current.

## Usage tips

- Rescan after a burst of publications to ensure the graph reflects your new content and links.
- Use the taxonomy link filter to identify true orphan content without counting the automatic links created by categories.
- Leverage full-screen mode during presentations or workshops so colleagues can clearly see your site's structure.
- Export your graphs regularly as PNG or CSV to track how your internal linking evolves over time.

Tip: combine the “Internal Inbound” and “Internal Outbound” views to spot pages that receive many links but do not distribute any (dead ends), or the reverse: pages that distribute many links but receive none (active orphans).

## Recommended routine

- Analyze – run “Generate / Refresh Visualization” after each scan or major content update.
- Explore – use the Sitemap Type and Layout Mode filters to gain different perspectives on your linking.
- Identify – spot orphan pages (red ring) and overrepresented external domains.
- Optimize – create links from your pillar pages to isolated content to strengthen your structure.
- Document – export your graphs before and after optimizations to measure your progress.