stratosg

Writing a post with footnotes has never been easier and cleaner before. All you need to do is anchor a footnote at any point and then write it on the end of the paragraph or wherever it fits you.
Usage
To anchor a footnote use the {{FOOTNOTE_NUMBER}}. Then to write the body of it you need to embrace it with [[FOOTNOTE_NUMBER]]. Here is an example:
—— document starts here ——- 
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, con sectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam 
tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna ali quarn erat volupat.{{1}} 
venian, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper{{2}} suscipit laboris 
commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum irure dolore
[[1]]This is the first footnote.[[1]] 
[[2]]This is the second footnote.[[2]]
This is the next paragraph. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, con sectetuer 
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonnumy nibh euismod tempor incidunt ut 
labore et dolore magna ali quarn erat volupat. Ut wisi enim ad minim. 
—— document ends here ———
When the document is parsed, the footnotes that are between paragraphs will be removed from where they are and placed at the end of the document. The {{1}} will be replaced with an anchor link to the footnote. The footnotes will be a list having and anchor link back to the place the text has it. Here is what roughly the above text will look like after parsing:
—— document starts here ——- 
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, con sectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam 
tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna ali quarn erat volupat.[1] 
venian, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper[2] suscipit laboris 
commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum irure dolore
This is the next paragraph. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, con sectetuer 
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonnumy nibh euismod tempor incidunt ut 
labore et dolore magna ali quarn erat volupat. Ut wisi enim ad minim.
FOOTNOTES 
1. This is the first footnote. 
2. This is the second footnote. 
—— document ends here ———
The up arrows and the [1] and [2] are the links. There are a few options that you can tweak, for now it’s in the code. Please refer to the plugin’s homepage at: http://www.stratos.me/wp-plugins/yafootnotes
<h3>Requirements</h3>
None what so ever…
<h3>Credits</h3>
Mr. Mike Nichols from http://anxietypanichealth.com/ inspired me, motivated me and helped me debug.
<h3>Contact</h3>
Suggestion, fixes, rants, congratulations, gifts etc to stratosg@stratosector.net 
Also visit the plugin’s page at http://www.stratos.me/wp-plugins/yafootnotes/

YAFootnotes

Yet Another Footnotes (YAFootnotes) is a plugin that gives you the ability to add footnotes to any text you are writing.

writerspress

CiteKit makes it easy to add professional in-text footnotes & citations to your WordPress content using simple shortcodes or Gutenberg blocks. Automatically generate a bibliography at the end of any post with [bibliography] or the Bibliography block, styled in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and more.
Use a custom ID like [cite id=”who-2024″] to keep references memorable and reusable across your site, or let CiteKit auto-assign a unique ID. Use the Reference Library to track, audit, and manage every citation across your entire site – and check whether your source URLs are still live.
<h3>Features</h3>
Inline Citation & Tooltip Formats in Block Editor: Use the CiteKit Citation and CiteKit Tooltip buttons on the block toolbar to insert and manage inline citations and hover tooltips directly within any paragraph, heading, list, or quote block. Click an existing inline citation or tooltip badge to open that reference for editing, or place your cursor and click the toolbar button to insert a new one — no separate block needed.
Inline [cite] Shortcode with Auto-ID 
Insert citations directly into post content using [cite]. Unique IDs are automatically assigned on first save, or set a custom human-readable ID with [cite id=”who-2024″].
CiteBox — Post-Level Citation Editor 
A dedicated metabox in the post and page editor shows every citation in the current post. Fill in author, title, year, and URL without leaving the editor. Fields save instantly via AJAX and metadata is shared across all posts that reference the same ID.
Bibliography Block & Shortcode 
Insert a formatted, backlinked bibliography anywhere in your content using the native CiteKit Bibliography block or the [bibliography] shortcode. Entries are ordered by appearance in the post, each with a back-reference to its inline citation, and style and heading are configurable per block or per shortcode.
Manual Bibliography Composition 
Create a standalone bibliography with [bibliography title=”References”] Source 1 ; Source 2 [/bibliography] — ideal for static lists or non-[cite] workflows.
Reference Library 
A central admin page listing every citation used across your site. Citations appear in the library the moment they are inserted into any post or page. See which posts use each reference, sort and filter by status, and manage everything from one place.
Link Health Checker 
Check whether your source URLs are still reachable. Each reference is marked Live, Broken, or Unchecked. Results are saved per citation so you can spot dead links before your readers do.
Multiple Citation Style Support 
Output in APA, MLA, Chicago (Author-Date and Notes-Bibliography), Harvard, or IEEE using [bibliography style=”apa|mla|chicago-ad|chicago-nb|harvard|ieee”].
Default Style Setting 
Set your preferred citation style and bibliography heading once in Settings → CiteKit. All [bibliography] shortcodes and Bibliography blocks site-wide use this default unless overridden per post.
Tooltip-Style Inline Notes 
Add lightweight footnotes, definitions, or asides with [tooltip]…[/tooltip] or the Tooltip block. Renders as a clean superscript that reveals a hover popup — no visual clutter until the reader needs it. Use the optional style attribute to set a custom superscript symbol: [tooltip style=”*”]…[/tooltip]. Defaults to † if omitted. Supported markers include †, *, ‡, §, ¶, or any short string such as “note”.
<h3>CiteKit Blocks & Formats</h3>
Bibliography Block — available in the CiteKit category in the block inserter. Renders a formatted, backlinked bibliography for the current post. Configure citation style and heading in the block sidebar.
Citation Format — the CiteKit Citation button on the block toolbar. Click an existing citation badge to open its reference details for editing, or place your cursor and click the button to insert a new one. Enter the citation ID and reference details in the block options panel.
Tooltip Format — the CiteKit Tooltip button on the block toolbar. Click an existing tooltip badge to edit its text and marker symbol, or place your cursor and click the button to insert a new one. Enter your note text and choose a marker symbol.
<h3>CiteKit Shortcodes</h3>
<h4>Inline Citations</h4>
<ul>
<li>[cite] — Inline citation with auto-generated UUID</li>
<li>[cite id=”custom-id”] — Inline citation with a user-defined ID</li>
</ul>
<h4>Bibliography</h4>
<ul>
<li>[bibliography] — Auto-generated bibliography for the current post</li>
<li>[bibliography style=”mla” title=”Article Sources”] — Override style and heading per post</li>
<li>[bibliography style=”chicago-ad”] — Override style only; heading uses your site default</li>
<li>[bibliography] Smith, 2026; John Jacobs, The Red Roof, 2021 [/bibliography] — Manual entry list</li>
</ul>
<h4>Tooltips</h4>
<ul>
<li>[tooltip]Note text here[/tooltip] — Inline hover tooltip with default † superscript</li>
<li>[tooltip style=”*”]Note text here[/tooltip] — Tooltip with custom superscript symbol</li>
</ul>
Supported bibliography styles: apa, mla, chicago-ad, chicago-nb, harvard, ieee

CiteKit – Citation and Reference Manager

Add citations, footnotes, tooltips, and bibliographies to your WordPress content. Manage all your references in one place and generate automatic APA,  …

YAFootnotes vs CiteKit – Citation and Reference Manager