sandywp / plugins / blogcard-for-wp

SU Blocks – Blogcard

5.0 out of 5 stars. 5.0 2 reviews

A WordPress plugin that makes it easy to create blog cards. Simply enter a URL and automatically fetch metadata to display beautiful cards.

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v2.4.0 100+ installs WP 6.4+ PHP 7.4+

your-sandbox.sandywp.com/wp-admin
SU Blocks – Blogcard running inside a SandyWP sandbox

What you get inside

1 screen
  • Instantly create beautiful blog cards.

About this plugin

WordPress’s standard URL embedding feature only works with WordPress sites.

This plugin was created to display any link destination as a stylish card with thumbnails.

Just paste the URL into the block editor. Blog cards are displayed in an instant.

New features from version 2.0.0 include the ability to create blog cards from site search.
This allows you to search for articles within your own site and convert them into blog cards.

Important Notice:
Starting from version 2.1.0, the block is rendered dynamically on the server side to improve stability.
Note: Manual edits made via “Edit as HTML” will be reset to the standard design.
If you see “Attempt Block Recovery” after updating, please click the button to recover the block.

External services

This plugin relies on the following third-party service.

Google Favicon Service (https://www.google.com/s2/favicons)

When a blog card has no favicon of its own, the card falls back to a favicon supplied by Google. The image is requested by the visitor’s browser while the page is being displayed, so the visitor’s IP address, user agent, and the domain name of the linked site are sent to Google.

This happens only on pages that contain a blog card whose favicon could not be determined when the card was created.

  • Terms of service: https://policies.google.com/terms
  • Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Separately, when you create or refresh a blog card, your server fetches the page at the URL you entered in order to read its title, description, thumbnail and favicon. That request is made by your site, not by your visitors, and it sends no information about them.

Key Features

  • Easy Operation: Simply enter a URL and press Enter to instantly generate a blog card
  • Universal Compatibility: Works with non-WordPress sites (note, Zenn, Qiita, GitHub, etc.)
  • Automatic Metadata Fetching: Automatically retrieves title, description, and thumbnail images
  • Customizable: Retrieved information can be edited later
  • SEO Friendly: Set rel attributes like nofollow, noreferrer, sponsored, ugc
  • Responsive Design: Beautiful display on mobile devices
  • Caching: Caches retrieved metadata for fast display
  • Site Search: Search and convert internal posts into blog cards
  • Dark Mode Support: Switches to a dark palette while the page has a data-theme=”dark” attribute
  • Advanced Management: Configure default link targets, cache duration, and manual favicon support

Usage

Basic Usage

  1. Click the ‘+’ button in the post/page editor
  2. Search for and select ‘Blog Card’
  3. Enter the destination URL in the URL input field
  4. Press Enter to automatically fetch metadata and generate a blog card

Advanced Settings

When the block is selected, the following settings appear in the right sidebar:

  • URL: Destination URL
  • TARGET Attribute: How to open the link (_blank, _self, etc.)
  • Rel Attributes: noopener, nofollow, noreferrer, sponsored, ugc
  • Thumbnail: Show/hide thumbnail image
  • Title: Manual title editing
  • Description: Manual description editing
  • Thumbnail Image: Manual thumbnail image setting

Support

For questions about the plugin or bug reports, please use the following methods:

  • GitHub Issues: [Plugin repository URL]
  • Email: [Support email address]

Developer Information

This plugin is developed using the following technologies:

  • WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg)
  • React
  • WordPress REST API
  • PHP 7.4 or higher

If you would like to customize or add features, please send a pull request to the GitHub repository.

License

This plugin is released under the GPLv2 or later license.

Acknowledgments

In developing this plugin, we referenced the following open source projects:

  • WordPress
  • React
  • Other open source libraries

Development

This plugin is actively maintained and developed. Contributions are welcome!

For development setup and contribution guidelines, please refer to the GitHub repository.

Questions

Can any site URL be converted to a blog card?

Yes, basically any site URL can be converted to a blog card. However, some sites may not allow metadata retrieval.

Can retrieved metadata be edited?

Yes, title, description, and thumbnail images can be edited later. Link attributes (target, rel, etc.) can also be changed freely.

How is caching managed?

Retrieved metadata is automatically cached and displayed quickly for the same URL. The cache can be cleared manually from the “Cache Management” section of the block settings sidebar, either for the selected card or for all blog cards. The cache lifetime is configured under Settings > SU Blogcard.

Does it display correctly on mobile?

Yes, it supports responsive design and displays beautifully on mobile devices.

Does it affect SEO?

By setting appropriate rel attributes (nofollow, etc.), you can create SEO-friendly links.

5.0

2 reviews

  • 5 ★ 2
  • 4 ★ 0
  • 3 ★ 0
  • 2 ★ 0
  • 1 ★ 0

Ratings come from WordPress.org. SandyWP does not collect its own reviews.

sandywp / also on the shelf

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