=== Mevabi – Related Posts Inline ===
Contributors:      mevabien22
Tags:              related posts, inline related posts, related content, related posts widget, automatic related posts, content recommendation, internal links, post suggestions, content marketing, seo internal linking
Requires at least: 5.9
Tested up to:      7.0
Stable tag:        1.1.1
Requires PHP:      7.4
License:           GPL-2.0-or-later
License URI:       https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Automatically display related posts inline inside your content or at the end — with three modern card designs, full color control, and zero dependencies.

== Description ==

**Mevabi – Related Posts Inline** is the WordPress plugin that automatically inserts related post suggestions *directly inside* your article content — not just at the bottom where readers have already left. Surface the right content at the right moment, reduce bounce rate, and keep visitors reading longer.

Whether you call it *inline related posts*, *automatic related posts*, *in-content post suggestions*, or simply a *related posts widget*, Mevabi handles it all from a single, clean settings panel — no shortcodes, no Gutenberg blocks, no coding required.

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= Why Inline Related Posts? =

Most related posts plugins append a block at the very end of an article — after readers have already decided to leave. **Mevabi places related content inline**, evenly distributed throughout the body text, so post suggestions appear exactly when reader attention is highest. The result: more pageviews, better time-on-site, and stronger internal linking for SEO.

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= Key Features =

**Placement & Display**
**Two placement modes** — Append related posts at the *end* of the content, or *distribute them inline* evenly between paragraphs for maximum engagement.
**1–3 related posts per block** — Choose how many post cards appear in each insertion point.
**Match by category or tags** — Control which taxonomy drives the related posts logic so suggestions are always contextually relevant.

**Three Modern Card Designs**
**Design 1 · Solid + Arrow** — Bold full-color card with a large right-hand arrow CTA. Section title displayed above the card box.
**Design 2 · Grey · Centered** — Clean light-grey card with centered text and the section title inside the box. Minimal and elegant, no arrow.
**Design 3 · Image + Arrow** — Like Design 1 but with the post's featured image displayed on the left side of the card for visual impact.

**Full Color Customization**
Per-design color control via native WordPress color pickers — background, hover state, post title, excerpt text, arrow, section label, border color, and border-radius are all individually configurable.
Changes reflect immediately with no need to write CSS.

**Typography Controls**
Set font sizes (accepts any CSS unit: px, em, rem, %) independently for the section title, post title, and excerpt.

**Content & Excerpt**
**Optional post excerpt** — Show a short descriptive excerpt below the post title. Shortcode tags and HTML are stripped automatically so the text is always clean.
**Smart excerpt fallback** — If a post begins with a shortcode block, Mevabi skips it and uses the first real text paragraph instead.

**UX & Accessibility**
**Fully clickable cards** — The entire card surface is a single anchor link; no confusing partial click zones.
**Link target control** — Open related posts in the same tab or a new tab (with proper `rel="noopener noreferrer"` for security).
**Custom section title** — Define your own heading label shown above or inside each related posts block (e.g. "You might also like", "Keep reading", "Related articles").

**Performance**
**Lightweight and fast** — Zero jQuery, zero external libraries. Vanilla JavaScript plus a single minified CSS file. No impact on Core Web Vitals or PageSpeed scores.
**No external API calls**, no tracking scripts, no bloat.

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= SEO Benefits =

Inline related posts directly improve on-page SEO metrics:

* **Reduces bounce rate** by surfacing relevant internal links before readers leave.
* **Increases pages per session** by guiding visitors to related content naturally.
* **Strengthens internal link structure** — each related posts block creates contextual internal links that distribute PageRank across your site.
* **Improves dwell time**, a positive engagement signal for search engines.

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= Perfect For =

* Blogs and content-heavy WordPress sites
* News and magazine themes
* Affiliate and review sites aiming to reduce exit rate
* Publishers looking to improve internal linking without manual effort
* SEO professionals wanting automatic related post links throughout content

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= Privacy =

This plugin does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data. It is fully GDPR-compliant.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the `mevabi-related-posts-inline` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory, **or** install directly via **Plugins → Add New** in your WordPress admin and search for "Mevabi Related Posts Inline".
2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** menu.
3. Go to **Settings → Related Posts Inline** to configure placement, design, colors, and typography.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Will related posts show on pages, archives, or custom post types? =

No. Related posts are injected only on single blog posts (`is_single()`), within the main query loop. Pages, archives, and custom post types are not affected.

= What happens if a post has no matching category or tag? =

No related posts block will be shown. The post content is returned completely unmodified.

= What happens if the content has fewer than two paragraphs and inline mode is selected? =

The plugin automatically falls back to appending the related posts block at the end of the content, so something always appears even on very short posts.

= Does Design 3 require a featured image on related posts? =

No. If a related post has no featured image, the card is displayed without the image column. Design 3 gracefully degrades to a layout similar to Design 1.

= Is the excerpt safe from shortcode execution? =

Yes. All shortcode tags are stripped with a regex pass before the text is sanitized with `wp_strip_all_tags()`, so no shortcode is ever executed inside the excerpt area.

= Can I use this plugin on a multisite installation? =

Yes. Settings are stored per-site using the standard WordPress options API, so each site in the network can have its own independent configuration.

= How is "related" determined? =

In the free version, you can choose either categories or tags as the matching taxonomy. Posts that share the most terms with the current post are surfaced first.

= Does this plugin slow down my site? =

No. Mevabi uses no jQuery, no external libraries, and makes no external HTTP requests. It outputs a single small CSS file and uses vanilla JavaScript only when needed. The performance impact is negligible.

= How many related posts can I show? =

The free version supports 1, 2, or 3 related posts per block.

= Is there a Pro version? =

Yes. Mevabi Pro unlocks additional designs (Designs 4–6), advanced relation types (shared tags + categories, manual exclusions, minimum word count filtering), a click-tracking Stats dashboard, and more display modes.

== Screenshots ==

1. Design 1 – Solid color card with arrow CTA and section title displayed above the box.
2. Design 2 – Light grey card with centered text and section title inside the box.
3. Design 3 – Solid color card with featured image on the left and arrow CTA.
4. Admin – General settings tab (placement, taxonomy, post count, section title, link target).
5. Admin – Design & Colors tab with live color pickers for full per-design customization.
6. Admin – Typography tab with independent font-size controls.

== Changelog ==

= 1.1.1 =
* Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 7.0 (updated "Tested up to" header).
* Improved readme.txt with expanded feature descriptions and SEO-optimized content for WordPress.org search visibility.
* Minor code cleanup and inline documentation improvements.
* No functional changes; safe to update.

= 1.1.0 =
* Added Stats tab with Pro feature notice.
* Added Free vs Pro comparison tab in the admin UI.
* Added "Upgrade to Pro" submenu link.
* Pro features (advanced display modes, relation types, exclusions, minimum word count, Designs 4–6) are now visually locked in the admin UI — clearly shown but not executable in the free version.
* Related posts count capped at 3 in the free version.
* Ensured no Pro functionality executes in the free version under any circumstances.

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.1.1 =
No upgrade steps required. Updates "Tested up to" to WordPress 7.0 and improves plugin documentation. Safe to update immediately.

= 1.1.0 =
No upgrade steps required. Update to enjoy the improved admin UI with Pro feature previews and the Free vs Pro comparison tab.

= 1.0.0 =
Initial release. No upgrade steps required.