Visual Link Preview

Getting as much information as one can in the shortest possible timeframe is the ultimate goal – for users anyway. For website owners, this is a challenge that must be met. In the endless ocean of information, how does one not get lost? And how to make sure your website provides all the information required? The answer to this challenge and all the question lies in links.

This is the best way to pack as many information as possible without burdening the users or crushing them with the information they may not find interesting.

Add to this the fact that the users do not want to open a link not knowing where it leads to and we are in the field of visual links. This is where Visual Link Preview plugin comes in.

What is Visual Link Preview

As its name suggests, this is a plugin developed for introducing a visual preview for links within a post. The plugin is not one of its kind, but it stands out due to its simplicity, user-friendly approach and the fact that is 100% free.The plugin works in Block Editor (Gutenberg) and Classic Editor, which is an additional plus. The plugin provides one block. However, Visual Link Preview does not require any database lookups, thus no matter how many blocks on are placed a page, the performance remains unaffected.

Features

The plugin has the following features:

• Option to change the template style: On the Settings > Visual Link Preview page, the admin can enable the “Use Custom Styling” setting, thus enabling the change of the style of the visual link.
• Option to change the image size: Here the admin must put in either the name of a thumbnail size or a specific size in the format “width x height”. Should the need arise for the thumbnail to be cropped in a specific way, it is recommended to use the Simple Image Sizes plugin to create the desired thumbnail size
• Reusable Visual Links: The Gutenberg Block Editor enables creating reusable blocks. In order to use this feature, the admin clicks on the 3 dots and saves one as a reusable block. It is important to remember to name the file and save the changes. After, the block is available for adding to another post or page after clicking on the + icon.
• The plugin also enables custom coding the link template

How does it work

As mentioned before, the plugin works in both, the Gutenberg and Classic Editor. For adding a Visual Link in the Block Editor (Gutenberg), the admin should go by the following procedure:

For making a post or page, the admin clicks on the + icon and searches for the Visual Link Preview block and adds it. The admin then selects what the link is to – a post on own website (selected from a dropdown menu), or any other website (paste the link and click on the button). The plugin will then try to retrieve an image, title, and summary from the selected post or link. After it is finished, the plugin will offer the link preview and the admin can make changes in the sidebar to the right.The retrieved image, title, summary, and template can all be modified by preference. In case a wrong link has been pasted, the admin can click on “Change Link” and the plugin will take them back to the previous step.

For adding a Visual Link in the Classic Editor, follow this procedure:

While the admin is editing a post, they can click on the Visual Link Preview icon in the visual editor. Then they fill in the modal that shows up and click on the insert button to add it to the post. After this, the visual link can be edited simply by clicking on it.

Costs, caveats, etc.

This is a fantastic plugin for creating many attention-grabbing links on the website. The whole process of creating a link takes less than 5 minutes, and the more the plugin is used the more essential it will become in any website. It comes with an excellent support team, and since the plugin is still under development, the developers appreciate any suggestions that may come from the users. The plugin is free, and so far it has received high ratings – so why not give it a go?