Author: Editorial Staff

Do you want to create short links to your WordPress blog posts or pages?

Short links are useful for sharing in your emails, Facebook messages, and even text messages.

In this article, we will show you how to generate short links using a plugin, and how to add the ‘Get Shortlink’ button back to the classic WordPress editor.

Why Create a Short Link in WordPress?

Sharing your web content on social media can build user engagement and bring new users to your website. But pasting in long links or URLs isn’t always the best way.

That’s because some social media platforms will limit the number of characters you can use. A shorter URL gives you extra space for more useful content, which can lead to more engagement and traffic to your WordPress website.

That’s why URL shortener services like Bitly and TinyURL were originally created. They take a long link and make it shorter so that it doesn’t take up as much space.

For example, if you’re using SEO-friendly URL structures, then you might have long URLs that look something like this:

https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/

Our short link for that post saves a lot of space:

http://wpbeg.in/b6xh7G

Note: We’re using a custom domain, wpbeg.in, for our short links, which is a bit more technical to set up and would require you to purchase another domain. We have a separate tutorial on how to create your own customized short URL.

In the past, WordPress made it easy to get a short link to your blog post or page. There was a Get Shortlink button located right next to the permalink area of the classic editor.

However, if you recently started your blog, then you will not see this feature on your WordPress site because it was removed after WordPress version 4.4. WordPress still creates the links, but the button has been removed.

Still, there are a few ways you can get short links for your WordPress posts and pages.

We’ll cover the best link shortener plugin, plus a couple of ways you can restore the ‘Get Shortlink’ button in the classic editor. Simply click the links below to jump straight to each option:

• Method 1: Create Short Links Using the Pretty Links Plugin
• Method 2: Using the Bring Back the Shortlink Button Plugin for the Classic Editor
• Method 3: Creating a Short Link Button in the Classic Editor with Code

Method 1: Create Short Links Using the Pretty Links Plugin

We’ll start with a method that works for everyone. The Pretty Links plugin doesn’t rely on the classic editor and will create its own short link out of any URL.

It works with all links, including pages outside of your blog or website. So, besides letting you share your own content, it’s also the perfect tool for shortening affiliate links.

To get started, you’ll need to install and activate the Pretty Links plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note: There is a Pro version of Pretty Links with more powerful features like keyword auto-linking and link categories and tags, but for this tutorial we will be using the free version.

Once you activate the plugin, a Pretty Links section is added to your WordPress dashboard. To create your first short link, you need to go to the Pretty Links » Add Link page.

Next, you need to paste the original URL of the page you want to share into the Target URL text field. A short Pretty Link is automatically created, but you can customize it if you’d like to make it more readable.

Once you’ve created a few short links, you may not remember what they are all for. So it’s a good idea to type in the title of the web page and consider writing some notes of anything you need to remember.

Once you have filled in the Pretty Links form, click the Update button to activate the short link.

You will now see a list of all of your Pretty Links. To copy one to the clipboard, just click on the Copy icon at the right of the screen.

After that, you can paste it into any of your social media channels. Pretty Links will even keep track of how many clicks each link gets.

While pretty links have built-in analytics, you can further improve your analytics by connecting it with Google Analytics using the MonsterInsights plugins. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to properly set up Google Analytics in WordPress.

Method 2: Using the Bring Back the Shortlink Button Plugin for the Classic Editor

This is a simple method of adding back the Get Shortlink button to the classic editor.

First, you need to install and activate the Bring Back the Shortlink Button plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, this plugin will automatically add the Get Shortlink button to the classic editor. To check that it worked, just edit any of your posts.

When you click the Get Shortlink button, it will show you the WordPress Shortlink for your post or page. You can copy the link to the clipboard so you can share it with your audience in your emails and messages.

Method 3: Creating a Short Link Button in the Classic Editor with Code

This method is for more advanced users and uses code rather than a plugin. It adds the Shortlink button to the classic editor by adding a custom code snippet to your theme’s functions.php file.

We don’t recommend this method to inexperienced users because if you make a mistake, then it could break your website. Method 2 above is a simpler way to achieve the same result without needing to use code.

If this is your first time adding code to your WordPress files, then you should check out our guide on how to copy and paste code snippets in WordPress.

We’ll use the Code Snippets plugin mentioned in that guide, so you’ll need to install that first. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, the plugin will add a new menu item labeled Snippets to your WordPress admin bar. Clicking on it will show you a list of all the custom code snippets you have saved on your site.

Go ahead and click on the Add New button to add your first custom code snippet in WordPress.

This will bring you to the ‘Add New Snippet’ page.

You need to start by entering a title for your custom code snippet. Let’s call it ‘Short Link Button’. After you enter a title, simply copy and paste the code snippet below into the code box.

add_filter( 'get_shortlink', function( $shortlink ) {return $shortlink;} );

When you come across this snippet in the future, you may not remember what it’s for. So it’s a good idea to type something helpful in the description as a reminder.

You can also assign tags to your code snippet. This will help you sort your code snippets by topic and functionality.

Finally, you need to click on the ‘Save Changes and Activate’ button. Once the snippet is activated, the Shortlink button will be added to the classic editor.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create a short link in WordPress. You might also like to learn how to get a free email domain, or see our comparison of the best domain name registrars.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Create a Short Link in WordPress (The Easy Way) appeared first on WPBeginner.

Do you want to allow blog users to moderate comments in WordPress?

If your site gets a lot of comments, then it can be difficult to moderate them all. One solution is creating a separate user role so that other people can manage the comments for you.

In this article, we will show you how to allow blog users to easily moderate comments on your WordPress blog.

Why Allow Blog Users to Moderate Comments in WordPress?

Comment moderation can take a lot of time and effort, especially for big blogs that get lots of comments. If you are slow to approve comments or delete spam, then visitors may stop interacting with you.

By giving blog users the power to moderate comments, you can combat spam and deliver a better experience for your visitors.

These users might be members of your customer support team, your community manager, or even an active and trusted commenter on your WordPress blog.

By default, WordPress doesn’t let you create a user who is only responsible for moderating comments. With that being said, let’s see how you can easily allow blog users to moderate comments using a WordPress plugin.

Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.

Method 1: Add a Comment Moderator Role to Specific Users

The Comment Moderation Role plugin allows you to quickly and easily give a comment moderator role to specific users. This plugin creates a new WPB Comment Moderator role that enables the user to approve, decline, or edit comments on any post without giving them access to other parts of the WordPress dashboard.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you will have access to a new user role called ‘WPB Comment Moderator’.

To assign this role to an existing user, simply go to Users » All Users. Then, check the box next to that person’s username.

After that, simply open the ‘Change role to…’ dropdown menu and select the ‘WPB Comment Moderator’ role.

You can then go ahead and click on ‘Change’.

Now, this person will have access to the WordPress comment moderation panel.

You can also create a new user and assign them the comment moderator role. To do this, simply go to Users » Add New and enter the person’s information, such as their email address.

Next, you need to open the ‘Role’ dropdown and select ‘WPB Comment Moderator’.

When you are happy with the information you have entered, just click on the ‘Add New User’ button.

Now, this person can log in to their account and see a comment moderation dashboard, similar to the image below.

As you can see, this person can only moderate comments and edit their profile. All other WordPress admin dashboard features are hidden.

Method 2: Add Comment Moderation Capabilities to Any User Role

You can also add the comment moderation permission to a user role or even create a completely new user role for managing your site’s comments.

This is a great choice if you want to allow multiple people to moderate comments.

For example, you might create a comment moderation team or give your site’s Contributors permission to moderate comments. This makes it easy for guest bloggers to interact with their readers.

The easiest way to edit user permissions in WordPress is by using the Members plugin. This free plugin allows you to customize the permissions for every user role and even create completely new roles.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate Members. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, go to the Members » Roles page to see all the different user roles on your WordPress website.

To start, you can add the comment moderation permission to any existing user role.

To do that, simply hover over that role and then click on the ‘Edit’ link when it appears.

The left column shows all the different types of content, such as reusable blocks and WooCommerce products. Simply click on a tab, and you will see all the permissions for that content type.

To allow users to moderate comments, you need to select the ‘General’ tab in the left-hand menu. Then, find ‘Moderate Comments’ and check the ‘Grant’ box.

With that done, simply click on ‘Update’ to save your changes. Now, anyone with this user role can moderate your website’s comments.

Another option is to create a new user role by going to Members » Add New Role. You can now type in a title for the new role, such as Community Manager, Comment Moderator, or something similar.

After that, you can add the comment moderator permission to this role by following the same process described above. To give this role additional permissions, simply check any of the other ‘Grant’ boxes.

For more details on user roles and permissions, please see our beginner’s guide to WordPress user roles and permissions.

When you are happy with how the user role is set up, don’t forget to click on ‘Add Role.’

Now, you can assign this role to anyone who needs the comment moderator permission. For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to add new users and authors to your WordPress blog.

We hope this article helped you learn how to allow blog users to moderate comments in WordPress. You may also want to see our expert picks for the best email marketing services for small business and read our guide on how to allow user registration on your WordPress site.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Allow Blog Users to Moderate Comments in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

Do you want to add footnotes to your WordPress blog posts?

If you are writing an article that references research or contains a lot of complex information, then you may want to use footnotes in your content. These are little numbered marks in a text that provide additional context to a sentence or paragraph.

In this article, we will show you how to add simple and elegant footnotes to your WordPress blog posts, step by step.

Why Add Footnotes to Your WordPress Blog Posts?

If you run an educational blog, publish research, or cover news stories, then footnotes are a great way to give more context to your content. You can use them to add comments, highlight important facts, or insert citations to academic sources on your website.

A footnote typically appears as a small, superscript number within the main body of your text. The actual footnote content is then placed at the bottom of the page or appears as a tooltip to distinguish it from the main content.

Here is an example:

Besides providing clarity and transparency for your readers, footnotes can make your WordPress website look more professional and trustworthy. They show that you have done your research and have the sources to support your claims.

The WordPress.org editor now has a built-in footnote feature that you can easily use to insert additional context.

This guide will show you how to add WordPress footnotes to your blog posts or pages using two methods. One is with using the Footnotes block in the Gutenberg editor, and the other is with a plugin.

You can use the links below to jump to a specific method:

Method 1: Add WordPress Footnotes With the Gutenberg Editor

This method is best for people who want to use simple footnotes and don’t want to install a plugin for this purpose.

To use the WordPress Footnotes block, you will need to open the Gutenberg block editor for a new or existing post or page.

After that, just highlight a word in your content that you want to add the footnote to. In the block toolbar, click the dropdown arrow and select ‘Footnote.’

You will now be redirected to the bottom of the page, where the Footnotes block has been added automatically. Here, you can type in your extra information.

Additionally, you can customize the block’s color, typography, dimensions, and border using the settings in the right-hand panel.

Feel free to repeat this step to include as many footnotes as needed.

When you preview your WordPress site, there should be a footnote link to the sentence you highlighted earlier.

If you click on the hyperlink, it will bring you to the bottom of the page with the footnote.

Here, you can also click the hyperlinked arrow to go back to the section where the footnote is assigned.

While this method is fairly simple for beginners, it doesn’t offer tons of customization options. If you are looking for more ways to change the footnote appearance, then just continue to the next method.

Method 2: Add WordPress Footnotes With a Plugin

Another method of creating footnotes is to use the free Modern Footnotes plugin. Unlike the Footnotes block, it offers a lot more options to modify the footnote appearance.

For example, you can make the footnote appear as a tooltip, as well as extra information at the bottom of the page.

The first thing you will do is install the Modern Footnotes plugin. For more information about plugin installation, check out our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Configuring the Modern Footnotes Plugin Settings

With the plugin installed, you can now go to Settings » Modern Footnotes. This is where you can configure the footnote settings to your preferences.

Let’s go through each setting one by one.

‘Desktop footnote behavior’ lets you select how the footnote should behave when the website is being viewed on a desktop computer.

You can make the footnote appear when a cursor hovers over the tooltip or when the user clicks on the tooltip. Alternatively, the footnote can expand below the footnoted text.

Which one you choose is up to your preferences. That said, the footnote will expand below the text by default on mobile screens.

Besides that, you can also check the ‘Make footnote content appear in web browser’s native tooltip when hovering over footnote number’ box if needed. This means the footnote will appear in the browser’s tooltip rather than in the plugin’s when the cursor hovers over the text.

We recommend switching this setting off if you choose the tooltip option for the desktop footnote behavior. Otherwise, you will have two tooltips for the same footnote, which readers may find annoying.

Below, you can also choose to display the footnote list at the bottom of the posts. This way, the reader can see all of the additional information in one place.

You may also want to enable this feature when the blog post is syndicated through RSS feeds.

Scrolling down, you can opt to insert a heading for your footnote list and choose a heading tag for it. This helps separate the actual content of your blog post from the footnotes. You can write something like References, Footnotes, Citations, or Additional Information.

If you want to add some custom CSS to modify the footnote text, feel free to insert it in the ‘Modern Footnote Custom CSS’ box.

Last but not least, you can customize the Modern Footnotes shortcode if you don’t want to use the built-in version. Make sure to enter the shortcode without the brackets.

Once you are happy with the settings, just click ‘Save Changes.’

Adding Footnotes Using the Modern Footnotes Plugin

Now that you’ve configured the Modern Footnotes settings, let’s insert some footnotes into your content. Go ahead and open the block editor for a new or existing post or page.

There are two ways to add a footnote. One is with a shortcode, which is what we recommend.

First, find the sentence you want to insert a footnote. Then, right next to that sentence, type in the following shortcode:

[mfn]Insert your footnote here[/mfn]

Make sure to replace the text between the brackets with your information.

We also suggest putting the shortcode within the same block as the sentence, right next to the text, without any space in between, just like in the example below. Otherwise, the footnote may look disconnected from the text.

The other method is to type your footnote text next to the sentence you want to add the footnote to. Make sure there’s no space between the footnote text and the sentence.

In the example below, we want to add a footnote containing an academic citation for the sentence that begins with ‘Studies suggest…’

Next, highlight the footnote and click the down-arrow button in the toolbar. After that, select ‘Add a Footnote.’

The drawback with the second method is it can be hard to track which lines of text have been given a footnote and which ones haven’t when you are editing the content. That’s why we recommend the shortcode method.

When you preview the blog post, you will see that there is now a number next to the sentence. If you use the tooltip option, this is what the footnote will look like:

On the other hand, the footnote will appear below the text if you use the expandable formatting.

Here’s what it looks like when you click on the number:

Finally, if you choose to display all of the footnote content at the bottom of the post, you can scroll down to find everything there.

They should be somewhere above the comment section.

Bonus Tip: Use WordPress Custom Fields to Add More Information to Your Content

Besides footnotes, another way to provide extra information in your WordPress posts and pages is by using custom fields.

WordPress custom fields are metadata used to insert additional information into a post or page. For example, if you run a blog with multiple authors, then you may want to display your contributors’ names on the blog post, not just your own.

If you are interested in custom fields, just check out our WordPress custom fields 101 guide.

We will show you how to add custom fields using the block editor and some plugins, including WPCode. This plugin offers a safe and easy way to add code snippets to your WordPress website, even if you are a beginner.

We hope this article has helped you learn how to add footnotes to your WordPress website. You may also want to take a look at our expert picks for the best WordPress typography plugins and our guide on how to show and hide text in WordPress posts with the toggle effect.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Simple and Elegant Footnotes in Your WordPress Blog Posts first appeared on WPBeginner.