JS Links – SEO Link Obfuscation
Hide specific links from crawlers without breaking design or accessibility. Lightweight, reversible, and SEO-safe.
Plugin info
Maintenance & Compatibility
Maintenance score
Actively maintained • Last updated 68 days ago
Is JS Links – SEO Link Obfuscation abandoned?
Likely maintained (last update 68 days ago).
Compatibility
Similar & Alternatives
Explore plugins with similar tags, and compare key metrics like downloads, ratings, updates, support, and WP/PHP compatibility.
Description
JS Links lets you obfuscate links so crawlers can’t follow them — while users still can.
It replaces tags with accessible elements (role="link", tabindex="0") containing Base64-encoded URLs.
✅ Use cases
– Hide links to legal pages, login, or affiliate URLs
– Prevent PageRank dilution in footers or widgets
– Keep a clean, SEO-friendly internal linking structure
✅ Key features
– Lightweight, no external calls or tracking
– 100 % reversible (disable = restores original links)
– Works with all SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math, SEOPress)
– Compatible with any theme or builder
– Accessible (keyboard navigation supported)
– Optionally disable obfuscation on specific pages
– Custom CSS styling per area (content, menu, footer, widget)
✅ Why not just use nofollow?
Because nofollow links are still visible to crawlers and can leak PageRank.
JS Links removes the href entirely and hides the destination — Google can’t see it, so no PageRank flows.
✅ Safe and compliant
JS Links follows WordPress coding standards and includes:
– URL sanitization (esc_url_raw())
– Output escaping (esc_attr(), wp_kses_post())
– CSS filtering (safecss_filter_attr())
– Protection against reverse tabnabbing (noopener noreferrer)
🧠 Result: total control of your internal link flow, with zero impact on UX.
Description (FR)
JS Links permet d’obfusquer certains liens pour empêcher Google et les robots d’exploration de les suivre — tout en conservant un comportement identique pour l’utilisateur.
Les balises sont remplacées par des cliquables (role="link", tabindex="0") contenant l’URL encodée en Base64.
✅ Cas d’usage
– Empêcher la transmission de PageRank sur les liens non stratégiques (CGU, mentions légales, etc.)
– Bloquer les liens d’affiliation ou externes sans casser le design
– Préserver un maillage interne propre et hiérarchisé
✅ Fonctionnalités
– Ultra-léger et 100 % réversible
– Compatible avec tous les thèmes et plugins SEO
– Accessible au clavier
– Personnalisation visuelle simple (CSS par zone)
– Exclusion possible de certaines pages
✅ Différence avec nofollow
Un lien nofollow reste une balise visible par Google.
JS Links, lui, supprime l’attribut href et encode l’URL — donc Google ne voit pas le lien.
✅ Sécurité
JS Links respecte les bonnes pratiques WordPress :
– Nettoyage et validation des URLs
– Échappement systématique des sorties
– Filtrage CSS sécurisé
– Protection contre le reverse tabnabbing
– Fallback sans JavaScript ()
🧠 En clair : tu gardes ton jus SEO sans sacrifier ton ergonomie.
Credits
Developed and maintained by Pierre Ribeaucourt
Support
If you encounter any issues or have suggestions, feel free to open a thread on the Support Forum.
Installation
- Upload the
js-linksfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress
- In the Gutenberg editor, use the JS Link button.
- For menus, a dedicated field is available under Appearance > Menus.
Frequently Asked Questions
A nofollow link is still a visible <a> tag and may leak PageRank.
JS Links removes the href attribute and encodes the URL — Google doesn’t follow it.
Yes. JS Links runs after SEO plugins and doesn’t interfere with their output.
Yes — links are fully keyboard-activable (Enter / Space) via role="link" and tabindex="0".
However, some screen readers that only list real <a> links may skip them.
We recommend not obfuscating critical navigation or accessibility links.
Yes, by listing their relative URLs (e.g., /, /contact, /legal) in the exclusion field.
Review feed
Screenshots
Changelog
2.0.0
- Initial WordPress.org release
- WP 6.8 compatibility / PHP 7.4+
- Improved accessibility and sanitization