=== Nexura Short Links – URL Shortener, Redirects, QR Codes & Link Analytics ===
Contributors: nexurasecurity, prokashsarker2026
Donate link: https://nexurasecurity.com/
Tags: url shortener, link management, qr code, redirect manager, link analytics
Requires at least: 5.6
Tested up to: 7.1
Stable tag: 1.0.0
Requires PHP: 7.4
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

100% Free URL Shortener & Link Management for WordPress. Short links, QR codes, UTM parameters, redirects, retargeting pixels & click analytics.

== Description ==

**Nexura Short Links** is the fastest, most feature-rich, and completely free URL shortener and link management plugin for WordPress. Whether you need to shorten long affiliate URLs, track campaign clicks, generate QR codes, inject retargeting pixels, geo-route visitors, or manage complex redirects, Nexura Short Links gives you a full-featured link management platform directly inside your WordPress admin dashboard.

There is **NO Pro version** and **NO feature lock**. Everything is 100% free and open-source forever.

### 🌟 Key Features

*   **Unlimited Short Links:** Create as many short URLs as you need with no limits.
*   **Custom Slugs & Domains:** Define your own branded short aliases and map custom domains for cleaner, more trustworthy links.
*   **Advanced Redirect Types:** Full support for 301 (Permanent), 302 (Temporary), and 307 (Temporary) redirects for maximum SEO flexibility.
*   **Link Cloaking (Iframe) & Meta-Refresh:** Hide and protect your affiliate links using Iframe cloaking or HTML Meta-Refresh redirects.
*   **Traffic Routing:** Dynamically redirect visitors to different destination URLs based on their Country or Device type (Desktop / Mobile / Tablet).
*   **Password Protected Links:** Secure sensitive short links behind a custom password page.
*   **Expiring Links:** Automatically disable a short link after a specific date and time — perfect for flash sales and time-limited campaigns.
*   **Retargeting Pixels:** Fire Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics tags on your Cloaked or Meta-Refresh pages to build powerful retargeting audiences.
*   **UTM Parameter Builder:** Automatically append UTM parameters (Source, Medium, Campaign, Term, Content) to destination URLs for precise campaign tracking in Google Analytics.
*   **Detailed Click Analytics:** Track Total vs. Unique clicks, Top Referrers, Browsers, Operating Systems, Devices, and Geolocation data (Country & City) — all in beautiful, interactive charts.
*   **QR Code Generator:** Instantly generate and download high-quality, print-ready QR codes for every short link.
*   **Link Groups & Categories:** Organise your links into logical groups or campaigns for easier management.
*   **Auto-Create Short Links:** Automatically generate short links when new Posts, Pages, or custom post types are published.
*   **Role-Based Access Control:** Restrict the Nexura dashboard to specific user roles (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor).
*   **IP Blacklisting:** Block specific IP addresses from accessing your short links — clicks from blocked IPs are ignored in analytics.
*   **Bot Filtering:** Automatic detection and exclusion of known bot traffic from your click analytics.
*   **CSV Import & Export:** Bulk import links from CSV or export your entire link library with a single click.
*   **High Performance:** Custom optimized database tables (`wp_nexura_links`, `wp_nexura_clicks`) designed to handle millions of clicks with zero impact on page load speed.
*   **Privacy & GDPR Friendly:** Built-in options to completely anonymize IP addresses and all personal click data, making GDPR compliance easy.
*   **Nexura Security Integration:** The settings panel displays the live status of the [Nexura Security](https://wordpress.org/plugins/nexura-security/) plugin — install it in one click directly from the settings page for complete malware and brute-force protection.

### 🔗 Perfect For

*   Affiliate marketers who want to cloak and track affiliate links
*   Digital agencies managing multiple campaign URLs
*   Bloggers who want clean, branded short URLs
*   WooCommerce store owners tracking marketing campaigns
*   Any WordPress site owner who needs a free, privacy-first link shortener

### 🛡️ Recommended Companion Plugin

Pair **Nexura Short Links** with the free **[Nexura Security](https://wordpress.org/plugins/nexura-security/)** plugin to protect your WordPress site from malware injection disguised as malicious traffic hitting your short links.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the `nexura-short-links` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory, or install directly from the WordPress Plugin Repository.
2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** menu in WordPress.
3. A new **Short Links** menu item will appear in your WordPress admin sidebar.
4. Go to **Short Links → Settings** to configure redirect defaults, access control, analytics, and display options.
5. Click **+ Create New Link** to shorten your first URL!

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Is this really 100% free with no hidden features? =
Yes! There is absolutely no premium version, no feature paywalls, and no upsells. Every advanced feature — including Traffic Routing, Retargeting, Custom Domains, QR Codes, and CSV Import/Export — is completely free and open-source forever.

= Does this plugin slow down my WordPress website? =
No. The redirect engine is triggered extremely early in the WordPress boot process (before most plugins load) and uses highly optimized custom database tables (`wp_nexura_links` and `wp_nexura_clicks`) with indexed queries. It has virtually zero impact on your site's page load time.

= Can I use this for affiliate links? =
Absolutely! You can protect your long affiliate URLs behind clean, branded short links using 301/307 redirects, or completely hide them using our **Cloaking** (Iframe) or **Meta-Refresh** features. All while tracking exactly how many people click — by country, device, browser, and referrer.

= How do Retargeting Pixels work? =
When you select "Cloak" or "Meta-Refresh" as your redirect type, Nexura Short Links briefly loads an intermediate HTML page. We inject your Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics tracking code into this intermediate page, allowing you to capture the visitor in your retargeting audience before they ever reach the destination URL.

= How do I generate a QR code for a short link? =
Open any link from your **Short Links** list and click the **QR Code** button. A high-resolution PNG QR code is instantly generated and available to download — ready for print or digital use.

= Can I block bots and spam clicks from my analytics? =
Yes. The plugin automatically filters known bot user-agents from your click data. You can also manually block specific IP addresses from the **Settings → General** tab using the IP Blacklist. Clicks from blocked IPs are silently ignored and never recorded.

= Does it support GDPR? =
Yes. You can configure the plugin to anonymize only the IP address, or to completely wipe all personal click data (IP, User Agent, Referrer, Country). Choose your preferred anonymization level from **Settings → General → Anonymise Clicks Data**.

= How do I get support? =
You can reach the developer via WhatsApp from the **Settings → Support** tab inside the plugin. This tab also contains a full feature guide and a bKash donation option for those who want to support the project.

== External services ==

Nexura Short Links is designed with privacy in mind. By default, all click data (IP addresses, user agents, referrers, geolocation) is stored locally on your WordPress server. A built-in anonymization feature lets you stay GDPR compliant.

**Third-Party Tracking (Facebook Pixel & Google Analytics):**
This plugin can optionally connect to external tracking services if you enable Retargeting (Pixels) in the plugin settings and enter your Facebook Pixel ID or Google Analytics Measurement ID.

* **What the service is and what it is used for:** When enabled, the plugin injects third-party tracking scripts into your Cloaked and Meta-Refresh redirect pages to track visitor analytics, measure campaign performance, and build retargeting audiences.
* **What data is sent and when:** The scripts send the visitor's IP address, user agent, requested URL, page view events, and other standard browser data directly from the visitor's browser to Facebook (Meta) or Google — every time a cloaked or meta-refresh short link is loaded. We do not relay or process this data on our servers.
* **Google Analytics:** [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms), [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy).
* **Facebook (Meta):** [Terms of Service](https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms), [Privacy Policy](https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/).

**Geolocation (ip-api.com):**
This plugin connects to ip-api.com to determine the visitor's country for Traffic Routing (Country-based redirect rules). This only applies when a short link has country-based routing rules configured.

* **What the service is:** ip-api.com is a free IP geolocation API. No account or API key is required.
* **What data is sent:** The visitor's IP address is sent to ip-api.com to retrieve the two-letter country code. The result is cached in WordPress transients for 24 hours per IP address to minimise external requests.
* **When it is called:** Only when a short link with country-based routing rules is accessed, and only if the country is not already available via a server header (e.g., the Cloudflare CF-IPCountry header).
* **ip-api.com:** [Terms of Service](https://ip-api.com/docs/legal), [Privacy Policy](https://ip-api.com/docs/legal).

 
== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial Release: Core engine for URL shortening, redirection, QR codes, click analytics, group management, CSV import/export, retargeting pixels, UTM builder, traffic routing, password protection, expiring links, role-based access control, IP blacklisting, and bot filtering.
