Dibyandu Pal

Smart DL Redirect is a lightweight and powerful WordPress plugin that lets you add a timer-based interstitial page before a file download starts.
It’s perfect for: 
– Affiliate marketers 
– Download site owners 
– Resource-sharing blogs 
– Anyone who wants to delay download with ads or messages
Once a visitor clicks a download link, they are redirected to a customizable “preparing download” page, where a timer counts down, shows ads or custom HTML, and then auto-redirects to the actual file.
Important — redirect behavior: This plugin redirects the visitor’s browser to the file URL you provide — the plugin does not download, host, or proxy the file server-side. Authors should only supply links to files they trust.
Ad/snippet sanitization: Any ad/snippet HTML entered in the plugin settings is sanitized using <code>wp_kses_post()</code> before output. Note that <code>wp_kses_post()</code> strips <code><script></code> tags and other potentially dangerous elements — if your ad provider requires inline scripts, follow the provider’s recommended safe-install instructions or use a trusted ad plugin.
<h3>✨ Key Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>⏱️ Countdown Timer – Set the delay (in seconds) before download starts.</li>
<li>🎯 Auto-Redirect – Automatically starts the file download when timer ends.</li>
<li>🧰 Manual Fallback Link – If download fails, users can click a manual download link.</li>
<li>💡 Ad Placement or Custom HTML – Insert ads, promotional banners, or instructions in the waiting area.</li>
<li>🧩 Easy Shortcode Usage – Just add <code>[smart_dl file="https://example.com/file.zip"]</code> to any post or page.</li>
<li>⚙️ Lightweight and Fast – No external dependencies, optimized for performance.</li>
</ul>
<h3>License</h3>
Smart DL Redirect is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. See <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html</a> for details.

Smart DL Redirect

Add a countdown page before file downloads with timer, ads, and fallback link using a simple shortcode.

computermagic

The WP Delay Cron plugin will prevent wordpress from running its cron tool for every page view. 
For high traffic sites, this can result in a considerable drop in server load.

WP Delay Cron

Prevent cron from running every time a page is viewed. Good for high traffic sites.

Smart DL Redirect vs WP Delay Cron