Inserting Links into Your Content

LinkCentral lets you insert custom links into WordPress in three ways. Each works across editors and page builders, but differs slightly in how it behaves.

---

A. Synchronized Links

What is it? Synchronized links are designed to automatically update across your site whenever you make changes to the link’s attributes or slug in the LinkCentral dashboard.

How does it work? When you insert a synchronized link, LinkCentral adds a special identifier to it (#linkcentral-sync-to-{id}). On the front end, the plugin detects this identifier and replaces the link with the latest settings from your dashboard.

When to use? This feature is beneficial for users who frequently update their links and want to ensure that all instances of the link remain the same.

⚠️ Each WordPress theme and plugin behaves differently. Some might not allow LinkCentral to search and replace links. Use another insertion type if that happens.

B. Direct Links

What is it? Direct links are standard URLs inserted into your content, just like any regular WordPress link. They do not contain special identifiers or shortcodes. At the moment you insert them, LinkCentral applies the latest settings such as slug and attributes.

How does it work? When you insert a direct link, LinkCentral retrieves the current slug and attributes once and places them directly into your content as a normal HTML link. After that, it behaves exactly like any other link on your site.

When to use? Direct links are ideal when compatibility is your top priority. Because they are standard links, they work reliably with all themes, plugins, and page builders. The link will not update automatically if you change it in the LinkCentral dashboard, so any changes must be made manually.

Of course, you can manually paste a custom short URL into your content, but in that case LinkCentral won’t update it with the latest settings upon insertion.

C. Shortcodes

What is it? Shortcodes use WordPress’s shortcode API to insert links into your content. This method works similarly to Synchronized Links, but uses WordPress shortcodes instead.

How does it work? LinkCentral generates and inserts a shortcode into your content. This is processed by WordPress on the front-end to dynamically render the link with the latest settings.

When to use? Shortcode links are particularly useful for users who want to leverage WordPress’s shortcode API to manage links. They work in a similar way as Synchronized Links, but some users might prefer the Shortcode format.

Read more about Shortcodes

---