Kitgenix

Affiliate URLs can get long, messy, and hard to manage — especially once they’re embedded across pages, posts, emails, and ads.
Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager gives you a simple, central place to create and manage short affiliate links, and redirect visitors using a clean URL format:
<pre><code>/go/{slug} (prefix configurable)
</code></pre>
It’s designed to be lightweight and practical: 
– Create links with a Name, Slug and Destination URL 
– Organise larger libraries with link groups, tags, campaign views, and campaign notes 
– Schedule start and expiry windows, send inactive traffic to a fallback URL, and rotate between multiple live destinations 
– Run automated destination health checks that flag broken offers, merchant-side 404s, and redirecting destinations inside the dashboard 
– Track daily click timelines plus source, referrer, and placement attribution so reports show which links and placements perform best 
– Manage links through a REST API and WP-CLI commands for create, update, disable, import, and export workflows 
– Configure the redirect prefix (default: <code>go</code>) 
– Choose redirect status: 307, 302 or 301 
– Track click counts per link 
– No third-party redirect/short-link service (redirects happen on your site)
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Search links by name, slug, or destination URL from the main Links tab.</li>
<li>Organise links with one primary group, multi-tag labels, reusable campaign views, and campaign notes.</li>
<li>Schedule links with start/end dates, fallback URLs, and sequential or random destination rotation.</li>
<li>Run hourly health checks against primary, fallback, and rotated destinations, then show dashboard alerts when destinations fail or start redirecting.</li>
<li>Show a global analytics snapshot plus per-link 14-day timelines, top sources, top referrers, and top placements inside the Links tab.</li>
<li>Filter large link libraries by group or tag without leaving the main Links tab.</li>
<li>Use a protected REST API for listing, creating, updating, disabling, importing, and exporting links outside wp-admin.</li>
<li>Use WP-CLI commands for scripted link creation, updates, disable/enable actions, and JSON/CSV import-export workflows.</li>
<li>Paginate and sort large link libraries by Name, Slug, and Clicks.</li>
<li>Duplicate links, reset click counts, bulk delete links, and export selected links to CSV including campaign, schedule, rotation, health, and analytics data.</li>
<li>Copy generated short URLs with one click.</li>
<li>Temporarily disable a link without deleting it.</li>
<li>Choose a per-link rel value: <code>nofollow</code>, <code>sponsored</code>, or <code>nofollow sponsored</code>.</li>
<li>Tune how many links appear per page (10-200).</li>
<li>Get warnings when your chosen prefix may conflict with WordPress core URLs or an existing page slug.</li>
<li>Benefit from atomic click counting and object-cache-friendly slug lookups on busy sites.</li>
<li>Use the plugin safely on multisite installs with multisite-aware activation, deactivation, and uninstall routines.</li>
</ul>
SEO note: you can choose a per-link rel value (nofollow / sponsored / both). When placing your short URL into content, use sponsored/nofollow to follow search engine guidelines for affiliate links.
<h4>Notes</h4>
<ul>
<li>This plugin stores links in a private custom post type and performs redirects via WordPress rewrite rules.</li>
<li>If short URLs do not start working immediately after you change the redirect prefix, re-save Permalinks (Settings → Permalinks) so WordPress refreshes rewrite rules.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Quick Start</h3>
<ol>
<li>Install and activate the plugin.</li>
<li>Go to Kitgenix → Affiliate Links.</li>
<li>Add a link (Name + Destination URL + optional custom slug, schedule window, fallback URL, rotation rules, group, tags, and campaign note).</li>
<li>Copy the generated short URL and use it anywhere.</li>
<li>Use search, campaign views, analytics snapshots, group/tag filters, health alerts, sorting, pagination, or CSV export as your link library grows.</li>
</ol>
Automation tip: use the REST API or WP-CLI when you want to manage affiliate links in deployment scripts, migrations, or headless workflows.
<h3>Developers</h3>
Text domain: 
kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager
Custom post type: 
– <code>kitgenix_aff_link</code>
Taxonomies: 
– Link groups: <code>kitgenix_aff_group</code> 
– Link tags: <code>kitgenix_aff_tag</code>
Post meta: 
– Destination URL: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_destination_url</code> 
– Click count: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_clicks</code> 
– Rel value: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_rel</code> (allowed: <code>nofollow</code>, <code>sponsored</code>, <code>nofollow sponsored</code>) 
– Enabled flag: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_enabled</code> (1/0; defaults to enabled) 
– Campaign note: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_campaign_note</code> 
– Starts at: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_starts_at</code> (UTC timestamp) 
– Expires at: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_expires_at</code> (UTC timestamp) 
– Fallback URL: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_fallback_url</code> 
– Rotation mode: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_rotation_mode</code> (<code>none</code>, <code>sequential</code>, <code>random</code>) 
– Rotation destinations: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_rotation_destinations</code> (stored as an array) 
– Health status: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_health_status</code> 
– Health message: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_health_message</code> 
– Health checked at: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_health_checked_at</code> (UTC timestamp) 
– Health HTTP code: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_health_http_code</code> 
– Health final URL: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_health_final_url</code> 
– Health redirect hops: <code>_kitgenix_affiliate_health_redirect_hops</code>
Analytics table: 
– <code>{prefix}kitgenix_aff_click_stats</code> — stores daily aggregated click counts by link, source, placement, and referrer host.
Settings option: 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_settings</code>
Settings group (Settings API): 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_settings_group</code>
Redirect query var: 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_slug</code>
Admin actions / nonces: 
– Admin-post action (save): <code>admin_post_kitgenix_affiliate_link_save</code> 
– Admin-post action (delete): <code>admin_post_kitgenix_affiliate_link_delete</code> 
– Admin-post action (duplicate): <code>admin_post_kitgenix_affiliate_link_duplicate</code> 
– Admin-post action (reset clicks): <code>admin_post_kitgenix_affiliate_link_reset_clicks</code> 
– Admin-post action (bulk actions): <code>admin_post_kitgenix_affiliate_link_bulk</code> 
– Link save nonce action: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_save</code> 
– Link save nonce field name: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_nonce</code> 
– Link delete nonce action: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_delete</code> 
– Link delete nonce query arg: <code>nonce</code> 
– Link duplicate nonce action: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_duplicate</code> 
– Link reset clicks nonce action: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_reset_clicks</code> 
– Bulk actions nonce action: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_bulk</code> 
– Bulk actions nonce field name: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_bulk_nonce</code> 
– Settings save nonce action: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_settings_save</code> 
– Settings save nonce field name: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_settings_nonce</code>
Settings UI field identifiers: 
– Redirect status id: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_redirect_status</code> 
– Links per page id: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_links_per_page</code>
Developer filters: 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_slug_cache_ttl</code> (int $ttl, int $post_id, string $slug) — adjust redirect slug lookup cache TTL (seconds). 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_destination_url</code> (string $destination_url, int $post_id) — filter the final redirect destination before redirecting. 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_redirect_status</code> (int $status, int $post_id) — filter the HTTP redirect status per request. 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_manage_capability</code> (string $capability) — override the capability required to manage links. 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_health_check_timeout</code> (int $timeout, string $url) — adjust the outbound timeout used by destination health checks.
REST API: 
– Namespace: <code>kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1</code> 
– <code>GET /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links</code> — list links with optional <code>search</code>, <code>group</code>, <code>tag</code>, <code>enabled</code>, <code>orderby</code>, <code>order</code>, <code>page</code>, and <code>per_page</code> parameters. 
– <code>POST /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links</code> — create a link, including optional <code>starts_at</code>, <code>expires_at</code>, <code>fallback_url</code>, <code>rotation_mode</code>, and <code>rotation_destinations</code> fields. 
– <code>GET /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/{id}</code> — fetch one link. 
– <code>PUT|PATCH /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/{id}</code> — update a link, including schedule and rotation settings. 
– <code>DELETE /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/{id}</code> — move a link to the Trash. 
– <code>POST /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/{id}/disable</code> — disable a link. 
– <code>POST /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/{id}/enable</code> — re-enable a link. 
– <code>GET /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/export</code> — export filtered links as structured rows. 
– <code>POST /wp-json/kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1/links/import</code> — import links with <code>match_existing=slug|id|none</code> and a <code>links</code> array payload. 
– Link responses and exports now include health fields such as <code>health_status</code>, <code>health_message</code>, <code>health_checked_at</code>, <code>health_http_code</code>, and <code>health_redirect_hops</code>. 
– Link responses and exports now also include analytics fields such as <code>clicks_last_7_days</code>, <code>clicks_last_30_days</code>, <code>timeline_14_days</code>, <code>top_sources_30_days</code>, <code>top_referrers_30_days</code>, and <code>top_placements_30_days</code>.
WP-CLI: 
– Base command: <code>wp kitgenix-affiliate link</code> 
– Subcommands: <code>get</code>, <code>create</code>, <code>update</code>, <code>disable</code>, <code>enable</code>, <code>delete</code>, <code>export</code>, <code>import</code> 
– <code>create</code> / <code>update</code> accept <code>--starts-at</code>, <code>--expires-at</code>, <code>--fallback-url</code>, <code>--rotation-mode</code>, and <code>--rotation-destinations</code>. 
– <code>export</code> supports JSON or CSV output. 
– <code>import</code> supports JSON or CSV input and can match existing links by slug or ID. 
– <code>get</code> and <code>export</code> output the stored destination health summary fields alongside the rest of the link record. 
– <code>get</code> and <code>export</code> also output analytics summary fields, including recent timelines and top attribution breakdowns.
Scheduled events: 
– Hourly health-check event: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_run_health_checks</code> 
– Initial catch-up event: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_run_health_checks_once</code>
Developer actions: 
– <code>kitgenix_affiliate_redirected</code> (int $post_id, string $destination_url, int $status) — fires after the click is counted and before the redirect exits.
<h3>External Services</h3>
This plugin includes a shared “Kitgenix hub” component in wp-admin which may fetch publicly available plugin metadata from WordPress.org using WordPress core’s <code>plugins_api()</code> function.
Caching: 
– Transient: <code>kitgenix_hub_wporg_active_installs_v1</code> 
– Transient: <code>kitgenix_hub_wporg_ratings_v1</code> 
– Transient: <code>kitgenix_hub_wporg_media_v1</code>
Redirect destinations: 
– When a visitor uses a short URL like <code>/go/{slug}</code>, the plugin redirects them to the destination URL you configured for that link. Destination URLs are commonly on third-party domains (affiliate programs).
<h3>Security & Privacy</h3>
<ul>
<li>No tracking cookies are added.</li>
<li>Admin actions are protected with capability checks and nonces.</li>
<li>Redirect destinations are validated before redirect.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Uninstall</h3>
By default, uninstall removes only plugin settings and plugin-only transients (it does not delete stored affiliate link posts or click data).
Optional: enable the “Delete all affiliate links and click data when the plugin is uninstalled” setting if you want a clean uninstall.
Deleted: 
– Option: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_settings</code> 
– Transient: <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_do_activation_redirect</code> 
– Transient (short-lived): <code>kitgenix_affiliate_link_manager_do_rewrite_flush</code>
<h3>Support Development</h3>
If this plugin saves you time managing affiliate URLs, you can support ongoing development here: 
https://buymeacoffee.com/kitgenix
<h3>Credits</h3>
Built with ❤︎ by @kitgenix – https://kitgenix.com

Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager

Manage affiliate short links, branded redirects, and click tracking from one WordPress dashboard.

The default WordPress “shortlink” URLs look like this: <code>http://www.example.com/blog/?p=123</code>, where “<code>123</code>” is actually a 7+ digit decimal number. This plugin shrinks your shortlinks by encoding that number into only 4 characters, and using the abbreviated URL prefix of your choice.
On my site, the default shortlinks are 35 bytes long, even though I have a very short domain name. This plugin shrinks them to 21 total bytes, which is comparable to most public URL-shortener services, and better than many.
E.g., this: <code>http://www.jwz.org/blog/?p=13240780</code> 
becomes: <code>http://jwz.org/b/ygnM</code>
This doesn’t affect your (long) permalinks: those can still be in whatever format you like.

Base64 Shortlinks

This plugin makes your shortlinks shorter!

Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager vs Base64 Shortlinks