=== The SEO Framework ===
Contributors: Cybr
Donate link: https://theseoframework.com/donate/
Tags: SEO, XML Sitemap, Google, Open Graph, Schema.org, Twitter
Requires at least: 4.6.0
Tested up to: 5.2
Requires PHP: 5.4.0
Stable tag: 3.2.4
License: GPLv3
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html

The SEO Framework plugin provides an automated and advanced SEO solution for your WordPress website.

== Description ==

**The complete SEO solution for your WordPress website.**

The SEO Framework is a reliable, accessible, unbranded, fully automated, and rigorously optimized SEO plugin for your website.

Without ads, distractions, and nonsensical functionality, this plugin delivers a time-saving SEO solution that truly helps your website rank.

[Migrate](https://theseoframework.com/?p=511) | [Setup](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2428) | [Improve](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2663) | [Extensions](https://theseoframework.com/extensions/) | [API](https://theseoframework.com/?p=82) | [Privacy](https://theseoframework.com/privacy-policy/#pluginprivacyinformation)

= This plugin: =

* **Comes preconfigured**
The SEO Framework provides a suitable starting point for most websites via its AI. It also comes with over a hundred settings for you to tweak; learn how to manage this in our [Setup guide](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2428).

* **Is smarter than all others**
The SEO Framework has an AI built in that listens to all that WordPress gives to automatically optimize your pages. This saves you a lot of time and makes it very easy to use.

* **Has exceptional support**
We don't outsource our support. Instead, the developer of this plugin, with extensive knowledge of hosting, SEO, WordPress, theming, and plugin development is here for you. Over a thousand inquiries have been answered personally within 72 hours in the past four years.

* **Leaves no room for errors**
We focus on quality rather than selling you useless features. This means that this plugin performs faster, is more accurate, has fewer bugs, and is more sustainable than others. The added benefit is that your site is unlikely to get penalized by search engines.

* **Is cleaner than all others**
The SEO Framework is built for the small to large corporations and enterprises. The interface seamlessly integrates within WordPress, and interacting with it feels natural.

* **Improves search presence**
The SEO Framework ranks your website distinctively by enabling breadcrumbs for Google Search, and by automatically generating titles and descriptions according to Google's guidelines. It also notifies Google, Bing, Yandex, and all connected search networks automatically of your website's changes with its built-in sitemap.

* **Improves social sharing**
The SEO Framework automatically supports the Open Graph and Twitter Cards protocols, this helps your posts stand out when shared on various social networks.

* **Helps you optimize your metadata**
The SEO Framework is the only plugin that literally has pixel-perfect guidelines for Google Search. It took years of research to get this right, and this means you can manually optimize your pages without making critical mistakes.

* **Creates a beautiful overview**
On your post overview pages, you'll find color-coded guidelines. They tell you how to improve when hovering over it with your mouse.

* **Is completely accessible**
We handpicked our color scheme so that people with any type of color-vision deficiency can distinguish these. Full keyboard-navigation support is also implemented.

* **Is always doing it right**
The SEO Framework steers you from making significant and common SEO mistakes. It also leaves little room for you to mess up because the plugin already does everything for you. It also automatically prevents duplicated content mistakes by enforcing strict canonical URL rules, which is something many other plugins don't do.

* **Follows best-practices and beyond**
We built the plugin according to all WordPress coding guidelines. This means it neatly integrates with everything else made according to it, like bbPress and WooCommerce. This also means that the plugin is secure (there's no record of exploits) and extensible.

* **Is built with developers in mind**
We encourage other developers to add functionality to this plugin. We've done so ourselves, already, with our [extensions](https://theseoframework.com/extensions/). Feel free to join in on our efforts!

* **Respects your privacy**
Unlike others, this plugin has no links that cloak your information, and it doesn't automatically share your email address with third parties. Learn more from our strictly adhered-to [privacy policy](https://theseoframework.com/privacy-policy/#pluginprivacyinformation).

= Getting started =

* Used another plugin? Easily [migrate your SEO Data](https://theseoframework.com/?p=511).
* Lost in the sea of settings? Don't worry! Read our [quick setup guide](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2428).
* Want to improve your pages? Learn how to [optimize your metadata](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2663).

= Do more with extensions =
For more advanced SEO tools and output, check out our free companion plugin [Extension Manager](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2760). Many Premium, Essentials, and Free extensions are included, among others are:

* **[Focus](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2305)** helps you write targeted content with **focus keywords**, their inflections, and their synonyms. It is an indispensable addition for bloggers and businesses alike.
* **[Local](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2306)** helps you set up local SEO business information. This could expand your business' "Knowledge Graph" card for local search listings.
* **[Title Fix](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2298)** fixes incorrect titles that are rendered by old themes.

Visit our [Extensions overview page](https://theseoframework.com/extensions/) for more information.

= Unbranded, Free and for the Professional =
The SEO Framework is unbranded! This means that we don't even put the name "The SEO Framework" anywhere within the WordPress interface, aside from the plugin activation page. This plugin makes excellent use of the default WordPress interface elements, like as if this plugin is part of WordPress. No ads, no nags. The small and hidden HTML comments can easily be disabled with the use of a filter or extension.

Nobody has to know about the tools you've used to create your or someone else's website. A clean interface, for everyone.

**The SEO Framework goes further, behind the screens it:**

* Prevents canonical errors with categories, pages, subdomains, and Multisite domain mapping.
* Stops SEO attacks that are caused by pagination exploits in WordPress.
* Discourages 404 pages and empty categories from being indexed, even if they don't send a 404 response.
* Automatically notifies Google, Bing, and Yandex on website updates when sitemaps are enabled.

= Generously personal =
**The SEO Framework allows you to manually set various values for each post, page, public CPT, and term.**

**And, this plugin allows you to adjust over 100 site settings, including:**

* Automated title output options; they encourage you to follow the guidelines.
* Automated description output options.
* Schema.org structured data output options.
* Various robots meta output options.
* Many home page specific options.
* Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest social integration options.
* Google, Bing, Pinterest and Yandex webmaster verification codes.
* Sitemap integration with personalization.
* Robots.txt sitemap integration.
* Feed anti-scraper options.
* And many, many more settings.

= Openly pluggable =
The SEO Framework has been built to go further than just itself.
Take a look at the API documentation located at [The SEO Framework API Docs](https://theseoframework.com/?p=82).

= The SEO Bar =
**The SEO Framework helps you to create better content, at a glance. By showing you:**

* If the title is too long, too short, duplicated, and/or automatically generated.
* If the description is too long, too short, has too many repeated words and/or automatically generated.
* If the page is indexed, redirected, followed and/or archived, while looking at other WordPress settings.

We call this the SEO Bar. Check out the screenshots below to see how it helps you!

= Hardcore caching =
The code in The SEO Framework is highly optimized on PHP-level and uses variable, object and transient caching. This means that there's little extra page load time from this plugin, even with more meta tags used.

A caching plugin isn't even needed for this plugin as you won't notice a difference; however, it's supported wherever best suited.

= Compatibility =
**The SEO Framework supports:**

* PHP 5.4 and greater.
* WordPress 4.6 and greater.
* Internationalization through WordPress.org.
* UTF-8 character calculation and rendering, including Emoji and CJK.
* Right to Left (RTL) languages, through its interface and generation.
* Extended color vision deficiency accessibility.
* Screen reader accessibility and keyboard navigation.
* Multisite setups, this plugin is in fact built upon one.
* Detection of robots.txt and sitemap.xml files.
* Both current and old themes.
* Detection of various other SEO tools to help you switch graciously.
* Translation plugins like WPML, Polylang, WPGlobus, and MultilingualPress.
* WooCommerce, for free, in all its glory.

= An additional sitemap =
The sitemap generated with The SEO Framework is more than sufficient for search engines to find posts, pages and supported custom post types throughout your website. It also listens to the `noindex` settings on each of the items and works great with various translation plugins.

Via structured data, like what's brought with the [Articles extension](https://theseoframework.com/extensions/articles/), advanced sitemaps are no longer needed.

However, if you require a more expanded sitemap, feel free to activate a dedicated Sitemap plugin. The SEO Framework will automatically deactivate its Sitemap functionality when another (known) sitemap plugin is found.

= Hidden breadcrumbs =
The Breadcrumb script generated by this plugin on Posts will also make sure Google easily finds related categories which aren't included in the Sitemap of this plugin.

== Installation ==

= This plugin requires: =

* PHP 5.4 or greater.
* WordPress 4.6 or greater.

= Installation instructions: =

1. Install **The SEO Framework** either via the WordPress.org plugin directory or by uploading the files to your server.
1. Either Network Activate this plugin or activate it on a single site.
1. That's it!

= This plugin auto-configures its global settings, but: =

You should read up on our [plugin setup guide](https://theseoframework.com/docs/seo-plugin-setup/) to get the most out of The SEO Framework.

= This plugin auto-configures SEO meta settings, and: =

* You can fine-tune each page with the provided meta box.

= Get more SEO power =

* Optionally, also install the [Extension Manager](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2760) for additional SEO solutions.

== Screenshots ==

1. The SEO Framework shows you what you can improve, at a glance. With complete color vision deficiency support.
2. Hover over any of the SEO Bar's items to see how you can improve the page's SEO. Red requires attention, orange is okay, green is good. Blue is informational.
3. The dynamic Post/Page SEO settings meta box. Another version of this box is also implemented for terms, like categories and tags.
4. The dynamic Post/Page SEO settings meta box also fits neatly in the sidebar. For when you want to work faster.
5. The SEO Settings Page. With over 100 settings, you are in full control.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Is The SEO Framework Free? =

Absolutely! It will stay free as well, without ads or nags!
This plugin is all-inclusive without upsells.

= Is there more? =

For more advanced SEO options and output, we offer the free plugin [Extension Manager](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2760).

= I have a feature request, I've found a bug, a plugin is incompatible... =

Please visit [the support forums](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/autodescription) and kindly tell us about it.
We'll try to get back to you within 72 hours. :)

= I am a developer; how can I help? =

Any input is much appreciated, and everything will be considered.
Please visit the [GitHub project page](https://github.com/sybrew/the-seo-framework) to submit issues or even pull requests.

= I want to modify how The SEO Framework works. =

The SEO Framework is extensible. Please refer to the [API documentation](https://theseoframework.com/docs/api/).

= The sitemap doesn't contain categories, images, news, etc. is this OK? =

This is not an issue. Search engines love crawling WordPress because its structure is consistent and well known.
If a visitor can't find a page, then why would a search engine? Don't rely on your sitemap, but on your content and website's usability.

Check out our [Extension Manager](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2760).
It brings extensions, like Articles, that fill in the gaps with newer and better techniques.

= The sitemap contains unwanted links. =

The SEO Framework takes all publicly queryable posts, pages, and CPT and puts them in the sitemap.

If you don't want a page in the sitemap, consider enabling the `noindex` option. This will also remove the page from search engine result pages.

If the link shouldn't be in the sitemap because it's meant for structural reasons, then inform the plugin or theme author that created them.
You should tell the author to check out the "`public` and `rewrite` post type arguments." The plugin or theme author should know what that means.

= What do the application/ld+json scripts do? =

The JSON-LD scripts are search engine helpers which tell search engines how to connect and index the site.
They can tell the search engine if your site contains an internal search engine, what sites you're socially connected to and what page structure you're using.
This is also referred to as **structured data**.

= The metadata is not being updated, and I'm using a caching plugin. =

The SEO Framework's metadata is put into WordPress' object cache when a caching plugin is available.
Please be sure to clear your cache or adjust the plugin's caching settings if deemed necessary.

== Changelog ==

= 3.2.4 =

In this minor update, we bring you the most advanced description generation yet. The generator is now context-sensitive, so you can expect the descriptions to be even more natural; a real time-saver!

Oh, we also [fixed some bugs](https://theseoframework.com/?p=3130), and we've implemented some improvements in preparation for version 3.3.0.

= 3.2.3 =

This minor update fixes some old, [leftover bugs](https://theseoframework.com/?p=3105). We've also removed the sitemap pinging options for Yandex, as they no longer allow this.

= 3.2.2 =

This minor update brings [major bug fixes](https://theseoframework.com/?p=3022). Most notoriously, the home page settings now predict the metadata perfectly in the admin screens. Bloggers will love this update, too, because Facebook and Twitter metadata for the home blog page is now always correct.

For developers, please note that the upcoming major release (3.3.0) will introduce new taxonomical settings. Because the image-rendering integration isn't suited for this, it'll be overhauled. For more information, see [this issue](https://github.com/sybrew/the-seo-framework/issues/403).

Also, for developers, note that some API changes better suited for a major release were also brought into this minor release; these were required to fix some bugs.

= 3.2.1 =

This minor update [fixes script load-order issues](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2982) which can occur when other plugins try to interact with the new WordPress editor.

= 3.2.0 - Horizon =

*What is right to be done cannot be done too soon. - Jane Austen*

**Release date**

* December 4th, 2018

**Release highlights**

* A new editor (codename Gutenberg) will launch [in just two days](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/04/new-5-0-target-date/) with WordPress 5.0. This release makes the plugin fully compatible with it.
* Description prefixes have been removed. Descriptions aren't used a ranking factor anymore, and gaming the system by repeating the title isn't beneficial.

**Did you know?**

* We recently relaunched a plugin for The SEO Framework. [Learn more](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2760).

**Detailed log**

Happy Holidays! [(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻┻](https://theseoframework.com/?p=2957)

= Full changelog =

* **The full changelog can be found [here](http://theseoframework.com/?cat=2).**

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 3.1.1 =
This is a major upgrade. Make a backup of your database before upgrading. WordPress v4.6 (or greater) and PHP v5.4 (or greater) are now required. If you use the Extension Manager, update it to v1.5.2 (or greater) before upgrading this plugin. Downgrading to v3.0.6 possible.

= 3.0.0 =
A major update. Make a backup of your database before upgrading.

= 2.8.0 =
In the 2.8.0 update, WordPress 4.3 and PHP 5.2 support have been dropped for better code quality.

= 2.7.0 =
The 2.7.0 update is required for the upcoming Extension Manager plugin and includes many improvements.

== Other Notes ==
