Nikk.Agency Related Flow

Beskrivelse

Nikk.Agency Related Flow is a lightweight related-content plugin for blogs, magazines, and news websites where relevance, freshness, and multilingual content matter.

It finds related posts using shared WordPress tags while strictly respecting a configurable freshness window.

You can automatically place related recommendations in up to four configurable positions inside an article and add a separate related-post list after the content.

Nikk.Agency Related Flow also provides centralized tag-matching rules.

Ignored tags never participate in matching.

Priority tags take precedence over ordinary tags. If the current post contains one or more configured priority tags, the plugin first searches using only those priority tags. One matching priority tag is enough, while candidates sharing more priority tags rank higher.

If no fresh related post is found during the priority-tag pass, the plugin automatically falls back to the post’s other non-ignored tags and applies the normal minimum-shared-tags setting.

With Polylang, related posts remain in the language of the current post. Ignored and priority rules automatically apply to translated versions of configured tags.

Each recommendation can display its publication date and time together with the exact clickable tags that caused the match.

A dedicated CSS / Styles settings tab lets administrators customize backgrounds, colors, fonts, font sizes, weights, spacing, separators, radius, metadata, matched tags, and other visual properties. The built-in Nikk.Agency styling values are provided as editable defaults.

Administrators can also enable “Use site/theme styles” to disable the plugin stylesheet completely and let the active WordPress theme control the appearance.

There are no thumbnails in the plugin output, sliders, JavaScript, AJAX requests, external APIs, tracking calls, or remote services.

Built for real multilingual publishing

Nikk.Agency Related Flow was originally developed for the multilingual publishing environment operated by Nikk.Agency.

The plugin is used in real production workflows and is continuously refined for the NAnews media project, where related-content logic has to work reliably across multiple language versions.

This real-world use case is one of the main reasons the plugin focuses on strict freshness limits, language-aware matching, configurable priority and ignored tags, and predictable internal linking for multilingual news and content websites.

Developed by Nikk.Agency

Nikk.Agency Related Flow is developed and maintained by Nikk.Agency, a digital marketing and SEO agency based in Haifa, Israel.

Nikk.Agency works with SEO promotion, lead generation, Google Ads, Google Maps visibility, AEO, AI-assistant visibility, and internet marketing.

The agency also develops and maintains the NAnews media project, where Nikk.Agency Related Flow is actively refined for multilingual publishing and internal-linking workflows.

Features

  • Related posts based on shared WordPress tags.
  • Configurable freshness window from 1 to 365 days.
  • Strict freshness validation before related posts are displayed.
  • Admin-configured ignored tags that never participate in matching.
  • Admin-configured priority tags that take precedence over ordinary tags.
  • Automatic fallback to non-ignored ordinary tags when no fresh priority match exists.
  • One shared priority tag is sufficient; candidates matching more priority tags rank higher.
  • Polylang automatically applies ignored and priority rules to translated versions of selected tags.
  • Configurable minimum number of shared tags for normal matching.
  • Four optional inline placements by paragraph number.
  • Optional end-of-content related-post list.
  • Posts with more shared tags rank higher.
  • Newer posts break ties between equally relevant candidates.
  • No duplicate recommendations within the same post.
  • Strict Polylang language validation prevents recommendations from leaking across languages.
  • Publication date and time can be shown or hidden.
  • Shows the exact shared tags used to match each recommendation.
  • Matched tags are clickable and link to their WordPress tag archives.
  • Transient caching to reduce repeated database work.
  • Cache invalidation when posts or post tags change.
  • Lightweight CSS with logical properties for RTL support.
  • Dedicated CSS / Styles settings tab.
  • Editable background, text, accent and separator colors.
  • Editable font family, font sizes, font weights, spacing, radius and padding.
  • Separate styling controls for labels, headings, related-post titles, dates, matched tags and developer credit.
  • Nikk.Agency style values are pre-filled as editable defaults.
  • Optional “Use site/theme styles” mode disables the plugin stylesheet completely.
  • Polylang integration keeps recommendations in the current post language.
  • Editable front-end labels in the plugin settings.
  • Automatic built-in label translations for Polylang languages, with per-language manual overrides.
  • Polylang String Translations compatibility for the base labels.
  • Request-local marker rendering helps prevent later content filters from rewriting the plugin markup.
  • Developer filters for query arguments, selected post IDs, and rendered HTML.
  • Optional developer credit link in the end-of-content block.
  • Developer credit is disabled by default and appears only after explicit administrator opt-in.
  • No JavaScript or AJAX on the front end.
  • No external APIs, tracking, analytics, or remote assets.

Privacy

Nikk.Agency Related Flow does not collect, transmit, or track personal data.

The plugin does not contact external servers, use analytics or tracking services, or load remote assets.

Installasjon

  1. Upload the nikk-agency-related-flow folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install the ZIP from Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  2. Activate Nikk.Agency Related Flow.
  3. Go to Settings > Nikk.Agency Related Flow.
  4. Set the freshness window and up to four inline paragraph positions.
  5. Configure the optional end-of-content related-post list.
  6. Select ignored and priority tags if needed.
  7. Configure labels, publication metadata, and cache duration.
  8. Open the CSS / Styles tab to customize the built-in appearance or enable “Use site/theme styles”.
  9. Make sure your posts use WordPress tags. Posts without usable tags will not receive related recommendations.

Ofte stilte spørsmål

How are related posts selected?

The plugin first removes tags marked as ignored in Settings.

If the current post has one or more tags marked as priority, those priority tags are used for the first matching pass and the post’s other tags are temporarily ignored.

One shared priority tag is enough. Candidates sharing more priority tags rank higher.

If the priority pass finds no related posts inside the freshness window, the plugin automatically falls back to all other non-ignored tags on the current post and applies the normal minimum-shared-tags setting.

Candidates outside the configured freshness window are excluded. Publication time breaks ties between equally relevant candidates.

With Polylang, translated versions of selected ignored and priority tags automatically inherit the same rule.

What happens if there are not enough related posts?

The plugin shows the related posts that are available.

It does not extend the configured freshness window to include older content.

If priority-tag matching returns no fresh result, the plugin can fall back to the post’s ordinary non-ignored tags. It does not fall back to unrelated posts.

Does it work without Polylang?

Yes. Polylang is optional.

When Polylang is active, the plugin restricts related-post results to the language of the current post and also applies ignored and priority rules to translated versions of selected tags.

How many inline related-post positions can I use?

Up to four.

Each position can be assigned a paragraph number independently. Set a position to 0 to disable it.

Does the plugin use JavaScript or AJAX?

No.

Front-end related-post output is generated with PHP. The plugin can load one small local CSS file unless the site/theme styles option is enabled.

Can I customize or disable the built-in styles?

Yes.

Open Settings > Nikk.Agency Related Flow > CSS / Styles to customize backgrounds, colors, font family, font sizes, weights, spacing, separators, radius, matched tags, metadata, and other visual properties.

Enable “Use site/theme styles” to stop loading the plugin stylesheet completely and style the .fresh-related-posts classes from your theme.

Can visitors see why a post was considered related?

Yes.

The plugin can display the exact shared tags used to select each recommendation. Those tags are clickable and link to their normal WordPress tag archive pages.

Ignored tags are never displayed as matching tags.

Why are no related posts showing?

Check that:

  • the current post has usable WordPress tags;
  • other recent posts share enough of those tags;
  • the freshness window is not too short;
  • relevant tags have not been marked as ignored;
  • Polylang language restrictions are not excluding the candidates.

Does it modify REST API content or feeds?

No.

Automatic insertion is limited to the normal front-end single-post main loop.

Is the Nikk.Agency developer credit required?

No.

The public developer credit is disabled by default and appears only if a site administrator explicitly enables it in Settings > Nikk.Agency Related Flow.

It is not required for any plugin functionality.

Vurderinger

Det er ingen omtaler av denne utvidelsen.

Bidragsytere og utviklere

«Nikk.Agency Related Flow» er programvare med åpen kildekode. Følgende personer har bidratt til denne utvidelsen:

Bidragsytere

Endringslogg

1.0.14

  • Added a dedicated CSS / Styles settings tab.
  • Added editable controls for block background, text/accent/separator colors, radius, margins, padding, font family, labels, headings, related-post titles, dates, matched tags, list spacing, and developer credit.
  • Pre-filled all visual controls with the existing Nikk.Agency Related Flow design values.
  • Added a «Use site/theme styles» option that disables the plugin front-end stylesheet and custom style overrides.
  • Preserved existing non-style settings when saving only the CSS / Styles tab.

1.0.13

  • Fixed activation when migrating from the legacy Fresh Related Posts package by using a unique class name.
  • Automatically deactivates the legacy plugin during activation while preserving existing settings.

1.0.12

  • Renamed the plugin to Nikk.Agency Related Flow and updated its directory slug/text domain to nikk-agency-related-flow for WordPress.org review.
  • Updated plugin branding and author metadata to Nikk.Agency.

1.0.11

  • Updated the WordPress.org Tested up to header to WordPress 7.1 for current directory validation.

1.0.10

  • Added clickable matching tags after the publication date/time for inline and end-of-content recommendations.
  • Only the tags that actually caused the related-post match are shown; ignored tags are never displayed as match tags.
  • Priority-mode recommendations show matching priority tags; fallback recommendations show the matching non-ignored tags used by the fallback pass.

1.0.9

  • Added third and fourth configurable inline placements.
  • Inline placements are now processed in paragraph order and duplicate paragraph positions are ignored.

1.0.8

  • Replaced Ctrl/Command multi-select tag controls with clear checkbox lists in the plugin settings.
  • Added a dedicated “Save tag rules” button next to the ignored/priority tag controls.
  • Added priority fallback: if no related post matches the current post’s priority tags inside the freshness window, matching automatically retries with all non-ignored tags from the post.
  • Preserved automatic Polylang translation handling for ignored and priority tag groups.

1.0.7

  • Added admin-selectable ignored tags that are excluded from matching entirely.
  • Added admin-selectable priority tags. When a post contains priority tags, only those tags are used to find and rank related posts.
  • If multiple priority tags are present, one match is sufficient and candidates with more matching priority tags rank higher.
  • Polylang term translations automatically inherit ignored and priority tag rules.
  • Ignored tags always take precedence if a term is configured in both groups.

1.0.6

  • Added a strict post-query freshness check so posts older than the configured window can never be displayed, even if another plugin alters the query.
  • Added a strict Polylang language check after querying and before output so related posts can never leak across languages.
  • Re-validates cached and filtered related-post IDs against freshness and language rules.

1.0.5

  • Added required translator comments for placeholder-based admin strings.
  • Removed use of the post__not_in query parameter and now excludes the current post after fetching candidates.

1.0.4

  • Updated the plugin author name to NAnews – Nikk.Agency News.

1.0.3

  • Updated the Nikk.Agency website links to https://nikk.agency/.
  • Updated the WordPress.org contributor username to konsaltingu.

1.0.2

  • Added an optional Nikk.Agency developer credit in the end-of-content block.
  • The credit is disabled by default and requires explicit opt-in.
  • Added editable credit text before the Nikk.Agency link.
  • Added the initial Nikk.Agency author website link.

1.0.1

  • Added editable inline and end-of-content labels.
  • Added automatic built-in Polylang label translations with per-language overrides.
  • Added language-specific label controls to the settings page.

1.0.0

  • Initial public release.
  • Shared-tag matching with freshness limits.
  • Relevance ranking by shared tag count and publication time.
  • Two configurable inline placements and an end-of-content list.
  • Polylang-aware queries and labels.
  • Transient caching and automatic cache invalidation.
  • Optional date display and optional built-in CSS.
  • Late marker replacement to protect final related-post markup from common content filters.