=== Very Simple Meta Description === Contributors: Guido07111975 Version: 6.3 License: GNU General Public License v3 License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html Requires PHP: 5.6 Requires at least: 4.7 Tested up to: 5.8 Stable tag: trunk Tags: simple, meta description, seo, google, bing, meta This is a lightweight plugin to add a meta description to your WordPress website. == Description == = About = This is a lightweight plugin to add a meta description to your WordPress website. Search engines such as Google and Bing use the meta description when listing search results. You can use the post and page "Excerpt" and the post category and tag "Description" as meta description. This plugin also supports the products and product categories and tags of WooCommerce. = How to use = After installation go to Settings > Meta Description and set your meta description. The meta description should reflect the content of your post or page. The recommended length is roughly between 120 and 160 characters. = Post and page excerpt = An excerpt is a summary of your post or page content. The excerpt is already available for posts and this plugin will activate it for pages as well. While adding a post or page you can set an excerpt by using the "Excerpt" box. The "Excerpt" can be used as meta description for that post or page. = Static page as homepage = If you have set a static page as homepage, and you have activated the excerpt feature, the excerpt of that page will override the meta description from settingspage. So only if this page has no excerpt, the meta description from settingspage will be used. = Post category and tag description = While adding a category or tag you can set a description by using the "Description" box. The "Description" can be used as meta description for that category or tag page. = WooCommerce = This plugin also supports the products and product categories and tags of WooCommerce. While adding a WooCommerce product you can set an excerpt by using the "Product short description" box. The "Product short description" can be used as meta description for that product. While adding a category or tag you can set a description by using the "Description" box. The "Description" can be used as meta description for that category or tag page. = Uninstall = If you uninstall plugin via dashboard all settings will be removed from database. You can avoid this via Settings > Meta Description. = Question? = Please take a look at the FAQ section. = Translation = Not included but plugin supports WordPress language packs. More [translations](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/very-simple-meta-description) are very welcome! = Credits = Without the WordPress codex and help from the WordPress community I was not able to develop this plugin, so: thank you! Enjoy! == Installation == Please check Description section for installation info. == Frequently Asked Questions == = How do I set plugin language? = Plugin will use the website language, set in Settings > General. If plugin isn't translated into this language, language fallback will be English. = Why a recommended meta description length? = Because Google and Bing recommend a length roughly between 120 and 160 characters. This way your meta description will be listed properly in all commonly used devices. = Why does Google or Bing ignore my meta description? = After adding a meta description it can take up to a week before Google or Bing have indexed your site again. But they can also decide not to use it, when your meta description does not match their requirements. = Why no excerpt box in the editor? = When using the block editor, click the options icon and select "Preferences". When using the classic editor, click the "Screen Options" tab. Probably the checkbox to display the relevant box in the editor is not checked. = Why no product section on settingspage? = This section is only available if WooCommerce is installed and active. = Where are the Open Graph and Twitter Cards settings? = I have removed both features in version 4.1 of this plugin. = Can I use this plugin with other SEO plugins? = If you have an active plugin (or theme) that also contains a meta description feature, don't activate or use this feature. = Why no Semantic versioning? = At time of initial plugin release I wasn't aware of the Semantic versioning (sequence of three digits). This means that version number doesn't give you info about the type of update (major, minor, patch). You should check changelog for that. = How can I make a donation? = You like my plugin and you're willing to make a donation? Nice! There's a PayPal donate link at my website. = Other question or comment? = Please open a topic in plugin forum. == Changelog == = Version 6.3 = * Minor changes in code = Version 6.2 = * Some textual changes = Version 6.1 = * New: plugin now also supports tags * Fix: conditional logic * Fix: added extra check for WooCommerce = Version 6.0 = * Previous version crashes website without WooCommerce * Fix: added extra check for WooCommerce = Version 5.9 = * Fix: meta description of the WooCommerce shop page = Version 5.8 = * New: setting to avoid settings being removed upon uninstall * Updated file uninstall = Version 5.7 = * New: the description of the post or product category can be used as meta description for that category page = Version 5.6 = * Added file vsmd-options * Relocated code of the settingspage to this file * Minor changes in code = Version 5.5 = * Fix: character counter = Version 5.4 = * Updated the character counter * Minor changes in code For all versions please check file changelog. == Screenshots == 1. Very Simple Meta Description (dashboard). 2. Very Simple Meta Description (dashboard). 3. Very Simple Meta Description (dashboard). 4. Very Simple Meta Description (page excerpt classic editor). 5. Very Simple Meta Description (page excerpt block editor). 6. Very Simple Meta Description (category description). 7. Very Simple Meta Description (WooCommerce product excerpt).