Referrer Detector

I try my best to keep this page as up-to-date as possible, but sometimes it's not (like, when I finish a new version at 2:am and get too tired to update this accordingly). So it is recommended that you check RD WordPress Codex page too, just to be on the edge.

Referrer Detector is a plugin that displays a greetings to users who come from various internet sources (known as referrers). For example, you may want to welcome Diggers with a message that reminds them to digg your story, or you may want to ask Del.icio.us users to bookmark your post, and so on.

Not only about a cool greeting box, it greatly helps to more efficiently interacts with your readers and build a better relationship between you (your website) and them.

This plugin was inspired by Thaya Kareeson ‘s WP Greet Box plugin, a great plugin with the same purpose.

Installation:

Download the plugin
Extract into a folder
Upload the entire to wp-content/plugins/ directory of your WordPress installation
Enable it via Plugins panel
It should now work out of the box. If you want to tweak a bit, head to Settings->Referrer Detector

Features

A pure AJAXed admin interface with elements tidily divided into tabs. Entries can be added/modified/(de)activated/deleted without the need to reload the entire page, or even with just one click. Starting from 3.2, there are even bulk actions!
The greet box position can be set to before, after, or (starting from 3.2) both before and after the post. A custom tag can also be used in case you don’t want to show greetings on every post.
Users can also put a tag (<?php if (function_exists('referrer_detector')) referrer_detector(); ?>) into the template to show the greet box anywhere of choice.
Excluded URLs can be specified in order to hide the greet box from specific users (like ones from Google Reader).
A * wildcard character can be used in both referrers and excluded URLs. For example: google.* will apply for all localized Google domains.
Multiple URLs can be merged into one entry, seperated by commas. For example: del.icio.us,delicious.com.
Ability to include WordPress attributes like url, title, author, category etc. into the greetings.
A STAT panel to get data reporting about the visitor statistic.
Many installed-by-default entries (which can be restored anytime with one click). Upon installing, you will have these entries available:
1. 9 rules
2. Del.icio.us and Delicious.com
3. Digg
4. Gizmodo
5. Google Search
6. Lifehacker
7. Live Search
8. Reddit
9. StumbleUpon
10. TechCrunch
11. Technograti
12. TechRadar
13. Twitter
14. Yahoo Search
Compatible with caching plugins, since the core is written and run in JavaScript which is normally not cached.
[NEW in 4.0] Automatically detect user’s country and display the localized greetings (if any).
[NEW in 4.0] Ability to backup and restore entries, excluded URLs, and options, very convenient for transferring between sites.
Optimized OOP code allows extreme readability and easy modifications for other plugin developers.

For FAQ, screenshots, and other notes, please head to WordPress Codex.

We provide excellent training for all kind of certifications including ccnp, microsoft mcts and ccie.

« Previous Post

Sam Vimes
7 Feb, 2010
Thanks for your fast answer. I’m sorry but i don’t know how to make sure my theme is calling wp_head() .As far as i see, it shouldn’t conflict with any plugin.
phoenix.heart
7 Feb, 2010
The function is often located inside your theme’s header.php.
Also, have you tried saving the options?
Sam Vimes
7 Feb, 2010
The wp_head() thing fixed it. It works now! Thanks so much for your plugin and your really fast support!
phoenix.heart
7 Feb, 2010
Glad it works for you Sam
ed
14 Mar, 2010
so…. where exactly can I find this plug-in? don’t see a download button anywhere and RD wordpress codex page does not show one either
phoenix.heart
14 Mar, 2010
@ed: The Download button on WordPress Codex is so big I’m surprised you can’t see it
Utku Demir
20 Mar, 2010
Hi.
This is is what I need for showing my translated page for non-Turkish users. But when I try to add entry, I enter the information but when I click “Add this”, it says “Nothing changed.”. How can I fix this?
Sorry for my bad English.
phoenix.heart
20 Mar, 2010
Hi Utku, which steps did you exactly follow?
Utku Demir
20 Mar, 2010
There is exactly what I do:
Entered the Options page.
Clicked Add Entry button.
Clicked “Add” under “Localized Messages” section.
Entered the details like in screenshot.
I clicked the “Add This!”.
Popped a message box saying “Nothing Changed.”
There is a screenshot:
birseyler.org/ss.png
I tried in Firefox too.
Thanks .
phoenix.heart
20 Mar, 2010
I noticed that you didn’t specify a URL?
Utku Demir
21 Mar, 2010
Because I want the plugin to show the message only for the visitors coming from abroad, not coming from some referrer.
Isn’t that possible?
phoenix.heart
21 Mar, 2010
No it’s not It’s totally not the plugin’s purpose neither. Sorry for that
Utku Demir
21 Mar, 2010
Thanks for your replies .
That’s the fastest support I’ve ever saw .
Thank you again .
phoenix.heart
21 Mar, 2010
You’re welcome Utku. And sorry I couldn’t help.
Vern
21 Mar, 2010
Why is some part of the plugin generating Base-64 encoded strings? Also, as part of script that is loaded, what is the URL “wp.me/blahblah”?
When I first saw these items as part of the code generated by the plugin, I almost uninstalled it thinking a page on my site had been compromised. Then I realized it was the Referrer Detector plugin so I decoded the Base-64 strings and saw they appeared harmless (necessary to the plugin). But still, this is a bit disconcerting to have encoded strings that have not been referenced or explained elsewhere.
Please explain what this all means. Thank you.
phoenix.heart
21 Mar, 2010
Hi Vern, base64 encoding widely is used to for storing and transferring data. Using base64 I don’t have to worry about special characters that may break my plugin’s functionality.
For wp.met/blahblah I’ve no idea. RD is born before wp.me I believe.
I don’t see a need to explain how I encode the data in the plugin I write to serve YOUR needs. I may add a note in the EULA though, which specifies “as-is”, but I believe it’s already included in WP and WP plugin license.
Vern
22 Mar, 2010
Thank you for your response.
An explanation wouldn’t necessarily just serve MY needs. Many times a plugin author, developer, programmer will explain what is going on to head off questions, avoid springing surprises, etc., oftentimes in the ReadMe file. In this day of drive-bys and hidden links, it is wise to question what appears to be out of the ordinary.
As for the wp.me/blahblah, the line is within the Referrer Detector script’s generated code. Coupled with the unexpected encoded code, it was just another cause for concern. I know that WP.com now automatically provides a short url, but I am using RD on a self-hosted blog and the link did not lead to any page (it just kept timing out).
I do not intend to be annoying, just asking for clarification from the source, which is reasonable, I think.
phoenix.heart
22 Mar, 2010
Hi Vern,
I have nothing against the fact that I – as the plugin author – should be fair enough to clarify specific questions. I have plenty of questions here (including yours) that could prove that. What I felt towards your comment was, seems like I have to write the plugin in a way that you’d be pleased, and your concern about security with Base64 is rather just showing-off. Maybe I was just sensitive, if so please accept my apologize.
As for the wp.me bit, it’s not included in the RD source code. If it’s there in the generated scripts, check if it’s in the configuration/entries you made.
Vern
23 Mar, 2010
Yes, I can see you take time to answer the questions posed to you and solve technical issues users might have. Apology accepted. I, too, apologize if I offended you. I didn’t mean to. Neither did I mean to imply that you should write your plugin in a way to please me.
Just like every other blogger who is also a tech, I dig around under the hood and try to keep my sites safe for visitors and clients. Knowledge is power, and though I am not a programmer, I am a power user and technician. Since I write about tech stuff, knowing something about Base64 is not “showing off” – it is one more piece of knowledge that helps me do what I do.
Thank you for taking a bit of time to respond to my concerns. If you agree, we can consider the matter closed.
Scott
22 Apr, 2010
The value for ‘If available, maximum how many related posts to show?’ continues to revert back to the defualt of ’5′, when I try setting this as ’0′.
B
29 May, 2010
Love the plugin (especially since I was getting fatal errors when I first tried WP Greet Box).
In the settings, I changed “Automatically display welcome message on every page?” to No but when I visit my pages, I get a large whitespace below headline. When I check the source, there is an empty placeholder span (<pre><p><span class=”rdetector_placeholder_before”></span><br /></pre> ) that is causing the gap. Is there a way to prevent this?
phoenix.heart
29 May, 2010
Hi B, not sure why it should be there but you may try the following:
- By CSS: set the first <pre>’s display to none.
- By JavaScript: Use jQuery’s to remove that <pre>. Something like this: jQuery(“span.rdetector_placeholder_before”).parents(“pre”).hide();
Jorge
26 Jun, 2010
Is it possible do disable loading jQuery from the plugin? I already load it as part of my theme and it seems to be creating some problems.
phoenix.heart
26 Jun, 2010
@Jorge: For now you can edit the file. It’s lame, so I’ll for sure improve it in the next version.
Jorge
27 Jun, 2010
Thanks, I’ve done that. A checkbox in the configuration wil do just fine
Hiding
2 Jul, 2010
Hello I was wondering if it is possible to remove the default orange RRS feed logo from the left side of the greeting message.
Thanks.
Hiding
2 Jul, 2010
Another question of mine if you know whether those greeting mesages get indexed by google.com if the greeting message is displaying when referer is google?
In other words: is the welcome message that is set for visitors coming from google displayed when google-bot is detected, (inthese cases the referer is supposed to be alse *.google.com, if I am not mistaken)
phoenix.heart
2 Jul, 2010
Hi Hiding, last time I checked, Google bot doesn’t execute JavaScript so there will be no message box shown to a bot.
phoenix.heart
2 Jul, 2010
No as of now Hiding, but hopefully in the next version. You may edit the code for the current needs.
Cheshmehregi
26 Jul, 2010
Hello
Does this pluging tell the reader what word did they searched in order to come to that specific web page?
something like this :
You were searching for ….
please let me know if this option is available
thanks
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