Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager

Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager is a self-hosted WordPress affiliate link manager for creating branded short links, controlling redirect destinations, organising campaigns and measuring aggregate click activity without relying on a hosted Kitgenix tracking platform. It is built for affiliate marketers, publishers, content websites, agencies, review sites, WooCommerce stores and other WordPress sites that publish external campaign or partner links. Instead of scattering long destination URLs throughout your content, you can publish a stable first-party URL such as example.com/go/product-name/ and manage the destination behind that link from WordPress. The public short link can remain unchanged even when the affiliate destination changes. That makes the plugin useful for evergreen articles, email campaigns, printed QR codes, documentation, social profiles and any other place where editing every old link later would be difficult. Learn more about the developer behind the plugin at Kitgenix. Affiliate Link Management Features

• Create branded short URLs on your own WordPress domain.
• Configure the global redirect prefix used before link slugs.
• Change destinations without changing the public short URL.
• Enable or disable individual links without deleting them.
• Choose the redirect status used for managed links.
• Store campaign notes for internal reference.
• Add nofollow, sponsored, or nofollow sponsored relationship guidance to link records.
• Schedule when links become active and when they expire.
• Define a fallback URL for links that are not currently eligible to use their normal destination.
• Rotate one public link across several destination URLs using sequential or random rotation.
• Organise links with groups and tags.
• Search, filter, sort, duplicate and bulk-manage link records.
• Record aggregate click analytics without storing visitor IP addresses in the click-statistics table.
• Review recent activity, source, placement and referrer-host breakdowns.
• Run automatic and manual destination health checks.
• Import and export links using CSV and JSON workflows.
• Manage links programmatically through authenticated REST API routes.
• Manage links from the command line with WP-CLI.
• Keep plugin data local to the WordPress installation unless a destination health check or normal redirect necessarily contacts an external destination.

Branded Redirects and Stable Short Links Each managed link has a WordPress-controlled slug. The plugin combines that slug with the configured redirect prefix to create the public-facing URL. A prefix such as go and a slug such as hosting-offer produces a route similar to /go/hosting-offer/. When a visitor requests that route, the redirect layer resolves the matching link, checks whether it is enabled and currently active, evaluates any start/expiry rules, chooses the appropriate destination, records the aggregate click event and then issues the configured redirect. The underlying affiliate URL can be changed later while the public URL remains stable. The managed link records are stored in the private kitgenix_aff_link post type. Groups use the kitgenix_aff_group taxonomy and tags use kitgenix_aff_tag, allowing large collections of campaigns to be organised without exposing those records as normal public posts. Scheduling, Expiry and Fallback Destinations Campaigns frequently have start dates, expiry dates or time-sensitive offers. Each link can store a start timestamp and expiry timestamp so the redirect state is evaluated automatically at request time. A fallback URL can be used when the normal destination should not be used. This is useful for expired promotions, not-yet-active campaigns, retired products or other cases where sending a visitor to an alternative page is better than leaving a dead affiliate link in published content. Because the schedule is evaluated by the redirect resolver, the behaviour is functional rather than a wp-admin label only. Destination Rotation A single branded link can distribute requests across a pool of destinations. The plugin supports no rotation, sequential rotation and random rotation. The primary destination and additional rotation destinations form the available pool used by the redirect logic. Rotation can be useful for publishers testing several offers, balancing traffic between equivalent landing pages, or maintaining one memorable public URL while working with multiple destination URLs. Link Groups, Tags and Bulk Administration Groups and tags provide two layers of organisation. The admin interface also includes search, filtering, sorting and bulk operations, making it practical to manage more than a handful of redirects. Bulk tools include assigning groups and adding tags to selected links. Existing links can be duplicated to create a new campaign from a known configuration, and links can be enabled or disabled independently of deletion. Aggregate Click Analytics The analytics subsystem stores daily aggregate statistics in the plugin-owned {prefix}kitgenix_aff_click_stats database table. It can report total clicks, recent click trends and breakdowns by source, placement and normalised referrer host. The click-statistics implementation is intentionally aggregate. It does not store the visitor's IP address, full browser user-agent, full referring URL, tracking cookie or browser fingerprint as part of the analytics record. Referrer data used for reporting is reduced to the host before storage. The plugin also maintains link-level click totals and cached overview data so the admin interface does not need to reconstruct every summary on every page load. Affiliate Destination Health Checks Managed destinations can become unavailable, start returning errors or redirect somewhere unexpected. The health-check system can inspect configured destinations and retain the resulting status, message, HTTP code, final URL, redirect-hop count and time of the last check. Health checks can run automatically using WordPress scheduled events or can be started manually for a link. The automatic checker processes the catalogue in batches and maintains a cursor/summary so a large link library does not need to be tested in one request. Health checking sends a normal server-side HTTP request to the destination selected by the site administrator. The destination website therefore receives ordinary request/network information. The plugin does not send those checks through a Kitgenix proxy. CSV and JSON Portability Import/export tools are available for administrators who need to move links between WordPress environments or update them in bulk. CSV output includes protection against spreadsheet-formula injection, and JSON is available where a structured interchange format is more convenient. Import processing validates and normalises incoming records and uses bounded batch sizes. Existing records can be matched according to the supported import workflow instead of every import being treated as a completely new link. REST API for Affiliate Links The authenticated REST namespace is: kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager/v1 The codebase implements routes for listing, creating, reading, updating and deleting links, plus import/export, enable/disable, duplication, click-reset and health-check actions. Collection requests support common filters such as search, group, tag, enabled state, ordering and pagination. REST management is protected by the plugin's management capability checks; the plugin does not expose anonymous link administration. WP-CLI The command base is: wp kitgenix-affiliate link Implemented commands include get, create, update, disable, enable, duplicate, reset-clicks, check-health, delete, export and import. These commands make the plugin suitable for scripted migrations, deployment workflows and administrators who prefer command-line management. Privacy-Focused, WordPress-Native Storage Link records, taxonomies, settings, logs and aggregate analytics are stored in WordPress or the site's own database. The plugin uses WordPress posts, metadata, taxonomies, options, scheduled events, the HTTP API, REST API and capability/nonce controls. There is no remote Kitgenix click-tracking account required to create or use links. External network activity is limited to actions that inherently require it, such as redirecting a visitor to the destination, checking a destination's health, retrieving public Kitgenix plugin information for the shared admin Hub, or loading the disclosed admin font service. Typical Use Cases

• Affiliate marketing links in comparison articles and product reviews.
• Branded /go/ links in newsletters or social campaigns.
• Stable URLs for printed material and QR codes.
• Time-limited promotions that should start or expire automatically.
• Campaign links that need a safe fallback after an offer ends.
• Testing or distributing traffic across multiple destinations.
• Agencies managing many partner links from one WordPress dashboard.
• Sites that need aggregate click reporting without visitor-level profiling.

1. Upload the kitgenix-affiliate-link-manager folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install the plugin ZIP through Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
2. Activate Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager.
3. Open the Kitgenix Affiliate Link Manager admin screen.
4. Review the redirect prefix and redirect behaviour before publishing links.
5. Create an affiliate link, choose its slug, and enter the destination URL.
6. Add optional scheduling, fallback, rotation, group, tag, and campaign-note settings as required.
7. Test the branded redirect before using it in a live campaign.
8. If destination health checking is enabled, review the health-check interval and timeout for your hosting environment.

After changing a redirect prefix, visit Settings > Permalinks and save if WordPress rewrite rules need to be refreshed on your environment.

2.1.2 (13 October 2026)

• Fix: Bump version to 2.1.2 across the plugin.

2.1.1 (13 October 2026)

• Fix: Updated PluginScore Verification code.

2.1.0 (13 October 2026)

• New: Added a configurable log auto-delete setting (7/14/30 days) to automatically remove old event log entries.
• New: Added a "Request a Feature" button to the Need Help? sidebar, linking directly to this plugin's page on the Kitgenix roadmap (https://roadmap.kitgenix.com).
• New: Added a "Request a Feature" banner below the plugin grid on the Kitgenix Hub page, linking to the shared Kitgenix roadmap.

2.0.0 (31 August 2026)

• New: Redesigned the entire admin experience around the shared Kitgenix design system, with a sticky topbar, light/dark theme toggle, and in-page settings search using "/" or Cmd/Ctrl+K to filter the current tab.
• New: Added a Kitgenix Hub shortcut to the topbar plus a mobile-friendly hamburger menu with dropdown submenus for narrower screens.
• New: Added Image Optimizer to the Kitgenix Hub plugin discovery list.
• New: Added Enable and Disable actions to the Links tab bulk-actions menu alongside Delete, Reset Clicks, and Export CSV.
• New: Added CSV and JSON link importing directly to the Links tab, with matching options by slug, ID, or always creating a new link.
• New: Added a "Check now" row action for running an immediate destination health check on an individual affiliate link.
• New: Added a "Check destination health now" bulk action for checking selected links without waiting for the scheduled health check.
• New: Added a "Run health check now" action to the All Links card header and health summary notice for checking the entire link library on demand.
• New: Added "Set group…" and "Add tags…" bulk actions so large existing link libraries can be reorganised without editing links individually.
• New: Added configurable destination health-check frequency under Settings, with every 30 minutes, hourly, twice-daily, and daily scheduling options.
• New: Added a configurable health-check timeout between 3 and 30 seconds, replacing reliance on the previous developer-only kitgenix_affiliate_health_check_timeout filter default.
• New: Added a Click Count field to the Add/Edit Link form and modal so existing click totals can be migrated or set manually without using REST or WP-CLI.
• New: Added POST /links/{id}/duplicate to the REST API for duplicating affiliate links programmatically.
• New: Added POST /links/{id}/reset-clicks to the REST API for resetting an individual link's click count.
• New: Added POST /links/{id}/check-health to the REST API for running an on-demand destination health check.
• New: Added duplicate, reset-clicks, and check-health WP-CLI subcommands so these actions are available from command-line and automation workflows.
• New: REST and WP-CLI create/update operations now accept an explicit clicks value, matching the admin interface and CSV/JSON import functionality.
• New: Added a configurable per-import row limit across the admin UI, REST API, and WP-CLI import paths, defaulting to 2,000 rows and filterable through kitgenix_affiliate_max_import_items.
• New: Imports that exceed the configured row limit now report how many records were skipped rather than attempting an unbounded request that may time out or exhaust memory.
• New: On WordPress 7.1 and later, the Kitgenix brand icon is registered with the WordPress Icon Registration API as kitgenix/mark for discovery through wp_get_icon() and the icons REST endpoint.
• Improved: Rebuilt the Links tab and Add/Edit Link forms using the shared Kitgenix card and setting-row components.
• Improved: Replaced traditional checkboxes throughout the Links and settings interfaces with consistent toggle switches.
• Improved: Added a clearer empty-state interface when no affiliate links match the current search or filters.
• Improved: Redesigned admin notices as dismissible, colour-coded success, error, information, and warning banners used consistently across save confirmations, health warnings, and logs.
• Improved: Analytics Snapshot and per-link analytics now use stat tiles and collapsible panels for a more compact and scannable interface.
• Improved: The Log tab now displays entries in a searchable, paginated table containing time, context, outcome, and a plain-English note instead of a plain text block.
• Improved: Destination health checks now record whether a failure was caused by a dead destination, security-plugin block, or temporary network issue instead of collapsing every failure into one generic result.
• Improved: Link save, delete, and duplicate requests rejected by expired security tokens are now recorded in the Log tab instead of only displaying a temporary notice.
• Improved: Link validation and database errors are now recorded in the Log tab for easier diagnostics.
• Improved: Added a reference table to the Log tab explaining what each recorded category means and whether administrator action is required, including distinguishing routine stale security tokens from genuine problems.
• Improved: The Support tab is now four focused cards – a single-button PayPal donate card, a live usage-stats card, a "where a donation goes" summary, and a "get involved" panel for reviews and plugin links.
• Improved: Restyled the Kitgenix Hub using the same colours, typography, spacing, and design tokens as the Affiliate Link Manager settings screens.
• Improved: The Kitgenix Hub now honours the light/dark theme preference already selected within the plugin instead of relying only on the operating system's colour preference.
• Improved: Updated the Kitgenix Hub listing from "MultiStore Sync" to "MultiStore for WooCommerce".
• Improved: The Edit Link modal and other shared Kitgenix dialogs now trap Tab and Shift+Tab keyboard focus inside the active modal, matching their aria-modal="true" accessibility semantics.
• Performance: Analytics Snapshot data – including global 7-day and 30-day totals, the 14-day timeline, and top sources, placements, and referrers – is now cached in a short-lived transient instead of rerunning multiple aggregate database queries on every admin page load.
• Performance: Analytics Snapshot caches are invalidated immediately when a new click is recorded or a link's analytics are reset so displayed statistics remain current.
• Performance: REST and WP-CLI link listing, export, and import matching now cap the number of records loaded per call to reduce worst-case memory usage on very large affiliate-link libraries.
• Performance: The REST/WP-CLI record limit defaults to 5,000 links and can be customised using the kitgenix_affiliate_list_records_limit filter.
• Performance: The admin Links tab remains unaffected by the new API record cap because it already performs SQL-level pagination.
• Fix: The settings sidebar now sticks directly beneath the topbar using its actual measured height rather than a fixed offset, preventing overlap when the topbar wraps at narrower desktop widths.
• Fix: Number inputs, including the Links Per Page setting, are no longer cramped to a fixed 50px width.
• Fix: The "Add Link" and "Save Settings" buttons now have appropriate spacing from the preceding form fields.
• Fix: Shared admin asset cache-busting now falls back safely when a file modification time cannot be read instead of referencing an undefined constant.
• Fix: CSV/JSON import no longer triggers a fatal error when a manually edited CSV row contains more columns than the header row; excess columns are now safely truncated before processing.
• Fix: CSV imports through both the admin UI and WP-CLI no longer re-process the header row as an additional data row.
• Fix: Corrected CSV import summaries that could previously report an unnecessary failed record, such as "created 5, failed 1" for a valid five-row file.
• Fix: Collapsible-card chevron icons now rotate correctly when Import Links, Link Analytics, and other collapsible cards are opened or closed.
• Fix: The Log tab's "Clear log" action is now available to WooCommerce shop managers, matching other link-management actions, instead of requiring administrator-only manage_options.
• Fix: The Settings save handler now rejects only submissions that actually contain a stale or forged settings-form nonce rather than discarding unrelated programmatic option updates that do not contain that field.
• Fix: Uninstall cleanup now runs separately for every site in a WordPress Multisite network so settings, logs, health state, and plugin transients are not left behind on subsites.
• Security: CSV exports now neutralise spreadsheet formula and DDE injection by prefixing potentially executable values with an apostrophe when a Name, Group, Tag, or Note starts with =, +, -, @, a tab character, or carriage return.
• Security: CSV export hardening prevents link values saved by lower-privileged users, such as WooCommerce shop managers, from being interpreted as spreadsheet formulas when a higher-privileged administrator later opens an export in Excel, Google Sheets, or similar software.
• Compatibility: Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 7.1.
• Compatibility: The WordPress admin menu icon continues to use the existing add_menu_page() icon implementation because the new WordPress Icon Registration API is not consumed by that API.
• Compatibility: Verified the plugin produces no PHP warnings, notices, or deprecation messages on PHP 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, or 8.4 across activation, administration, redirects, REST API requests, WP-CLI commands, cron processing, and uninstall.
• Dev: Affiliate_Link_Post_Type::upsert_link() now handles explicit click counts consistently across the admin UI, REST API, WP-CLI, and CSV/JSON import paths.
• Dev: Removed duplicated click-count update logic from the import implementation by consolidating it into Affiliate_Link_Post_Type::upsert_link().
• Dev: Extracted shared modal open/close and keyboard focus-trap behaviour into kitgenix-admin-components.js for reuse by the Edit Link modal and other Kitgenix UI components.
• Dev: Added the kitgenix_affiliate_max_import_items filter for controlling the maximum number of rows processed by an individual import.
• Dev: Added the kitgenix_affiliate_list_records_limit filter for controlling maximum REST/WP-CLI link-record loads.
• Dev: Refreshed the Kitgenix logo, favicon, and WordPress.org listing assets, including plugin icons and banners, using the current brand asset set.
• Dev: Removed an unused CSS rule left over from the Log tab's previous plain-text layout.
• Documentation: Regenerated the plugin's .pot translation template, which had fallen several releases behind the current interface.
• Documentation: Expanded the readme Security & Privacy section to document the click-analytics data stored by the plugin.
• Documentation: Expanded the readme Uninstall section to document exactly which settings, logs, health-check data, analytics-related state, and transients are removed from each site under the applicable uninstall configuration.