Description
Link Obfuscator par Benjamin Thiers hides specific URLs from SEO bots and crawlers. The anchor text is visible immediately on page load (with configurable color and underline). The actual <a href> tag is only injected on the first human interaction — Google never sees the URL.
This is ideal for:
- Affiliate links you don’t want indexed or followed
- Private or partner URLs
- Any link you want to keep out of search engine results
How it works
The URL is encoded server-side (base64, charcode, ROT13, hex, or chunk redirect). A <span> with ARIA attributes (role="link", aria-label) is rendered in its place. On the first mouse, touch or keyboard interaction, JavaScript decodes the URL and injects the real <a> tag — making it fully accessible to human users while remaining invisible to crawlers.
Features
- 5 obfuscation methods: Base64, CharCode, ROT13, Hex, Redirect
- Shortcode
[linkobf_link]and native Gutenberg block - Configurable link color and underline per link
- Custom CSS class assignable to each link
- Accessible:
role="link",aria-label, keyboard navigation (tabindex) - Built-in shortcode generator in the settings page
- No external dependencies, no tracking
Accessibility
Each obfuscated link renders as a <span> with role="link" and aria-label, so screen readers announce it correctly. Keyboard users can tab to it and activate it with Enter or Space. This meets RGAA and WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements for links.
Privacy
This plugin does not collect, store or transmit any personal data. It is fully compatible with GDPR requirements. No cookies are set.
Blocks
This plugin provides 1 block.
- Obfuscated Link
Installation
- Upload the
bthiers-link-obfuscatorfolder to/wp-content/plugins/. - Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
- Go to Settings > Link Obfuscator to use the shortcode generator.
FAQ
-
Does this work with the Gutenberg block editor?
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Yes. A native block called “Obfuscated Link” is available directly in the block editor. Search for it by name in the block inserter.
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Which obfuscation method should I use?
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Base64 is the default and works well for most use cases. All methods are decoded client-side via JavaScript — choose based on your preference. None of them are cryptographically secure; the goal is to prevent crawlers from indexing the URL, not to protect sensitive data.
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What do crawlers see?
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They see a
<span>with text and ARIA attributes. Nohref, no URL. Example:
My link -
Does it work if JavaScript is disabled?
-
No. The link injection relies on JavaScript. If JS is disabled, the visitor will see the anchor text but won’t be able to click through. This is expected behavior for an obfuscation plugin.
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Is it compatible with caching plugins?
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Yes. The obfuscation is done server-side at render time. The resulting HTML is static and cacheable. The JavaScript injection happens client-side on interaction.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Link Obfuscator par Benjamin Thiers” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Link Obfuscator par Benjamin Thiers” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release.
- Shortcode
[linkobf_link]with 5 obfuscation methods. - Native Gutenberg block.
- Settings page with shortcode generator and live preview.
- RGAA/WCAG accessibility compliance.