=== Telchar Referral Link Tracker ===
Contributors: telchar
Tags: referral links, affiliate links, link tracking, redirects, campaign tracking
Requires at least: 6.1
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.1
Text domain: telchar-referral-link-tracker
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

A lightweight referral link tracker for WordPress that creates redirect links and records estimated visits.

== Description ==

Telchar Referral Link Tracker is a lightweight WordPress plugin for site owners who need simple self-hosted referral links.

It creates referral URLs that redirect to a target URL and records privacy-friendly Estimated Visits.

This plugin focuses on a simple and controlled workflow:

* Create affiliates manually in WordPress.
* Create referral links for each affiliate.
* Redirect visitors to a target URL.
* Track only Estimated Visits.

Estimated Visits are counted once per link, hashed IP, and day.

This plugin deliberately does not include:

* Commission management.
* Payment handling.
* Cookie-based tracking.
* Sessions.
* External telemetry.
* Remote calls.

The result is a simple, privacy-friendly, and fully self-contained referral system.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the `telchar-referral-link-tracker` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory.
2. Activate the plugin through the `Plugins` screen in WordPress.
3. Open `Referral Link Tracker` in the WordPress admin menu.
4. Create your first affiliate.
5. Open the affiliate detail page and create a referral link.
6. Share the generated referral URL.

== Screenshots ==

1. Affiliates overview page with active links and total visits.
2. Affiliate detail page showing links and visit statistics.
3. Settings page with configurable referral base path.

== FAQ ==

= What does "Estimated Visits" mean? =

Estimated Visits count one visit per link, hashed IP, and day. Repeated requests from the same IP to the same link on the same day do not increase the count.

= Does the plugin track anything besides Estimated Visits? =

No. The plugin is intentionally limited to Estimated Visits only.

= Does the plugin store raw IP addresses? =

No. The plugin hashes the visitor IP using WordPress salts and stores only the hash for daily deduplication.

= Can I reuse a slug after deleting a link or affiliate? =

Yes. Deleting a link changes it to an internal hidden status, which removes it from public resolution and allows the slug to be reused later.

= Does the plugin support external target URLs? =

Yes. Both internal and external target URLs are supported, but you must enter a full URL including `http://` or `https://`. Relative URLs are not supported.

= Does the plugin support multisite? =

No. Multisite is not supported in the current version.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.1 =

* WordPress.org review cleanup release with final naming, prefix, asset loading, and compliance refinements.

= 1.0.0 =

* First stable release.
* Includes affiliate management, referral link creation, Estimated Visits tracking, multilingual strings, and WordPress.org-oriented cleanup.

= 0.1.0 =

* Refined the plugin metadata and author information.
* Added a direct Settings link in the WordPress plugins list.
* Polished the affiliate detail layout for a more compact top section.
* Improved the referral URL base field to mirror the referral URL builder style.
* Updated the creator section with direct website and plugin profile links.
* Refined the FAQ content and bumped the release version.

= 0.0.1 =

* Initial release.
* Added custom database tables for settings, affiliates, links, and daily unique visits.
* Added affiliate management with search and pagination.
* Added referral link creation with immutable slugs after creation.
* Added configurable public base path settings.
* Added public redirects with Estimated Visits tracking based on hashed IP per day.
* Added uninstall cleanup.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.0.1 =

WordPress.org review cleanup release. Update before resubmitting the plugin.

= 1.0.0 =

First stable release of Telchar Referral Link Tracker.

= 0.1.0 =

Polish release with refined admin UX, direct settings access from the plugins list, and updated plugin metadata.

= 0.0.1 =

Initial release of Telchar Referral Link Tracker.
