=== Visual Link Preview ===
Contributors: BrechtVds
Donate link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=QG7KZMGFU325Y
Tags: link preview, snippet, summary, visual link
Requires at least: 4.4
Tested up to: 7.0
Stable tag: 2.4.2
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Display a fully customizable visual link preview for any internal or external link.

== Description ==

Easily create a Facebook-like link preview for any link on your website. You can choose the image and text to display and create your very own custom template. The default template can be styled from the settings to match your website.

Some examples of what you could use this for:

*   A call to action for your affiliate links
*   Promote WooCommerce products on your website
*   List sources for your article
*   A weekly posty of interesting websites you've found
*   Link to related posts on your own website
*   ...

It does not require any database lookups, which means even having many of these blocks on a page should not affect performance.

Compatible with both the Classic and Gutenberg Block Editor using shortcodes and blocks. Also includes full Elementor support with a dedicated widget for easy integration into your Elementor pages.

The plugin includes multiple URL metadata providers (PHP, Microlink API, and LinkPreview API) with automatic fallback switching. If one provider fails to fetch link information, the plugin automatically tries the next available provider. You can also manually retry with a different provider if needed.

> <strong>Need help?</strong><br>
> Check out [our documentation](https://help.bootstrapped.ventures/collection/164-visual-link-preview)!

This plugin is in active development. Feel free to contact us with any feature requests or ideas.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the `visual-link-preview` directory (directory included) to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Check out our [getting started documentation](https://help.bootstrapped.ventures/category/167-getting-started)

== Frequently asked questions ==
= Where can I find the documentation? =

All documentation can be found in [our knowledge base](https://help.bootstrapped.ventures/collection/164-visual-link-preview).

= Do you offer any support? =

Yes! We pride ourselves on offering awesome support and almost always answer support questions within 24 hours. Send us an email at [support@bootstrapped.ventures](mailto:support@bootstrapped.ventures) whenever you have a question or suggestion!

= Where do I report security bugs found in this plugin? =

Please report security bugs found in the source code of the plugin through the [Patchstack Vulnerability Disclosure Program](https://patchstack.com/database/vdp/140f9fd1-2409-4108-864e-d14e535718f4). The Patchstack team will assist you with verification, CVE assignment, and notify the developers of this plugin.

== Screenshots ==

1. Add a visual link with live preview to any post or page
2. Example of what the default template looks like in a post
3. Use our settings to easily style the link to match your website
4. Link to your own posts or to any external URL

== Changelog ==
= 2.4.2 =
* Improvement: Block Editor iFrame compatibility
* Fix: Prevent subscribers from accessing VLP preview endpoint

= 2.4.1 =
* Fix: Prevent long post titles from causing horizontal scroll

= 2.4.0 =
* Feature: Create VLP blocks in bulk from a list of websites
* Improvement: Show 20 most recent posts
* Improvement: Featured image in post selection
* Fix: Prevent optional Microlink API key to be accessible by logged in users

= 2.3.1 =
* Fix: Harden external URL metadata and image fetch endpoints against authenticated SSRF attempts by blocking localhost, private/reserved IP ranges, and unsafe ports

= 2.3.0 =
* Feature: Elementor Widget for visual links
* Feature: Use PHP to retrieve URL metadata
* Feature: Use LinkPreview API to retrieve URL metadata
* Feature: Automatic fallback to different provider
* Feature: Manually retry using a different provider
* Fix: Only show posts in search and summary that the current user is allowed to read

= 2.2.9 =
* Improvement: Choose how visual links should render inside RSS feeds

= 2.2.8 =
* Fix: Prevent potential misuse of shortcode by authors
* Fix: Only output link in RSS feed

= 2.2.7 =
* Improvement: WordPress 6.8 compatibility
* Fix: Loading translations too early

= 2.2.6 =
* Fix: Deprecation warning

= 2.2.5 =
* Improvement: Use default translation for "Read More" in spotlight template
* Fix: Gutenberg deprecations

= 2.2.4 =
* Fix: Internal link select in WordPress 5.9

= 2.2.3 =
* Fix: Prevent users without the right capabities from being able to use our AJAX actions

= 2.2.2 =
* Fix: Block not rendering in WordPress 5.8
* Fix: Template issues when using different templates on the same page

= 2.2.1 =
* Fix: Breaking class call when using custom styling
* Fix: Prevent PHP notices because of non-static functions

= 2.2.0 =
* Feature: New "Compact" link template
* Feature: New "Spotlight" link template
* Feature: Template Editor for link templates
* Feature: URL block in the Template Editor to show domain or full url
* Feature: Optionally set your own Microlink API key
* Improvement: Remove jQuery dependency
* Improvement: Better compatibility with TwentyTwenty theme
* Fix: Sanitization for summary field
* Fix: Stuck in loading if fetching of external link data not working

= 2.1.1 =
* Fix: Prevent PHP notices for incomplete shortcodes

= 2.1.0 =
* Feature: Set nofollow and open in new tab for VLP Block
* Feature: Set custom link class for VLP Block
* Feature: Ability to use shortcode directly for advanced purposes
* Improvement: Keep image size consistent
* Improvement: Layout on mobile
* Fix: Browser freezing when trying to load information from some URLs

= 2.0.2 =
* Improvement: Convert paragraph and shortcode block
* Fix: Image not removing correctly in Classic Editor

= 2.0.1 =
* Fix: Some blocks not showing preview in Gutenberg
* Fix: Default image size in template causing PHP notices

= 2.0.0 =
* Feature: Easily change template style from settings
* Feature: Automatic content in Gutenberg block
* Feature: Automatic summary for internal links
* Improvement: Better Gutenberg block with preview

= 1.3.3 =
* Fix: Bug introduced in 1.3.2 when creating in Gutenberg

= 1.3.2 =
* Fix: Summary not getting saved correctly upon edit
* Fix: HTML code showing in summary

= 1.3.1 =
* Improvement: Convert shortcode to Gutenberg block
* Fix: WordPress 5.0 compatibility

= 1.3.0 =
* Feature: Fetch information from external link using Open Graph

= 1.2.2 =
* Improvement: Gutenberg 3.3 compatibility

= 1.2.1 =
* Improvement: Gutenberg 2.6.0 compatibility for the VLP block

= 1.2.0 =
* Feature: New block for Gutenberg compatibility
* Feature: Use nofollow and open in new tab for external links
* Improvement: Better handling of encoding

= 1.1.2 =
* Fix: Prevent overwriting first link in post when editing a newly added link

= 1.1.1 =
* Fix: Problem with encoding unicode characters

= 1.1.0 =
* Feature: Template system

= 1.0.0 =
* Very first version of this link preview plugin

== Upgrade notice ==
= 2.4.2 =
Update to ensure WordPress 7.0 compatibility

= 2.4.1 =
Styling improvement

= 2.4.0 =
Some great new features and improvements

= 2.3.1 =
Security hardening update for external URL fetching

= 2.3.0 =
Some great new features and improvements

= 2.2.9 =
New setting to control RSS feed output for visual links

= 2.2.8 =
Fixed potential security problem

= 2.2.7 =
Update to ensure compatibility with WordPress 6.8

= 2.2.6 =
Update to ensure compatibility with WordPress 6.2

= 2.2.5 =
Update to ensure compatibility with WordPress 6.2

= 2.2.4 =
Update to ensure compatibility with WordPress 5.8

= 2.2.3 =
Fixed potential security problem

= 2.2.2 =
Update to ensure compatibility with WordPress 5.8

= 2.2.1 =
Update to prevent errors

= 2.2.0 =
Great new templates and templating features

= 2.0.3 =
Some fixes and new features

= 2.0.2 =
Update when using the Classic Editor

= 2.0.1 =
Fix update for the new version

= 2.0.0 =
First major update with huge Gutenberg block improvements and an easy template editor

= 1.3.3 =
Update when using 1.3.2

= 1.3.2 =
Update to prevent summary issues in Gutenberg

= 1.3.1 =
Update to ensure WordPress 5.0 and Gutenberg compatibility

= 1.3.0 =
Update for ease of use when linking to external websites

= 1.2.2 =
Update for Gutenberg compatibility

= 1.2.1 =
Update for Gutenberg compatibility

= 1.2.0 =
Update for Gutenberg compatibility

= 1.1.2 =
Update to prevent a bug from overwriting existing links when editing a newly added one

= 1.1.1 =
Update to ensure compatibility with unicode characters

= 1.1.0 =
Update to ensure WordPress 4.8 compatibility

= 1.0.0 =
First version of this link preview plugin, no upgrades needed.
