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🔗 100% Free • No Premium Tier

Every WordPress link feature you need. Completely free.

By Jameson · Founder & Lead Developer · Updated July 2026

Royal Links is a free WordPress plugin that gives you branded short URLs, click analytics, geo-targeting, A/B split testing, QR codes, automatic keyword linking, and product-display shortcodes — every feature Pretty Links Pro, ThirstyAffiliates Pro, and BetterLinks Pro gate behind $79–$249/yr subscriptions.

Version 2.0.8 adds a full 404 redirects manager: auto-capture every 404 URL your site receives, then convert any of them into a 301, 302, or 307 redirect in one click — with exact, prefix, or regex matching. All in one plugin, from the same admin.

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Royal Links walkthrough
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Watch the walkthrough 4:36
Get on WordPress.org TRY IT LIVE

“Try it live” launches a real WordPress admin in your browser with 10 sample links pre-loaded — no signup, closes when you leave the tab.

22 Features included
3 Migration sources
$0 Forever, no upsells
Key Features

What Can You Do with Royal Links?

Affiliate link cloaking, branded URL shortening, click tracking, geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, automatic keyword linking, and 404 redirect management. The core WordPress link toolkit.

🌐

Geo-Targeting

Redirect visitors based on their country. Set rules per link to send US visitors to Amazon.com and UK visitors to Amazon.co.uk automatically.

⚖

A/B Split Testing

Test multiple destinations for any link and track which converts best. Set traffic splits and see real-time performance data.

▩

QR Code Generation

Generate downloadable QR codes for any short link. Perfect for print materials, business cards, and physical marketing.

🔗

Automatic Keyword Linking

Define keywords and Royal Links automatically converts them to links across your content. Set frequency limits and exclusion rules.

🛒

Product Displays

Beautiful product cards with images, prices, and call-to-action buttons. Embed anywhere with shortcodes or Gutenberg blocks.

🚫

404 Redirects NEW IN 2.0.8

Auto-capture every 404 URL your site is hit with, then convert any of them into a 301, 302, or 307 redirect in one click. Exact, prefix (with tail carryover), and regex match modes. CSV import/export included.

Every Feature

22 features. Zero paywalls.

Link cloaking, URL shortening, click analytics, geo-targeting, split testing, device redirects, time-based redirects, QR generation, auto-linking, product cards, broken-link scanning, and 404 monitoring, grouped by workflow.

Link Management

  • Branded short URLs on your own domain
  • 301, 302, & 307 redirect types per link
  • Categories & tags (taxonomies)
  • Nofollow / Sponsored / UGC attributes
  • Password-protected links
  • Link scheduling (start & end dates)
  • Affiliate disclosure shortcode

Click Tracking & Analytics

  • Browser, device, OS, referrer, country
  • Dashboard widget with period-over-period comparison
  • QR scan tracking (separate from web clicks)
  • UTM parameter builder

Advanced Redirects

  • Geo-targeting by visitor country
  • Device-based redirects (desktop / mobile / tablet)
  • Time-based redirects (auto-swap on schedule)
  • A/B split testing with traffic weights

Content & Display

  • QR code generator (PNG download)
  • Product display boxes (image, price, CTA)
  • Automatic keyword linking with frequency limits
  • Gutenberg block + Classic editor support

Site Health

  • Broken link checker (auto-monitors destinations)
  • Link health dashboard with status at a glance
  • 404 redirect manager with auto-captured monitor log
  • One-click "Create Redirect" from any logged 404 hit
  • UTM parameter builder for campaign-tagged URLs

Migration Wizard

  • Pretty Links — full import (groups + clicks)
  • ThirstyAffiliates — full import (categories + click data)
  • BetterLinks — full import (analytics)
Screenshots

What Does Royal Links Look Like?

Link editor, click analytics with 30-day charts, geo-targeting country picker, A/B test setup, QR code generator, and the WordPress dashboard widget with period-over-period stats.

Royal Links dashboard listing all short URLs with click counts, per-link status, and quick-edit actions

Link Dashboard

Manage every short URL from one screen. Sort by clicks, status, or category. Bulk edit and quick-actions built in.

Royal Links click analytics with 30-day chart, top referrers, browser breakdown, and device split

Click Analytics

Five dimensions per click — country, device, OS, browser, referrer — plus period-over-period comparison. No external service required.

Royal Links geo-targeting configuration with searchable country multi-select and per-country destination URLs

Geo-Targeting

Country-based redirects with searchable multi-select. Send US traffic to Amazon.com, UK to Amazon.co.uk, everyone else to a fallback URL.

Royal Links A/B split-test setup showing variant traffic weights and per-variant conversion counts

A/B Split Testing

Test multiple destination URLs with custom traffic weights. Track conversions per variant so you know which offer actually converts.

Royal Links QR code generator with PNG download button and separate scan-tracking counter

QR Codes

Generate a downloadable QR code for any short link. Scans are tracked separately from web clicks so print campaigns get their own numbers.

Royal Links global settings page with link prefix, redirect type, click tracking, disclosure, and 404 redirects toggles

Settings

Every option in one place: link prefix, default redirect type, click tracking, FTC disclosure, and the new 404 redirects toggle.

Royal Links WordPress dashboard widget with 30-day click totals, top-performing links, and broken-link warning count

WP Dashboard Widget

30-day clicks, top performers, and broken-link alerts on every wp-admin load. Period-over-period comparison against the previous 30 days baked in.

Click Analytics

Every click, explained

Five dimensions per click, period-over-period comparisons, and QR scan tracking pulled out separately. No external analytics service required.

🌐

Country

Geo-located via ip-api.com (only when geo-targeting is configured). Surface-level country code — no IPs stored unless you opt in.

📱

Device type

Desktop, mobile, or tablet. Useful for spotting which channel a campaign actually lands in.

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Operating system

Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux. Essential for app-install campaigns and OS-specific landing pages.

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Browser

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Brave, in-app browsers. Catch broken redirects on niche browsers fast.

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Referrer

Where the click came from — social platforms, search engines, your own posts, or direct. UTM params are parsed and grouped automatically.

▩

QR scans (separate)

Every QR code scan is logged separately from web clicks, so you can measure print campaigns independently.

Period-over-period built in. The dashboard widget compares this week vs last week, this month vs last month, this quarter vs last quarter — no spreadsheet exports needed. Drill into any single link to see hourly traffic patterns and which referrer is sending the most converters.

New in 2.0.8

Turn every 404 into a redirect

A built-in 404 monitor captures every dead URL visitors and bots hit on your site. Convert any of them into a permanent, temporary, or method-preserving redirect — without opening a config file, editing .htaccess, or installing a second plugin.

🔔

Auto-capture 404 hits

Every genuine 404 on your site is logged automatically — deduped by path, so a URL hit 500 times is one row with a hit count. Includes last-hit time, referer, and user agent. Log is capped at 500 rows with resolved entries pruned first, so scanner noise never crowds out real broken-link signal.

⚡

One-click redirect

Every unresolved 404 log entry has a “Create Redirect” button that pre-fills the rule form with the captured path. Pick a target URL, choose 301 / 302 / 307, save. The entry flips to “resolved” on the next hit — visible feedback that your fix landed.

🎯

Match how you want

Three match modes: exact URL, prefix with automatic tail carryover (/old-blog/* → /blog/* preserves the trailing segment), and full regex. Query strings preserved on the target by default. Bulk-import from CSV or export to CSV for backup.

Replaces a dedicated redirect plugin. If you've been running Redirection, Simple 301 Redirects, or 301 Redirects alongside a link-management plugin, Royal Links 2.0.8 collapses both into one install. Same 404-log workflow, same match modes, plus everything Royal Links already ships (analytics, geo-targeting, A/B tests, QR codes, migration).

Side by Side

Royal Links vs the paid plugins

Feature-by-feature against Pretty Links Pro, ThirstyAffiliates Pro, and BetterLinks Pro on cloaking, click tracking, geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, migration, broken-link checking, and 404 redirects.

Feature Royal Links Pretty Links Pro ThirstyAffiliates Pro BetterLinks Pro
Branded short URLs ✓ Free ✓ ✓ ✓
Click analytics & charts ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier Pro tier
Geo-targeting ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
A/B split testing ✓ Free Pro tier — Pro tier
QR code generator ✓ Free — — —
Auto-linking keywords ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
Product display boxes ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
UTM campaign builder ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier Pro tier
Device-based redirects ✓ Free — — Pro tier
Time-based redirects ✓ Free — — —
Broken link checker ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
404 monitor + redirect manager ✓ Free — — —
One-click migration from these plugins ✓ Built in — — —
Yearly cost $0 forever ~$99–$249/yr ~$79–$149/yr ~$79–$149/yr

Pricing accurate as of July 2026. Tier names and exact pricing change — check vendor sites for current details. “Pro tier” means the feature exists but is gated behind a paid upgrade.

📥

Already on Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, or BetterLinks?

Royal Links includes a one-click migration wizard that imports your links, categories, and click history with zero downtime. Old short URLs keep working. Most users finish in under two minutes.

Get on WordPress.org →

Why free

Why we made every feature free.

Royal Links used to have a Pro tier. In 2026 we retired it and merged every premium feature — geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, product displays, auto-linking, split testing — into the free wp.org version. Not because they didn't sell, but because we didn't like the pattern.

Every other affiliate-link plugin on wp.org charges $79–$249/yr for the same features. That works, sort of. What it also does is make the free tier feel like a gate rather than a product — you install Pretty Links, discover the geo-targeting is Pro-only, uninstall, and go looking for something else. That's a lot of churn for a category that should just work.

So we flipped the model. Royal Plugins pays its bills through plugins where the work is genuinely enterprise-grade: GuardPress for WordPress security, ForgeCache for page caching and Cloudflare APO, SEObolt Pro for SEO auditing and keyword rank tracking. Link management and 404 redirects should just work. So they do.

Use Cases

Who Is Royal Links For?

Affiliate marketers cloaking commission URLs, content creators sharing branded short links, and marketing teams running geo-targeted campaigns and 404-recovery workflows.

Affiliate Marketers

  • Cloak affiliate links with branded short URLs
  • Track commissions with detailed click analytics
  • Auto-link keywords across all your content
  • A/B test landing pages to maximize conversions

Content Creators

  • Branded short URLs for social sharing
  • QR codes for print materials and business cards
  • Click analytics to see what resonates
  • Product displays for monetization

Marketing Teams

  • UTM campaign tracking built into every link
  • Geo-targeting for regional campaigns
  • Device-based redirects for app installs
  • Product displays for promotions
Embeds

Drop-in shortcodes

Three shortcodes cover product cards, QR codes, and FTC disclosure. Or insert any of them as a Gutenberg block — no code needed.

Product card

Eye-catching product box with image, price, and call-to-action button. Pulls everything from the link — or override per-shortcode.

[royal_link_product id="42"
  title="WP Engine Hosting"
  price="$25/mo"
  button_text="Try free for 60 days"
  style="card"]

Styles: card, inline, banner.

QR code

Generate a downloadable QR code for any link. Scans count separately from web clicks so you can measure print campaigns on their own.

[royal_link_qr id="42" size="240"]

Pair with a [royal_link_product] in flyers and packaging copy.

FTC disclosure

FTC-compliant disclosure block. Drop it into any post that contains affiliate links — or set the master toggle and let Royal Links inject it sitewide.

[royal_links_disclosure
  text="This post contains affiliate links."
  style="box"]

Styles: box, inline, subtle.

Or skip the shortcodes entirely. Every shortcode has a matching Gutenberg block in the editor's block inserter — search “Royal Links” and pick the one you want. Auto-linking keywords runs as a setting; you don't insert anything in the post body, just define the keyword and the destination once and Royal Links handles every match across your content.

Resources

Learn, link, grow

Setup guides, migration walkthroughs from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and BetterLinks, comparison articles, and the wp.org support forum.

📚

From the blog

📝

Documentation

💬

Get help

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Royal Links really free?
Yes. Every feature ships in the wp.org release — geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays, migration wizard, 404 redirect manager, and more. Royal Plugins earns revenue from other premium plugins in the suite; Royal Links itself has no paid tier.
Can I import from Pretty Links or ThirstyAffiliates?
Yes. Royal Links includes a one-click migration wizard that imports all your links, categories, and settings from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and BetterLinks. Just go to Royal Links → Migration, select your source plugin, and click Import.
How does geo-targeting work?
Royal Links uses ip-api.com to detect the visitor's country, then redirects them based on rules you set per link. For example, you can send US visitors to Amazon.com and UK visitors to Amazon.co.uk. You can set multiple country rules per link with a searchable multi-select interface.
Can Royal Links replace a dedicated 404 redirect plugin like Redirection?
Yes. Version 2.0.8 ships a full 404 redirects manager under Royal Links → Redirects. It auto-captures every 404 URL your site receives (deduped by path so a single URL hit 500 times shows as one row), lets you convert any entry into a 301, 302, or 307 redirect in one click, supports exact / prefix-with-tail-carryover / regex matching, and includes CSV import/export for bulk rule management.
What match modes are supported for 404 redirects?
Three: exact URL match, prefix match with automatic tail carryover (so /old-blog/* → /blog/* preserves the trailing path segment), and full regex for complex rewrites. Every rule can be set to a 301 permanent, 302 temporary, or 307 method-preserving redirect, and query strings are preserved on the target by default.
Is there a limit on links?
No. There are no limits on the number of links, clicks, redirects, QR codes, A/B tests, or any other feature. Everything is unlimited, forever.
Will there be a paid version later?
No. The Pro tier was retired in 2026 and every feature was merged into the wp.org release. Royal Plugins earns revenue from other premium plugins like GuardPress (WordPress security), SEObolt Pro (SEO + rank tracking), and ForgeCache (page caching + Cloudflare APO). Royal Links stays free.
How does Royal Links compare to Pretty Links Pro?
Royal Links includes every feature that Pretty Links Pro charges $99–$249/yr for — geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays — completely free, plus 404 redirects which Pretty Links doesn't ship at all. You also get a one-click migration wizard to import all your existing Pretty Links data with zero downtime. Read the full Royal Links vs Pretty Links comparison →
Will Royal Links slow down my site?
No. Redirects are handled with a single indexed database lookup, then a standard HTTP redirect — the visitor's browser never loads any Royal Links code on the destination. The admin scripts only load on Royal Links admin pages, not the rest of WP-Admin or your frontend. The frontend impact for visitors who don't click a Royal Link is effectively zero.
Does it work with caching plugins and Cloudflare?
Yes. Royal Links short URLs are excluded from page caching automatically (caches don't store redirects anyway), so your cache plugin and Cloudflare won't break clicks or skew analytics. If you use full-page caching from Cloudflare APO or LiteSpeed Cache, click counts are still recorded server-side because the redirect path bypasses the cache.
Will my old Pretty Links / ThirstyAffiliates URLs keep working after I migrate?
Yes. The migration wizard preserves the original slugs, so yoursite.com/go/product keeps redirecting to the same destination. No 404s, no broken backlinks, no need to update existing posts or social-media bios. Click history is imported alongside the links so your historical analytics stay intact.
Can I use a custom short-link domain?
Royal Links uses your existing WordPress domain by default (e.g. yoursite.com/go/product). If you want a separate dedicated short domain like yoursi.te/p, you can point it at the same WordPress install and configure the redirect prefix in Royal Links settings — no second WordPress site or paid add-on required.
What happens to my data if I uninstall the plugin?
Deactivating the plugin leaves all your links and click history in place — you can reactivate at any time and resume where you left off. Deleting the plugin removes the database tables and options only if you've enabled the “Remove all data on uninstall” setting (off by default). You can export everything to CSV before uninstalling if you want a backup.
Can I export my links and click data?
Yes. CSV export is built in for links (with all metadata), click logs (with browser, device, OS, country, referrer columns), and 404 redirect rules. No row caps. Useful for backups, BI pipelines, or migrating to another plugin if you ever want to.

Start Managing Links Like a Pro. For Free.

Download Royal Links from the WordPress Plugin Directory. Ships with the full 22-feature toolkit: link cloaking, click analytics, geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays, migration wizard, and 404 redirect manager.

DOWNLOAD FROM WORDPRESS.ORG TRY IT LIVE

Royal Links

Version 2.0.9
✓ PASSED
Scan Date July 20, 2026
Files Scanned 28
Lines of Code 10,878
Scan Engines Regex, PHPCS
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